If your interests take you to enough countries around the world, physically or mentally, a pattern will soon start to emerge. With enough spatial divergence, converging trends appear. Failed states and states on the verge of collapse; mineral curses plaguing the poorest of the poor in places where the infrastructure does not exist to distribute gains past the Presidential compound; military rulers with nary a thought for the welfare of the people they "serve," or better yet, the people who are unfortunate enough to be stuck within the borders where their forces roam.
Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, Burma, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone....many of the same cast of unfortunate characters keep appearing on stage; some slip behind the curtain, pursuing independent paths of reconciliation and a better day (such as Sirleaf's Liberia); it is clear this requires a transformational leader, foreign intervention (in an appropriate and effective manner) or a situation of such emptiness, such a bottoming out, if you will, that there is truly nowhere too go but up.
One place reaching such depths is Myanmar, or known by its colonial name (which in this case harkens to a much better era), Burma. I was fortunate enough to be present for a panel discussing the current situation in Burma, hosted here in NYC at the Asia Society. Unfortunately, what developed through the talking was a clearly defined sense of hopelessness for the people caught in the quagmire of this repressive military dictatorship. The Undersecretary of State for the Southeast Asian region was present, as well as a government-in-exile leader and an expert in Burmese economics, from Australia, to often reinforce government talking points, though the discussion that ensued after was lively and stimulating.
The undersecretary stressed, again and again, that the US was fully engaged and doing all it can in terms of political and economic pressure on the ruling junta; but the government is simply entrenched, and thus shrug off our sanctions and political pressure through gas deals with the Thais and Chinese, and Security Council pressure by the Chinese and Russians. The formal economy matters little to the generals who run the country; all of the profits from exploiting the country's natural resources are funneled into hard currency, which literally sits in a vault under the ruling general's mansion; so paranoid are they that little trust is given for even the Swiss Banks where the most corrupt of governments hide their wealth.
The question in my mind; where is the sabre rattling that the U.S. seems to have perfected over the last six years? How can we rattle the stick so loudly at Iran (not even mentioning Iraq) and not apply the same standards of human rights to other oppressive regimes with very similar realities on the ground? How can we shrug off to diplomacy and the quagmire of millions of lost souls living in such terrible repression in countries like Sudan and North Korea and Burma, but then apply such a firmer hand, such a more forceful hand, to the rulers of one Islamic Republic. The difference cannot be explained away through natural resources, as the Sudan and Burma have plenty of of their own. Where does the non-uniformity come from? Why are our actions not implemented as an umbrella policy against those who are actively suppressing human rights and actively slaughtering and raping their citizens? Are some lives more valuable than others, is this what we wish the world community to continue considering? Why do we nitpick and gerrymander and slice and dice and choose one special country to be fully engaged on? Do we not have the heart to deal with more than one desperate situation at a time? Should be we not deal with situation based on degree of desperation? Iran would surely fall down the list rather quickly in this case, as while not free and open, their people are surely not being slaughtered by government sponsored rebel groups by the hundreds of thousands or being gang raped and forced into manual labor building roads to new mysterious capital cities built in the jungles of Southeast Asia.
The Saffron Revolution, led by the monks of Burma, occurred almost six months ago. Since this time, the country has fallen back off the news radar. But the repression and crackdowns continue, even if our attention spans have moved on to 24 hours a day of Hillary and Obama.
Does it take forceful revolution and bloodshed to get world's attention in all cases? Can world's attention not be focused without actual active revolt? Do we not have room in our hearts and minds for the cruel realities so many of our fellow humans are forced to live in? We need to be engaged all the time, not just when the suffering erupts into fighting.
Burma was the most developed, the most prosperous country in Southeast Asia at the beginning of the 20th century. They are now the least developed and worst off country in the region as we start the 21st. The military regime has been uniform in one capacity; their decimation of all sectors of the economy, both willingly and unwillingly; their corruption, incompetence, and irrationality that has spread into all facets of daily life in Burma. The rulers have recently undertaken a nationwide push for biodiesel , imploring and forcing all citizens to grow a particular variety of nut in fields and even houses, that is to be used to "power the country"; however, they have given no thought to the actual processing facilities needed for this to occur, have planned and built nothing in this regard, a fine example of the irrationality of the military rulers. Burma has the 2nd worst health care system in the world (and think of the competition at the bottom); there is rampant inflation and widespread currency divergence in exchange rates which fuels the enormous black markets; the list of woes goes on and on.
The situation continues under the dark, and all too common cloud of the resource curse. Burma receives about $2billion US per year from gas sales to Thailand; they have another vast field coming on line to supply to the Chinese (who especially now, are not about to speak out on human rights and freedoms) . This will add another $2 billion USD a year to the coffers of the ruling generals. Four billion a year allows for entrenchment; it allows for a complete removal from the duties of a responsible government, and it also allows for continual stagnation in the foreign bodies that matter and could enact change (the UN Security Council is composed of two members, China and Russia, with financial ties to the ruling Junta; they block every single resolution, and this is not likely to change, even under US pressure).
The strongest point here, however, is a uniquely positive one-these economic and social sectors and services did once exist. Again, Burma was the richest country in the region 100 years ago. This is an anomaly in the club of the underdeveloped; Burma was once a thriving place with a thriving economy and thriving institutions; the solution to the current problems has already existed, we just need to trace history, go back to move forward. The uniqueness of this situation lends a bit of light to a dark situation on the ground. At the most basic, the most simple level, are the people involved, the lives not progressing in a world that is moving forward. They have the capacity to recognize their stagnation, and this breeds discontent. A saffron revolution is what occurs when this discontent is not heard; and revolution will continue, resentment will continue to simmer, until another repressive military regime follows history and falls.
What can I do? First, join and support the Saffron Revolution. Heres the site:
saffronrevolutionworldwide.blogspot.com
Second, follow the news; be aware of whats going on; awareness leads to engagement, engagement leads to empowerment; empowerment leads to change.
A quote from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, on the current situation in the country:
Today, says Amnesty International, "torture has become an institution" in Burma. Reports by the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other groups have repeatedly detailed a gruesome litany of abuses, including murder, torture, rape, detention without trial, massive forced relocations, and forced labor Even before 1988, Burma's army faced allegations of serious human rights abuses, especially in its campaigns against ethnic groups along the country's borders. These severe violations continue today, including arbitrary executions and forced labor of villagers as military porters in combat zones. Children have been particularly hard hit, both as direct physical victims of military abuse and as members of affected families. In 2001, conditions in Shan State and Karen State deteriorated as the junta launched wide-scale military operations. Hundreds of thousands of people in those areas have fled their homes to avoid conscription as porters or worse abuses. While some have reached safety in Thailand, most remain internally-displaced persons (IDPs). Only a few who are near the Thai frontier receive even a little external food or medical assistance.
