Published in The Myanmar Times on 10 June 2013

The unsung hero of Yangon’s online community talks to The Myanmar Times about the Google group she founded and how it’s grown into a behemoth over the past two years.

When Vicky Blades moved to Yangon with her young family in January 2011, she found the lack of information available online “kind of scary.”

“We knew there were international schools – but that was kind of it,” she told The Myanmar Times.

Three months later, she and a friend named Jen Herink decided to redress the information void. As Facebook wasn’t reliably accessible at the time (due to the government’s heavy-handed censorship), the pair spent an hour in Coffee Circles “cobbling together” a Google group called Yangon Expat Connection (YEC). It opened its virtual doors to members on April 19, 2011. The idea was to create a forum where expats could pool information and share practical tips about living in Yangon. Although the group’s name has the word “expat” in it, Vicky said that it was always meant to be inclusive and there’s no policy whatsoever against locals joining.

“We should maybe change the name to Yangon Connection (there is already a Facebook group of this name), but the YEC is so well known,” she said

Vicky said that initially, the number of members joining was steady, though nothing astonishing.

“We never thought in a million years that it would grow the way it has,” she said.

Vicky believes that part of the group’s early success was due to the fact that the internet was becoming more affordable in Myanmar, so there was an increasing number of people using the internet from home.

“We’d text each other and say, ‘Wow, there are a hundred members.’”

When asked whether she’s a techie, Vicky said, “Oh my God, no! I’m a forty-something mum of two. I struggle with Facebook; I have a Twitter account and never use it.”

Vicky does have a blog (she writes about parenting and the ups and downs of life in Myanmar), though she says with a modest laugh that she can barely post a photo. The Swedish-born ideas woman is also a professional actress (under the name Anna Blades) and the founder of what may be described as a spin-off website, called whatsonyangon.com

“Another reason YEC got off the ground was because people started contacting me about the blog. Writing long emails was very time-consuming, and part of me wanted to put all that information in one place for the wider community,” she said.

By the end of 2011, Vicky said YEC’s growth went ballistic and membership reached 1000. Today it stands at 1914 members.

The group isn’t open to the public – membership requests are approved on the basis that a person is living in Yangon and wants to connect with other people, whether it be to sublease a flat, join a sporting team or find a particular type of food – you name it, the YEC members have asked it.

“We were stricter in the beginning [about membership] because we had more time.” Vicky said. “If a person didn’t explain why they wanted to join, we’d ask them to tell us a little bit more about themselves.”

Vicky said that due to the volume of people joining YEC, it isn’t always possible to do individual checks. However a new team of moderators that came on board in February endeavour to vet potential members.

“I think we’ve managed to avoid any sort of spam postings,” Vicky said.

The three moderators, Sandra, Cliff and Marc, have each moderated other forums in the past and they have been something of a godsend to Vicky, who was spending a few hours each day moderating the forum.

“There was a point after Jen got a full-time job that it was just too much. It’s hard to know exactly how much time I was spending on YEC because I was doing it between nursery and playgroup drop-offs and stuff, but it certainly felt like a full-time job.”

Vicky said that her inbox is continuously full of questions from members – such as how to reverse accidentally unsubscribing or not knowing how to change the email digest of posts. Naturally, this should be discouraged, because the instructions can be found online. The moderators have full-time jobs and no one is paid to ensure YEC functions smoothly.

Although a lot of businesses have joined YEC in recent times, since June 1 it is no longer possible to send out regular posts about restaurant menus or events. This decision was made following negative feedback from members about receiving such emails – however, a number of members who support receiving all emails are becoming increasingly vocal. With such a large number of members, it’s no doubt impossible to please everybody.

“I’m really proud of what people say about [YEC],” Vicky said. “It’s had its moments. There’s been some controversy.”

The most recent was stirred following a posting from a real estate agent who was asking a staggering US$15,000 per month in rent. A back and forth between members and the person who wrote the original post went on for a couple of weeks – and the comments got pretty nasty.

Vicky said, “Obviously I have a personal opinion, but as a moderator of YEC I have to stay as neutral as possible. However I can totally understand why people got upset – I also think some of the replies were much more humorous than people realised. There’s often a joke behind what people say, but because it’s electronic and text, I suppose it’s hard to know if people are being sarcastic or making fun. I take everything with a big pinch of salt,” she added with a laugh.

Another well-known controversy was the “pineapple pizza” fight. It began innocently enough, when the owner of the newly opened Papa Pizza posted a menu. Some YEC members were livid that pizzas with pineapple were available and a fight ensued over the validity of such a creation.

“Some were joking and others took it seriously. [The fight] raged on and on. It was just ridiculous. It’s pineapple pizza,” she said with a smile.

Emotions ran high on another occasion when a YEC member asked where spoons were available to purchase in Yangon.

“I’m convinced it was a joke,” Vicky said.

Yet with YEC, you never know.

“I’m astounded by what people put in print. I don’t think people realise that what they say goes out to 1900 people.”

Although YEC’s policy is to never remove a post, the same cannot be said for members who seriously misbehave. However Vicky said she can count on one hand the number of people who have been removed from the group during the past two years.

“We try to take the approach that people say things in the heat of the moment, not realising it’s a public forum. We try to give them the chance by saying it’s not tolerated or acceptable and to make sure they won’t do it again.”

This is done privately, although general tickings-off have also been issued to the group as a whole – most recently this happened when the argument over expensive rent escalated into snide racial comments.

One of Vicky’s most embarrassing moments on YEC occurred shortly after giving birth to her second son, Oscar.

As Vicky explained, “Someone called Daphne posted on YEC that she and her husband had just arrived in Yangon and were looking for some adult friends to play with. I’d just had a baby and my response was in that frame of mind. I emailed back that she should join the IFG [International Friendship Group]. Then Jenny emailed me and said ‘I’m not sure that’s the sort of friendship she was looking for.’ I was mortified.”

High jinks aside, when I asked Vicky whether the number of members could ever reach a point when the group becomes too large to be manageable, her answer is far less optimistic than expected.

“The future of YEC is something I’ve thought long and hard about. I’ve debated it with friends for many months now. I think there is going to be some natural attrition, in that the group will one day just fade away. Compared to the rest of the world, there’s still very few websites for Yangon and Myanmar. But that’s going to change, and I think people will start using other websites. I spoke to a friend last week who’s lived in Yangon for eight years – she said she thinks she’ll unsubscribe from YEC. She said, ‘It used to be interesting and sometimes entertaining, but now it’s just the same questions over and over again, and there are too many businesses posting. I’d rather go to a website and search for the information I want.’”

Vicky believes that YEC has changed a lot – just as the city itself has. However she is keen to emphasise that YEC is a dynamic group and as information changes on an almost daily basis, it is YEC that keeps up. She rues the fact that some people – possibly out of fear of being criticised – reply privately to queries rather than sharing the information with the wider YEC community.

“We are currently the first point of contact for a lot of people, but I think that will change,” Vicky said. I don’t know how long we’ve got. I think just letting it happen naturally is the best way forward.”

For the moment however, YEC isn’t going anywhere, and the number of new members continues to increase by 3.6 people a day. There would be few expats who could say that Vicky’s creation hasn’t made their life a little or a lot easier at some point during their stay in Yangon.

Some may wonder whether YEC will take the socialising offline from time to time – that is, in the form of face–to–face get–togethers.

“In the old days, we said we’d have a party when we reached 200, 500 or 1000 members – but we never did,” she said.

The dance club Hola approached Vicky and put on a second birthday party for YEC earlier in the year. Although there isn’t anything in the pipeline at this stage, Vicky is very much open to the idea. As the networking extraordinaire said: “I love nothing better than going around chatting to people. I can do that all day long.”

Click here to visit the YEC Google Group

Published in Mizzima Business Weekly on 9 January 2014

Myanmar Restaurants Association is taking on the task of improving street food hygiene – one vendor at a time.

On a blog called Escaping the Desk, traveller Darryl Hall took the trouble – while ill with food poisoning in Myanmar – to provide 10 tips for fellow travellers to avoid the same fate. His number one tip is to: “Avoid mostly all street food (that includes those delicious looking samosas). This isn’t Thailand or Vietnam, instead think more like it’s a mix between eating on the street in India and China.”

According to the General Secretary of the Myanmar Restaurants Association (MRA), U Kyaw Myat Moe, the health risks associated with eating street food in Myanmar is precisely what the organisation is trying to combat by launching an education campaign among street food vendors. With the Asian Development Bank predicting that the number of tourist arrivals will surge to 7.5 million by 202o, U Kyaw Myat Moe told Mizzima Business Weekly that there’s no time to waste.

“Food hygiene is a national issue – too many people are getting sick from eating street food. Our aim is to the raise standards to become on a par with countries such as Singapore and Thailand,” he said.

Starting from March, MRA will begin selecting street food vendors to take part in training sessions on food safety and personal hygiene. U Kyaw Myat Moe said that to qualify for the program, vendors must have been in business for at least five years and attract a high volume of customers. MRA will begin by selecting two street food vendors from what the general secretary described as “tourist hot spots” in Yangon’s Kyauktada, Lanmadaw, Latha, Pazundaung, Botataung and Pabedan townships.

The education campaign will also be rolled out in popular tourist destinations around the country where the MRA has branch offices, such as Bagan, Mandalay, Inle Lake, Ngwe Saung and Chaung Tha beaches and Taunggyi.

“Our goal is to train street food vendors about basic cleanliness – such as not handling money and food at the same time and keeping their shops free of dirt and flies. We’ll encourage vendors to spread this knowledge to other vendors and we will be very glad to hear from other vendors who may interested in getting involved,” he said.

Items designed to promote better hygiene – such as mesh insect covers, gloves and disposable utensils – will also be provided to street food vendors free of charge, thanks to six private companies agreeing to sponsor the program.

“We’ll ask each individual vendor what they need and we also hope to be able to make the smaller shops into something more established as a construction company is one of the sponsors,” U Kyaw Myat Moe said.

He added that MRA is also in discussions with the government about improving water supplies in the downtown area so that street food vendors are better equipped to clean re-useable plates and cutlery – and to give their shops a thorough clean at the end of the day. MRA is hopeful that more street food vendors will contact MRA to take part in similar programs in the future.

Those who take part in the program will be provided with long-term support from the MRA, which was established in 2011. Those who successfully complete the training sessions may be eligible to become a member of MRA, which currently has 1,400 members out of an estimated 5,000 restaurants across the country.

According to Unilever Food Solutions, the food service industry in Southeast Asia is valued at US$27.9 billion, with some 1.3 million businesses operating throughout the region. Unilever said the majority of dining options in Southeast Asia are street based. In Myanmar particularly, due to the paltry incomes earned and the aforementioned lack of water, street food vendors often take short-cuts that can result in nasty illnesses for their customers – which have also the potential to turn very serious, such as salmonella poisoning.

Since 2010, Unilever Food Solutions has been training members of Myanmar’s more formal hospitality industry about the importance of food hygiene. According to MRA Vice-Chairman U Sonny Aung Khin, “We also need to upgrade hygiene standards in restaurants. There are many restaurants employing staff who are still using their fingers to make a salad rather than wearing gloves or making sure their hands are clean.”

MRA and Unilever won the tender to cater for more than 5,000 athletes at the SEA Games in December and they are currently catering for 2,000 athletes during the Para-SEA Games in Nay Pyi Taw.

“I’d say the first SEA Games catering job was successful because there were no reports of anyone getting stomach upsets after eating our food. However some Singaporean and Myanmar athletes got sick because they ignored the warning from organisers not to eat outside the venues. Apparently [athletes] got sick after drinking juices – juice is dangerous in Myanmar,” U Sonny Aung Khin toldMizzima Business Weekly.

U Kyaw Myat Moe revealed that once the labour intensive task of raising standards to an acceptable level of hygiene is achieved, an open air night bazaar will open close to The Strand Hotel in Botataung Township sometime in 2015.

“We’re discussing the arrangements for a night bazaar with YCDC [Yangon City Development Committee] at the moment, who have been keenly watching our various activities. There will also be a handicrafts market at the night bazaar, but the first step is to get the food right,” he said.

Published in Mizzima Business Weekly on 20 July 2014

Sipping a latte in a residential compound that belongs to someone once considered the most powerful and feared man in Myanmar – and who spent seven years living there under house arrest – is one of the most surreal experiences Yangon has to offer. This is perhaps all the more so because the compound itself is anything but grim: the place is a green oasis.

The former prime minister and chief of Military Intelligence, U Khin Nyunt, opened Nawaday Gallery on his sprawling property a little over a year after his release from house arrest in January 2012. The gallery is set in lush gardens which feature miniature bridges, pebbled fountains, goldfish ponds and his beloved collection of orchids. Dotted around the gardens are three small shops selling fairly run-of-the-mill souvenirs, as well as a coffee shop with both upstairs and downstairs seating areas. Whilst visitors may be enticed by the prospect of seeing U Khin Nyunt in the flesh, the chances of this are slim to none. The gift shops are run by his wife, Daw Khin Win Shwe, while his son, Ye Naing Win, oversees Nawaday Coffee Corner, which is a branch of Café Aroma.

Each of the dozen-odd tables in the upstairs coffee lounge are shaded from the sun by kitsch bungalow style thatched roofs. The view to the east – just across Nawaday Road, is an expanse of water so wide in breadth (not to mention southward flowing) that it took my husband some time to convince me that it’s not an actual river. The “lake” is surrounded by a steep hill thick with wild jungle growth – the only sign of human encroachment was an odd-looking boxed structure at the top. Was it a sentry point in days past, I wondered? That’s the thing about Nawaday Gallery – no matter how many birds are chirping and flowers blooming, it’s difficult to feel completely at ease. While soaking up the serenity as the lone rooftop customers (while the only other visitor sipped coffee downstairs), we marvelled at how U Khin Nyunt’s fortunes have changed (though perhaps not in the literal sense of the word) and the sheer fact that “The Prince of Darkness,” as he was known, was likely relaxing in his home about 30 metres to our left.

The only visible signs that remain of U Khin Nyunt’s years under house arrest, it seems, are the enormous steel roll-back gates a few metres up the street and a dilapidated sentry box to the left.

“It certainly isn’t the worst place to be stuck in for seven years – and I even heard that he and his wife were allowed to travel abroad sometimes,” I said glibly.

My husband laughed nervously and we found ourselves looking around for CCTV cameras and even wondering whether the coffee shop was bugged. Was it pure paranoia? To a degree: I later discovered that when U Khin Nyunt was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal in 2013, the journalist noted that the centre of his living room contains a computer screen with 16 mini-displays that alternate between different views of the compound. Nonetheless this does not mean that visitors are subject to a sinister form of scrutiny – only a fool would be lax on security, and U Khin Nyunt, who was regarded as the regime’s most pragmatic international strategist, is obviously anything but. I am grateful, however, that I resisted the urge to take a closer look at the black Hummer parked out the front of his villa by walking a few steps up a brick staircase that divides the public area from his private residence.

The gallery showcases local artists for a week at a time and doesn’t charge for the exposure it provides. The criteria for selecting artists is simple: first come, first served. U Khin Nyunt’s stated goal is to help artists make a living out of their creativity, which is without a doubt a worthy ambition. An artist called Nang was hosting an exhibition on the day of our visit; some of whose works were quite lovely, whilst others, such as a handful of clumsily depicted mermaids, were less so. However I did note that in comparison with the majority of other galleries in Yangon, prices were extremely reasonable at around K100,000 for a medium sized framed painting.

Nawaday Gallery opened a little over a year ago, but appears not to have made a splash on Yangon’s blossoming arts scene. Search for it on Google and you’ll likely confuse it with the more prominent Nawaday Tharlar Gallery and Nawaday Alley Gallery. There are just two brief (albeit positive) reviews listed on TripAdvisor, which all seems at odds with the column inches its owner has accumulated over the years. However the gallery’s humble existence may be deliberate, if not a plus for its owner, who has for the most part shied away from the public spotlight since his release from house arrest. On the day of the gallery’s opening ceremony in May 2013, 74-year-old U Khin Nyunt told the press: “As I’m getting old now, I look forward to a peaceful life. I practise my religion and do community work, but it isn’t enough. I had this idea to invite artists to hang their paintings in my gallery to bring peace and delight.”

Nawaday Art Gallery is located on 27 Nawaday Street, Mayangone Township. It is open daily from 9am to 6pm.

For more information, call 09 4399 898 or visit the Nawaday Art Gallery Facebook page.

Published in the November edition of My Magical Myanmar

For those of us who find it hard to do nothing in this “always online” world, Ngwe Saung Beach is a really good place to practise the art of just being. Its unspoiled 14 kilometre stretch of ngwe saung (silver sands) hugs the Bay of Bengal’s turquoise waters, which practically cry out for a wading. While being less of a budget destination than nearby Chaungtha Beach, it attracts fewer visitors and has more of a laid back vibe: some say it’s the most tranquil spot in Myanmar.

Ngwe Saung Beach is located 260 kilometres west of Yangon and the five hour journey into Ayeyarwady Division concludes with 88 continuous curves: getting there feels a bit like slipping down a long bit of spaghetti. Hiring a car without a driver is inadvisable, as the two-lane road is best left navigated by someone familiar with its twists and turns as well as local driving customs, the latter of which I surmised as complex, cooperative and honky. The bus is of course another option and once there, motorcycles can be hired for a full day or on a jump-on, jump-off basis. However it’s likely that the only land commutes during your stay at Ngwe Saung will involve travelling from an upscale hotel in the northern side to the south, the latter of which is simply referred to by locals as “The Village.” The string of seafood restaurants along Myoma Road serve up crab, squid, lobster and octopus and are so cheap you’ll think you’ve ordered chips. It’s also a great place to buy local handicrafts, hire snorkel gear or book a guided boat trip for sea fishing, snorkelling and island hopping. “The Village” also offers cheaper accommodation options.

Lovers’ Island is located at the far northern end of Ngwe Saung and it’s well worth making the minimal effort required to visit it – particularly as the sweeping panoramic view from the top is picture postcard perfect. At low tide the waters are ankle deep and crossing from the shore takes just a couple of minutes, whilst at high tide it’s never more than chest deep.

Atop one of the rocky outcrops sits a mermaid, while most others are covered with greenish-brown crabs scrabbling to find a nook. The surrounding waters contain enough underwater life to lose at least an hour or two snorkelling, but sadly there’s also the occasional bit of litter floating about. Should the sea fishermen at the northern point of the island arouse your curiosity as to their catch, take care while meandering over because the rocks are deceptively slippery: I wasn’t the only one to go home that day with a barnacle-inflicted injury.

Though the origins of the island’s name are uncertain, it’s certainly apt: local couples arrive in droves at sunset and many linger there past dusk. Enterprising vendors on both the island and the shore sell coconut juice and chilled bottles of Myanmar beer. Further down the beach, ponies decorated with neon tassels also appear once the sun’s rays have softened.

Ngwe Saung is by no means a place to party on into the night: there’s an acoustic band that plays every evening at the chic but cheap Royal Flower Restaurant on Myoma Road, but virtually nothing else exists by way of entertainment. However as most hotels, including those over $100 a night, lack 24 hour electricity supplies, it’s wiser to tuck in early to avoid feeling hot and groggy when the AC cuts out at around 6am. Internet connections at hotels and restaurants vary from the spotty to the non-existent: whilst this can be inconvenient, it’s also part of what makes Ngwe Saung a place of virtually uninterrupted peace.

Published in My Magical Myanmar 2014

For those wanting to get off the proverbial beaten track after spending a few days in the tourist mecca of Bagan, set aside a short trip to the small town of Pakokku. It’s just an hour’s drive away from Bagan, but aside from the odd abandoned temple decaying in Pakokku’s tobacco fields, the two places have nothing in common (except, of course, for the pounding dry heat common to central Myanmar).

Pakokku lies along the Ayeyarwady River in Magway Region and a recently constructed bridge across the river – which is the country’s longest – makes getting there a cinch. It’s also possible to take a scenic ferry ride to or from Bagan’s Nyaung U, or an onward bus to Monywa. My husband and I booked a driver-slash-guide in Bagan at a cost of $40.

The land surrounding Ayeyarwady River is exceptionally fertile: field upon field is used to cultivate tobacco, cotton, rice, chilli, peanuts and even sesame. Harvested tobacco is most often used to create traditional cigars, which are known as cheroots and emit a surprisingly pleasant aroma when lit. Visiting one of Pakokku’s bustling cheroot workshops, which are largely staffed by women young and old, is a must (for health reasons, the same can’t be said for smoking one…). Tobacco is Pakokku’s top trade item, along with an infinitely more expensive commodity: oil. The Yenangyaung oil fields were built in the 19^th century during British colonial rule and have been operating almost continuously ever since. I say “almost” because a Japanese bomb destroyed the facility’s equipment during the Second World War, however it was up and running again almost immediately after the war’s eventual end.

Pakokku is also well known for its local variety of thanakha, which is a distinctive yellowish paste made from ground bark and widely available at its markets. It’s wildly popular amongst men and women alike, as even the least observant visitor to Myanmar will attest. Thanakha has been used for centuries as a cosmetic (it highlights the cheekbones more boldly than any blush), but it also serves a practical purpose: protecting the skin from sunburn. It is also worn at night because its ability to reduce excessive oil (that is, blemishes) produces wondrous results (I’ve gone through several tubs of it!).

Agriculture aside, Pakkoku produces beautiful rattan furniture and home wares, velvet slippers and traditional silks, with market prices being infinitely better value than those in Bagan. There are also a number of slipper making factories – the buildings are nondescript but you’ll know you’ve stumbled upon one when you see row upon row of soles laid out the front to dry in the sun. I visited a few of these workhouses and was distressed to see several children labouring away.

Pakokku has secured a place in Myanmar’s recent history that is unlikely ever to be forgotten. The dramatic events at Myo Ma Ahle Monastery in 2007 made international headlines and were arguably the impetus for fundamental political change in Myanmar. In protest against rising fuel prices, the monastery’s monks staged a demonstration, which ended in a violent crackdown by the authorities. Young monks retaliated by taking a number of government officials hostage, and when the deadline issued for an official apology from the government came and went, the number of protesting monks grew exponentially. Civilians in Buddhist majority Myanmar are highly respectful of monks and the affront to them led to nationwide protests. The monks’ demands expanded to include the release of all political prisoners, including global democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who was still under house arrest.

The entire movement was violently suppressed and democratic reforms were still half a decade off, but the courage of the Burmese people didn’t go unnoticed by the outside world. The reaction on social media sites led some pundits to claim that the Saffron Revolution gave birth to “open-sourced politics” in a wider sense. Paying a visit to Myo Ma Ahle Monastery is essential for anyone with a keen interest in Myanmar’s political reforms and its future. It’s possible to visit Myo Ma Ahle Monastery – having a driver will make locating it a whole lot easier than going it alone (as it’s certainly not the only monastery in Pakkokku!).

Our driver didn’t speak much English and left us at the gate – although we were slightly hesitant about wandering around (there were no other tourists in sight), we were warmly welcomed inside the temple by a senior monk and he was even good enough to pose with us for photos (but sadly, we didn’t know enough Burmese to have a chat). On our way out, I saw a monk on a wooden balcony above and gestured to ask whether it was okay for me to take a photo of him. He said a few words in Burmese and sort of waved at me before dashing back inside the monastery.

Just as I was saying: “I guess not…” to my husband, the monk reappeared. He was brandishing a smartphone and started snapping away at me! It was a nice moment.

For those in Pakokku during either late May or the end of the June, experiencing the month-long Thiho Shin Pagoda festival is likely to become the highlight of your visit to Myanmar. The pagoda itself is the most famous in Pakokku and was built 800 years ago by King Alaungsithu during the Pagan dynasty. Every year it comes to life with traditional forms of entertainment, such as the musical plays drawn from Buddhist scriptures known as zat-pwe and the nha-par-thwar, a dance and song performed as a duet.

Pakokku’s attractions are compact enough to be covered in half a day, but those able to spend a weekend there will be amply rewarded – its townspeople are extremely friendly and hospitable. However accommodation options remain limited, both in terms of quantity and amenities. At the 100-year-old Mya Yatanar Inn, guests can savour Grandma Mya Mya’s home-cooked meals, but less enjoyable is the fact that electricity isn’t available throughout the day (at best). Meanwhile, the pricier rooms at Tha Pye No Guesthouse include most mod cons, but the cheaper ones have been described as “cell-like.” Yet regardless of how much time a person is able or willing to spend in Pakokku, everyone is sure to leave with memories authentically Myanmar.

As the third Irrawaddy Literature Festival draws near, I thought it timely to write a post about my favourite books on the fascinating country that is Myanmar. There’s so much good literature around that I won’t even limit myself to a top 10 (I’ll keep adding as I keep reading!). Aside from two exceptions, each of the books listed were published before Myanmar’s political and economic reforms began in 2011. The country has changed a great deal over the past few years, so I’m looking forward to reading new works that depict the “new” Myanmar (insofar as I know, none yet exist) as well as seeing greater literary freedoms utilised by Burmese writers. But of course it goes without saying that becoming familiar with Myanmar’s turbulent and complicated past is necessary to understanding the situation in the present day.

So here, in no particular order, are my favourite books…

1. The Trouser People, Andrew Marshall (2002)

Due to the country’s dictatorial and colonial past, a lot of books on Myanmar are distressing and depressing: this one is too, but there’s also a lot of humour in it. Marshall, a Pulitzer prize winning journalist who currently works for Reuters, retraces the steps of a highly eccentric British civil servant and adventurer called Sir George Scott, who was knocking through Myanmar’s jungles back in the 19th century. The historical research is superbly intriguing and is paired well with what has and hadn’t changed in Myanmar over the last hundred years or so.

For example, the origin of the incredibly popular lotteries (the mobile versions of which play some great disco tunes nowadays) can be traced back to the reign of King Thibaw, who was Myanmar’s last monarch as he was deposed of by the British (FYI – a wonderful account of the king’s exile and life thereafter can be found in Amitav Ghosh’s A Glass Palace).

Marshall writes:

“Misruled by a feeble, gin-soaked tyrant and his evil queen, the kingdom slid towards anarchy. In a last-ditch attempt to refill the royal coffers, Thibaw’s ministers seized upon the idea of public lotteries. Tickets could soon be bought at booths on every street corner, although many people were bullied into buying them by roving thugs employed by lottery managers.”

2. The Burman – His Life and Notions, Shway Yoe (Sir George Scott), (1882)

Anyone who reads this book will understand Marshall’s fascination with Sir George Scott, who spent three decades of his life in Myanmar and travelled extensively – often with the purpose of “negotiating” deals with the leaders of ethnic minority groups to surrender to the British Empire. Scott was nothing short of obsessed with local customs, geography and history and this book is the product of his extremely copious note-taking skills. As the title suggests, Scott’s approach was simply to record his detailed observations, which makes it more of a book to dip in and out of than to read from start to end. Have a flick through – chapters such as “Ear boring,” “Lucky and unlucky days” and “Wizards, doctors and wise men” certainly piqued my curiosity… As did learning that when it comes to Burmese names, the more it rhymes, the better (hence the popularity of men called Ko Phyo [Ko-Pee-Oo]).

While some of Scott’s commentary strays into the cringe-worthy and antiquated, the Scottish journalist (who is also credited with introducing football to Myanmar) is for the most part entertaining and insightful.

He writes this of the dual education system in place in colonial-administrated Burma:

“In the English school you learned to make money, and in the Burmese school you learned to be happy and contented.”

3. Twilight over Burma: My Life as a Shan Princess, Inge Sargent (1994)

This is an extraordinary and tragic memoir written by the Austrian wife of the prince of Hsipaw in Shan State. It opens dramatically when the couple arrive in Yangon by ship in 1953 – as it is only then that Sargent discovers her new royal role (and the regal name immediately bestowed on her, “Thusanda”). Her husband Sao Kya Seng embarks on a series of reforms to improve health and education and redistribute land in a non-feudal manner and as a result, quickly becomes a popular but “reluctant prince”. The couple have two children and “Thusanda” feels great affection for the mountains and peoples of Shan State – she describes everyday encounters with unabashed girlish delight. Unfortunately, a significant flaw in this otherwise captivating book is that it’s written in the third person – which makes for awkward passages of glowing self-description:

“It was Thusanda in her courtly splendor who stunned the assembled guests into admiring exclamations. As Sao led her through the assembled crowd, ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ were audible from all directions.”

Sargent’s fairytale life is shattered when her husband disappears shortly after a military coup led by General Ne Win takes place in 1962. He is never seen again, despite her desperate efforts to find him in the years that followed, both in Myanmar and Europe. The famed Sao Kya Seng  is presumed to have been tortured and killed in prison. It’s simply heartbreaking.

4. Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma’s Tyrant, Benedict Rogers (2010)

Putting a biography together  about one of the world’s most notorious and reclusive dictators couldn’t have been anything other than an extremely tough task. Basic information such as Senior General Than Shwe’s date and place of birth are speculated rather than known – which arguably contributed to the aura of fear that surrounds him to the present day. Rogers never met his subject, who took over from Ne Win in 1992 and ruled with an iron fist until his resignation in 2011. However the writer and human rights advocate is clear about presenting rumours as such and acknowledges a natural temptation towards bias – fortunately his efforts to avoid it appear convincing. Nonetheless, Than Shwe’s resignation (just one year after his biography was published) was a stunning move and took many by surprise: general consensus was that power would not be relinquished other than in the event of his death, and certainly not then followed by the ushering in of a more democratic form of governance.

“Most people agree that if Than Shwe were to die tomorrow, Maung Aye would succeed him automatically, because of his position in the hierarchy. But if Than Shwe can transfer power to a person in a manner and timing of his choice, his successor is more likely to be General Thura Shwe Mann.”

Than Shwe ultimately handpicked President Thein Sein as his successor, however many claim that his retirement is partial at best and that he stepped down voluntarily in order to avoid the possibility of being prosecuted for human rights abuses committed under his watch.

5. Nor Iron Bars A Cage, Ma Thanegi (2013)

Ma Thanegi is a fesity, forceful writer: she’s sort of Myanmar’s answer to Germaine Greer. Her irreverent memoir recounts nearly one thousand days spent as a political prisoner under a harsh military junta – her “crime” was serving as Aung San Suu Kyi’s personal assistant. She was arrested in 1989, the year after the opposition leader’s election victory was declared null by authorities and followed by a violent crackdown against the nationwide pro-democracy protests. Ma Thanegi begins by asserting that the international media exaggerated Insein Prison’s reputation for torture and that some female prisoners falsely claimed to have been raped in the misguided belief that it would somehow further the cause of democracy in Myanmar.

“It does not matter to me whether readers believe my accounts or not; they have the right to believe what they want. What disgusts me is the number of people I have met who were actually disappointed or upset that we weren’t raped by the male guards.”

While the quality of writing is sometimes uneven, Ma Thanegi presents an intimate account of life as a female political prisoner with an eye for both the absurd and redeeming. The friendships she struck up with the sparrows and mice that sometimes entered her cell were among my favourite passages. Her voice is refreshingly authentic.

6. The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma, Thant Myint-U (2008)

The combination of genres this book comprises – memoir, travelogue, politics and history – makes it the perfect beginning to your Myanmar debriefing. It’s intensely readable and engaging – which makes the process of absorbing a vast quantity of information perfectly possible and not at all overwhelming. Thant Myint-U is a former UN peacekeeper and his grandfather was the third Secretary General of the UN from 1961 to 1971 (and is credited with playing a major role in averting the Cuban missile crisis). Thant Myint-U vividly describes how he felt as a young man returning to Myanmar to attend his grandfather’s funeral, which was turned into a nasty power play between the military and U Nu’s loyal supporters – many of whom were students. Thant Myint-U currently serves as the chairperson of Yangon Heritage Trust, a non-profit organisation that is working hard to protect Yangon’s architectural past. When Obama visited Yangon late last year, he and Thant Myint-U took a walk together to survey his plans. Impressive.

7. Finding George Orwell in Burma, Emma Larkin (2004)

There are three reasons why I really, really like this book. The prose is superb, it investigates the contradictions within George Orwell during the time he served as a jaded British policeman in colonial-administered Burma, as well as offering insightful commentary on the harsh realities of everyday life in Myanmar under junta rule. Emma Larkin is a pseudonym: little is known about the American journalist who made discreet, repeated visits to carry out research while managing to protect both herself and her sources. I was lucky enough to interview Larkin last year – you can read the full interview here.

When Orwell began his five-year stint in Myanmar in 1922, violent crime was so rife that it was considered one of the most dangerous places in Asia. The anarchy was almost always attributed to the so-called racial inferiority of the Burmese. While Myanmar nowadays has some of the lowest crime rates in Asia, Larkin points out a new and worrying trend of law enforcers once again distorting the truth:

“In order to please the central military command, the police leave crimes unreported, so that their division will look good and crime-free, at least on paper. When people go to the station to report crimes, the police often ask them if they are sure they want to file details and try to convince them not to do so. I once had my wallet stolen in Mandalay, and when I suggested to the friends that I was with that I should report it to the police they laughed.”

8. From the Land of Green Ghosts, Pascal Khoo Thwe (2002)

Pascal Khoo Thwe’s memoir is rooted in the mysticism of his childhood and the dramatically painful struggles of his early adulthood. While most books tend to divide readers into those who loved or loathed, this book (at least anecdotally speaking) seems to be roundly adored. I’ve never heard a bad word said about it.

Pascal was born in a remote area of Myanmar: so remote that the installation of a lone traffic light almost immediately caused an accident and was promptly removed. However it was less his village’s physical remoteness than the regime’s iron clad grip on the flow of information that created the time capsule conditions in which he grew up. Below is one of many examples:

“In 1977 we were finally told that the Americans had landed on the moon… We also heard that Elvis Presley was dead.”

News of the death of The King caused intense public grief and non-stop musical renditions. The socialist government felt so threatened by this outward display of pro-Americanism that it issued a decree stating that guitar players were decadent “street ghosts.”

Pascal was born into the Padaung tribe, which is arguably one of the world’s most identifiable. Female Padaungs (or at least, those conferred with the honour) wear brass coils around their elongated necks, which has led to them being dubbed ‘giraffe necks’. His own grandmother’s neck was 14 inches long, which no doubt added to the aura that surrounded her while she told incredible ancestral tales.

Pascal’s life is turned upside down when Myanmar’s political situation takes a series of deeply sinister turns. He joins a guerilla army after his girlfriend is raped and murdered, and manages to survive the hellish conditions of jungle warfare before fleeing to Thailand. A chance encounter eventually lands him in Cambridge University. You simply couldn’t make it up.

9. The Road to Wanting, Wendy Law-Yone (2010)

Could there be a dreamier title for a book? It’s doubtful – particularly as this particular ‘wanting’ is an actual town on the Chinese-Myanmar border (and FYI ‘Muse’ is another border town imbibed with a similarly haunting melancholy). This is the story of Na Ga, who was separated from her poverty-stricken family at a young age and endures slap after slap in the face (often quite literally) in quick succession. She forms a relationship in Thailand with a farang of questionable intent, and who sets her off on a long journey – the purpose of which this resilient woman questions every step of the way. The introduction is unforgettable and the prose is particularly well-crafted: I struggled to put it down long after I should have been asleep.

The Road to Wanting was long-listed for the Orange Prize in 2011.

10. Golden Parasol: A Daughter’s Memoir of Burma, Wendy Law-Yone  (2013)

Wendy Yaw-Yone was 16 when her father, the founding editor of the prominent English language newspaper The Nation, was thrown into prison. General Ne Win had seized control of Myanmar in a coup d’etat the year before, in 1962. Despite her father’s requests to read his manuscript in the 1970s, Law-Yone refrained from doing so until he passed away in 1980. She discovered a wealth of incredible anecdotes and an intimate rendering of her father’s dreams and frustrations – perhaps most notably his thwarted attempt to overthrow the regime and restore democracy following his release from prison in 1968. Law-Yone’s memoir interweaves her own experiences, which began in her birthplace of Mandalay. She  too was interrogated at length and incarcerated briefly before fleeing the country. Her encounter with the dreaded MIS is worth quoting at length:

My interrogations lasted from nine at night until nine in the morning; the inquisitors working in teams of four and changing shifts at 3am. Exactly what they were hoping to find out was difficult to pinpoint. Again and again I laid out my reasons for wanting to leave the country… I saw no reason for concealing the facts… The colonel in charge had the names of every foreigner I had ever met, and reminded me of the precise details of each and every meeting. What could I tell him about any of these foreign friends?

“But Colonel,” I said at one point, “don’t you already know everything about everyone in the country?” I was careful to appear sincere and not sarcastic.

“We are not God,” he replied, apparently flattered.

To understand the impact Ne Win’s despotic rule had on individuals and families, there is arguably no better book than Golden Parasol – which like all Law-Yone’s books, was banned in Myanmar until as recently as three years ago.

11. Burmese Days, George Orwell (1934)

Literary legend George Orwell took no prisoners when he penned this scathing account of life in Myanmar under British colonial rule. He wrote the novel almost seven years after returning to England from his five-year stint as a police officer serving the Indian Imperial Police Force in various parts of what was then Burma. Yet even despite the lag-time, his novel first made its debut in the United States, as Orwell’s descriptions of a fictional town (based on Katha in Sagaing Region) were so starkly realistic (as indeed were many of his characters), that his British publisher shied away in fear of a potential libel law suit.

Essentially, this is a story about the racial bigotry that prevailed virtually uncontested in the dying days of British Burma. It centres around a friendship between an Indian doctor called Veraswami and – gasp – a European teak merchant. Thirty-five-year-old Flory has become utterly disenchanted with colonial rule and admires much of Myanmar’s culture – and as a result, finds himself alienated from the likes of those who frequent the British Club – a club Dr Veraswami desperately wants to join. When a deputy commissioner, who is also Kyauktada’s club secretary, posts a notice suggesting that Dr Veraswami’s request be considered because, “as yet there are no Oriental members of this club, and as it is now usual to admit officials of gazetted rank, whether native or European…” the reaction from a junior officer, Orwell writes, is this:

“He’s asking us to break all our rules and take a dear little nigger-boy into this club…. That would be a treat, wouldn’t it? Little pot-bellied niggers breathing garlic in your face over the bridge table.”

Burmese Days is painfully poignant; its characters flawed and confused – and all the more disturbing by virtue of Orwell’s observational prowess. It attracted a significant amount of criticism from his colonial contemporaries when it appeared – and to which he replied: “I daresay it’s unfair in some ways and inaccurate in some details, but much of it is simply reporting what I have seen.”

12. Another Man’s War, Barnaby Philips (2014)

This is a true tale that is both tragic and heart-warming, as it describes how two African soldiers were hidden for nine months by a Rohingya family during the Second World War – and reunited almost six decades later. The two young men, Isaac Fadoyebo and David Kargbo, arrived in Yangon a year after it had fallen to the Japanese forces, who would have advanced all the way up to Calcutta unless the Allied Forces were able to defeat them in strategically-located Myanmar. It’s essential reading for those seeking to come to grips with the impact of the Second World War in Myanmar – and will undoubtedly lead to ruminations on the oddities of war itself. Veteran foreign correspondent Barnaby Philips tells the story through the eyes of Isaac Fadoyebo, who was left stranded in enemy territory following a surprise attack by the Japanese in Rakhine State. He writes:

“It would only take one person to betray David and Isaac, with fatal consequences. So they needed to do everything within their limited powers to ingratiate themselves with the villagers. They had no money or possessions to hand over, but they did have faith. Or at least, they could pretend to have it. The villagers had already asked them several times if they were Muslim. Now, David and Isaac set out to convince them this was indeed the case.”

13. Land of Jade: A Journey from India through Northern Burma to China, Bertil Lintner (1995)

Bertil Lintner has been reporting on Myanmar since the 1980s, with Land of Jade being the first of several books he’s penned. In the early 1980s, he and his pregnant wife set out from India to travel overland into Myanmar and through to China. The journey spanned 2,200 kilometres, took 18 months and involved crossing the northern rebel-held areas – where a ceasefire continues to elude the country. Lintner was determined to access these remote, dangerous and malarial infested villages and jungles in order to report back to the world on what was happening inside the troubled nation. Whilst this is certainly a noble pursuit, at times it is difficult to swallow the author’s decision to bring along his wife and newborn child (who is most often referred to as “the baby”). Although Lintner is at pains to point out that his wife, an ethnic Shan, had longed wished to return to her homeland, the timing still seems incongruous and it is unfortunate that the reader learns so little about her character (which must have been undoubtedly strong). Furthermore, Lintner’s presence endangered locals (sometimes fatally) and is problematic in terms of seeming to imply that only an outsider (or Westerner even) was up to the task of reporting the “truth”. He writes:

“The news was not good. The Burmese Army was closing in on three sides, presumably aiming for 2nd brigade headquarters. It was uncertain whether the offensive had been prompted by our stay of more than three weeks in the camp.”

Despite these moral ambiguities, Land of Jade contains some valuable insights that still resonate 20-odd years later.

Published in Mizzima on 1 May 2015

Wendy Law-Yone is a Myanmar-born American writer who penned the critically acclaimed The Coffin Tree, The Road to Wanting, Irrawaddy Tango and Golden Parasol: A Daughter’s Memoir of Burma. Her works were banned in her native country until strict censorship laws were abolished in 2012. She discusses her ambivalence towards the issue of piracy and the steps she’s taking to prevent it.  

As the author of a number of works which have been pirated on a mass scale in Myanmar, how has this affected you, both personally and as well as in terms of lost revenue?

The first time I came across a pirated copy of one of my books was last year, in a bookshop tucked away deep in a Lashio market. I thought at first I was looking at the UK paperback edition of Golden Parasol. Burmese pirated publications are that good. But when I realised what it was, I thought I’d register my awareness of the infringement with the bookstore owner. I was expecting, I suppose, sheepishness at selling pirated copies of my book. Far from it. The proprietor suggested I should be flattered, because only books that were likely to sell well got pirated. So of course I was flattered.

In Burma, literary piracy is a complicated matter and a special case that can only leave an author ambivalent on the subject. Decades of censorship have deprived the Burmese reading public of books and information in ways that we who live in the West can’t begin to imagine. If it hadn’t been for pirated books, there would have been precious little for the Burmese to read – and by extension to write about. So to denounce piracy in a totalitarian state is to declare, in a sense, a prohibition on books. Then too there is the frisson for a writer like myself – long banned in Burma – on discovering that my books have been deemed worthy of underground printings. One can’t help being moved that people have taken risks to distribute one’s writings in a hostile, threatening world of total government monopoly and censorship. Things are changing now of course, and the arguments in favour of copyright laws in a literate society will inevitably find a foothold among an increasingly enlightened reading public. But I’ll forever consider it a badge of honour to have had my books pirated when they would otherwise have been altogether unread in Burma. As to lost revenue, I’d have more cause for concern if I were a writer living in Burma and dependent on royalties for part of my livelihood. As I live abroad, and am published abroad as well, I have the privilege of tapping sources of income not available to my Burmese counterparts.

The memoir about your father titled Golden Parasol, who was a politician, journalist and political prisoner, was published in 2013 and on March 14 became the first of your books to be translated into the Myanmar language. I understand you took unprecedented steps to protect the Myanmar language version from being pirated – please could you elaborate on this?

There is no copyright law in Burma to date, as you know. But my publisher, Myay Hmone Lwin, was the clever one. He did two things to establish his bona fides as my Burmese publisher. As soon as we agreed on the terms of a contract, he placed a notice in the press announcing sole ownership to the translation and publishing rights for the book. Then, when the book was printed, he took the equally unprecedented step of adding a copyright page. These protective measures don’t of course carry the weight of law, but it’s a start in steering the publishing industry toward safeguards like intellectual property and copyright laws. Also, it somewhat reduces the chances of multiple rogue translations of a same work – a problem besetting many best-selling books on the market. As a writer himself – as well being a publisher – I think Myay Hmone Lwin is keenly aware of the importance of copyright protection to the future of Burmese literature.

There is a shortage of high quality translators in Myanmar, due to English only recently being re-instated in the school curriculum. Did it take some time for you to find the right translator for Golden Parasol?

The problem of translation is related of course to the problem of piracy: both are legacies of sustained and severe censorship, with its ruinous effects on education, literacy, aesthetics, and the life of the mind in general. Being well aware of the paucity of good translators in Burma, I left it in my publisher’s hands to find the right translator for the book. One simply cannot expect too rigorous standards of fluency, or even fidelity to the original, in a society so compromised by years of repression and deprivation.

During the launch of the Myanmar version of Golden Parasol, you said you chose to publish it first because it speaks the most directly to a Myanmar audience. Nevertheless, do you have plans for your other books to be translated, such as The Road to Wanting?

The Road to Wanting is indeed my next book slated for publication, which pleases me no end. In some ways, the novel speaks even more directly to a Burmese audience, I feel, than my memoir. This time I actually have a hand in choosing the translator, and although it’s too early to tell, I may have found just the right one for this book.

Did you delay the translation of your earlier works dating back to the early 1980s due to strict censorship laws in Myanmar?

No, not at all. For most of my writing life, it was simply unthinkable to imagine any book of mine being translated into Burmese – especially my second novel, Irrawaddy Tango, which is clearly set in the Ne Win era. For a long time I wasn’t even aware that pirated copies of my novels existed. Now that the tide has turned, one forgets what it was like back in those desolate days. It was mere chance that Golden Parasol was published in the UK just as the country began to open up, allowing for my first Burmese translation.

Published in Mizzima Weekly on 20 May 2015

French citizen Delphine de Lorme is the creative director of the vintage store Yangoods, which opens this month at Bogyoke Market. She talks to Mizzima’s Jessica Mudditt about her passion for pop art and all things vintage.

When did you decide to open a vintage store and how did the collaboration with your business partners Clara Baik and Htin Htin come about?

It was in October last year. I was at Mojo Bar with Clara, who I’d worked with on Mojo’s interior design. Mojo’s owner Jean Curci showed us an image that had been designed back in the seventies, and Clara said how much she wanted to create a line of Myanmar vintage products. But she said she couldn’t do it alone and needed a creative director. Actually as soon as I first met Clara, I knew that we would work on something together. She’s Korean and I’m French and we’re very different people – but she has a lot of energy and creativity and is a very hard worker – she used to manage 180 clothing stores in Shanghai before moving to Yangon. Our third partner Htin Htin is the editor of Moda magazine and was really interested in collaborating on this. She handles the press side of things.

How many products did you design for the debut collection?

Eighty – it took me about six months. I worked with a team of Myanmar graphic designers and it’s been very interesting to work with them. When we started out, they didn’t know what pop art or vintage was – it was an entirely new concept to them. Explaining the pop art painting movement was a lot of fun – now they call me ‘Vintage Girl’! Now, whenever they see something that is old, damaged or broken they know that I will like it and sometimes they bring in old pieces of wood or what not because they’ve learnt to identify the style. They were so interested and grateful to learn something new – their smiles motivated me whenever I felt a bit discouraged – of course not every day is easy.

What was the biggest challenge in getting this off the ground?

For me it was working night and day, because I was also working on the interior design of Le Planteur Restaurant until December. Some days I worked 18 hours straight and I was totally exhausted. Another challenge was working with a team that didn’t share the same reference points as I. Although it’s ultimately been very rewarding, it was very difficult to work on a pop collection when ‘pop’ didn’t mean anything to them. For example, explaining the pop art colour, baby blue, was really hard. And we have different concepts of beauty – in Myanmar most people consider lots of jewelery and lots of gold as being beautiful, but of course I wanted to remove all the gold from the images! The very first week was very difficult because they couldn’t understand my accent and their English wasn’t strong. It took a lot of patience as everything I said had to be explained by our assistant – but things quickly improved. And they’ve surprised many times with their ideas. I always push our designers to use different colours and materials, even if it ultimately doesn’t work. I admit I am a perfectionist, so I am always with them and I make the final touches because every design is signed off by me.

As pop art is virtually unknown in Myanmar, do you think it will take some time for it to appeal to local consumers?

I really would like Yangood’s products to be loved by Myanmar people. I have no idea if they will be, but I didn’t do it just for foreigners – I did it for Myanmar people too. I know that Myanmar people take pride in their traditions and I have been careful not to change anything – for example if I use something from Kachin State, I try to keep it as close as possible to the original. Our collection includes many things Myanmar people take great pride in, such as the elephants used for traditional celebrations, special places in Yangon – as well as Aung San Suu Kyi. It’s a mixture of tradition and pop.

I also hope it leads to local artists taking inspiration from everyday things such as the city itself and buses. What I bring is an artistic vision from a foreigner’s perspective. Myanmar people don’t consider the old buses as super cool like I do, because they just want a comfortable bus with air conditioning – and I totally understand that.

Where did you source the materials from and what are the price points?

Most were sourced locally, but some of our designs had to be made elsewhere in Asia because we’re targeting very high quality products. In future we hope to be able to source everything locally. The images have been sourced from a variety of places. Most often images on the internet are too low in resolution so we can’t use them. And many photographs have been destroyed or damaged over time – it’s very difficult to preserve things in Myanmar due to the climate. I bought some pictures and designs from Pansodan Gallery – who I hope to collaborate with more in future – and some of my Burmese friends gave me family portraits. Most of the images are from the turn of the 19^th century; although I’d like to develop a seventies collection, it’s difficult due to copyright issues because we need to know who the photographer and subjects are. My focus for this collection is to really show how Myanmar was in the past: the traditional lungyis and costumes, the girls holding long cigars, that kind of thing.

As for our prices, we really wanted to avoid being super expensive so that as many people as possible can afford it. Our line ranges in price from $2 to $50. And if we’re able to order larger quantities, prices will be lower still.

How would you describe the difference between Yangoods products and those at the well-known store Pomelo?

The difference is that what we’ve created is pop art, whereas Pomelo uses vintage images that aren’t altered. I’m not saying that Pomelo isn’t creative because they are very creative indeed, but Yangoods items are a collage of different things that tell a story. I’m actually a painter, so it was a new challenge for me to design things like bags and calendars. But Yangoods gave me the green the light to be really creative.

How did you secure a store at Bogyoke Market, which is the premier market for tourists?

Our Burmese assistant scoured Bogyoke Market with great determination and she found an empty store in the main alley, which was our goal. We contacted the owner and it was actually less difficult to arrange than we expected. The rent there is expensive – but we hope it will be worth it. We’re also hoping to exhibit our products at hotels and other areas, but at this stage nothing is confirmed. But this is the best moment for us because we’re about to open the store and after months of seeing our designs ‘flat’ on-screen, the actual products are here. It’s extremely satisfying.

Yangoods is located at No. 64 in the Baho Building in Bogyoke Aung San Market – it’s on the ground floor and two metres away from the central alley that houses the jewelry shops.

For more information, visit Yangood’s Facebook page. 

Published in Mizzima Weekly on 28 May 2015

The Economist’s inaugural Myanmar Summit on 15 May brought together over 200 leaders in business, government, politics and academia to discuss the progress Myanmar has made since it began its transition from military dictatorship to civilian rule in 2011.

The event, titled Taking Stock, presented a series of panels that focused on the development of the country’s financial systems, infrastructure and political environment. Some panellists were more upbeat than others, with no clear picture emerging of the future of a country that remains notoriously difficult to predict.

Edwin Vanderbruggen, a partner VDB Loi, said that the pace of rolling out infrastructure is adequate.

“This is my fourth year here and as a lawyer, I see a lot of encouraging signs. For example it’s now much easier to register security for onshore assets – even last year that wasn’t possible.”

However he conceded that land ownership remains a major issue for potential investors.

“You can’t just flick a switch when it comes to settling issues of land ownership, and you can’t just replicate the models used to determine ownership in say Thailand or the Philippines. I tell companies, ‘This is going to take nine months, you know.’ And frankly, a lot of companies just don’t have the patience to wait – they’ll go to Thailand instead.”

When asked whether Myanmar will inevitably lose out on opportunities as a result of inadequate infrastructure in comparison with other countries in the region, Mr Vanderbruggen was unequivocal.

“There are a lot of uncertainties. I do know that the government is absolutely doing its upmost. I do a lot of work for the government and I appreciate how few resources they have. They have some extremely smart people in every department, but not enough of them – nor enough money. So yes, some companies will eventually give up and go elsewhere.”

Stephen P. Groff, the vice-president of East Asia, SE Asia and the Pacific at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that Myanmar has “undergone the CNN effect – it’s popped onto the international radar, which is a good thing in itself.”

The CEO of Parami Group, Ken Tun, appeared the most optimistic. He was at pains to point out that Myanmar is the largest exporter of energy in Asia and said, “Look at what Telenor and Ooredoo have done – we can see that quick growth is possible. However most people don’t believe in something until it actually happens.”

Later, during a panel titled ‘Myanmar’s next generation’, Nay Chi Win, head of the Togetherness Education and Policy Unit at the opposition party the National League for Democracy quipped, “We have Telenor, Ooredoo and MPT – but still no electricity.”

The greatest caution seemed to relate to developing Myanmar’s financial architecture. Dr Maung Maung Thein, deputy minister at the ministry of finance, assured the audience that the progress of setting up the stock exchange was “73 percent complete.”

When asked why now is considered the right time for Myanmar to launch a stock exchange, he replied, “I’ve been asked that question a lot. Out of 198 countries, only nine don’t have a stock exchange. We gained our independence from the British 67 years ago. So if not now, when would be the right time?”

U Thura Ko Ko, managing director of YGA Capital said, “We can be forgiven for being frustrated, but it isn’t wise to liberalise the financial sector too early.”

Christopher Hughes, managing partner at Baker & McKenzie, concurred with U Thura Ko Ko when asked by moderator Ross O’Brien, director, Hong Kong, The Economist Corporate Network, whether there is a danger that the pace of reform is too slow and that enthusiasm among investors will wane as a consequence.

“It’s still quite a fragile environment – the basis of the [financial] framework is still being built. But it’s also a time of great opportunity. The risks of getting it wrong are far too high to rush. I think the balance is pretty good,” he said.

As for Myanmar’s next generation, as the panel itself was titled, the country’s young leaders expressed gratitude for the progress made while noting the constraints that continue to exist.

Cherry Zahau, independent researcher at Pyidaungsu Institute for Peace and Dialogue, opened her remarks by saying, “This is the first time the youth have been invited to speak at such a conference. In our culture, the youth are not allowed to express their views. This is also part of the legacy of living under a military dictatorship. It left us in fear that taking part in political activities will land you in prison. This was proven to still be true just last March,” she said, referring to the student protests that erupted over the draft education law.

She also lamented that while her contemporaries aren’t short on business idea, they lack capital and are pitted against large corporations.

“There are also cultural barriers that prevent our youth from achieving their potential. In school, my teachers always told me that I asked too many questions. We need to address the communication gap that exists between the older and younger generations: the older generation thinks they don’t need to talk to us and we think they know better. But in the end, we stop thinking critically and give up,” she said.

Published in Mizzima Weekly on 11 June 2015

Nay Lin Soe is the founder and programme director of the Myanmar Independent Living Initiative (MILI), which is a local NGO that aims to build an inclusive society and enables persons with disabilities to live independently and achieve their potential. Nay Lin Soe talks to Mizzima Weekly’s Jessica Mudditt about why disability-related issues need to become part of the mainstream public discourse.

You founded MILI in May 2011. What were your reasons for doing so?

Most organisations in Myanmar focus on a single disability, such as blindness. I wanted to create an organisation that works for people with any type of disability and introduce the concept of independent living. I believe that people with disabilities can live independently and participate fully in society with the appropriate support. Another reason was that most disability NGOs only operate in Yangon, whereas I wanted to work across the whole country because I know that those who live outside cities have no opportunities or support. Our head office is in Yangon and we have 20 local branches in eight regions and states.

What are MILI’s objectives?

We have two objectives: the first is to empower and support people with disabilities. Our second objective is to promote the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities. This includes working with government officials, NGOs, religious organisations, media and business personnel – we aim to make disability a cross-cutting issue.

How would you describe the general perception of people with disabilities in Myanmar?

Most people view us as a charity case. We are objects not subjects and they think we are incapable of doing anything. So awareness is a large part of what we do. We are introducing the concept that it is not disabled people who need to change, but society. The way we try to counter negative stereotypes is by holding regular workshops on disability. The workshops introduce disability as a cross-cutting issue – it should be part of the mainstream agenda. We also produce weekly educational radio programmes which are broadcast on several stations, such as Cherry FM and Mandalay FM. We have a studio on our first floor and the programmes are created by blind people using tailored software.

As a person with a disability, have you experienced discrimination?

Yes I have, from an early age. When I was five, my mother sent me to the local public school but the principal wouldn’t allow me to enroll. Her reasoning was that the school had a limited number of teachers – there was one teacher to around 55 or 60 children in a classroom. The principal said that if a disabled person such as me was a class member, the teacher wouldn’t have time to concentrate on the other students. My mother tried to explain that I could do everything independently – I could read, write and manage daily habits such as going to the toilet. But the principal didn’t believe us. Teachers in Myanmar tend to have limited knowledge about disability and they don’t know how or what to teach them. The principal also said that even if I did go on to get a university degree, I wouldn’t be given a job because I am disabled. She said it was better for me to stay inside, that I should be home schooled by my grandma because that should be enough for me. So that was that.

Two years later, my mother took me to a new school that had been built close to our home. She negotiated with the principal and I was finally given the chance to start attending school at the age of seven. Normally children begin at five. This is my story, but every disabled person in Myanmar has a story like this.

I would like to say that disabled people are part of the community and part of this country. It’s not just the government that needs to help us make disability issues mainstream issues, but private businesses and civil society. It’s about supporting equality.

Did you pursue higher studies?

I completed high school with three distinctions and wanted to study at the University of Industry because I wanted to be a mechanic. But because of my disability, I couldn’t attend university every day because it was so far away from my home – it was around 80 kilometres. So I went for a distance education degree with a major in geography. I couldn’t choose mechanics as a major because the choice of majors is so limited. After my first year, I went to hospital to have surgery to correct my lower limbs and spent the next two years in rehabilitation programmes. When that was complete, I began working for a small organization and then left for Japan in 2005, where I spent the next year.

What was Japan like?

Japan is a top country in terms of accessibility. I could go anywhere in a city – even the subway. When I came back to Myanmar in 2006 I joined a local NGO which was involved in community based rehabilitation. I worked there for five years as a rehabilitation project manager, before joining a Japanese organisation. I resigned three years later and set up MILI.

How many staff does MILI have and what are the benefits of membership?

MILI currently has 41 paid staff, most of whom have a disability. We hope to prove that people with disabilities aren’t a burden on society but are in fact contributors – not just in management but in all areas of implementing the projects MILI runs.

We also have more than 2,000 members. The basic criteria for membership is having any type of disability. Membership is completely free and it allows members to participate in group activities which aim to build an inclusive society or to help them live independently.

How has MILI grown over the years?

In the beginning we had no budget, no office, no facilities; nothing. We began with disability inclusion training programmes, which we provided for several international and local organizations in Yangon. The money we earned from training fees made it possible to buy computers and then set up an office. But in the beginning it was very hard. We approached organizations to support us, but they didn’t believe in us because we are disabled. Over time they started to see what we were capable and increased their support.

Today our major partners include Japan’s Nippon Foundation, which provides 65 percent of our funding, along with the Myanmar Education Consortium, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems from the United States, as well as a donor from Indonesia. Our donors support different projects: for example, for ActionAid we produce disability related literature.

Although we now have many partners, we have also set up a business programme because we don’t want to rely exclusively on donors: we need our own income. MILI has a printing business and a car rental service – this was made possible when the Nippon Foundation donated six cars.

Are you also lobbying for legal reform?

MILI has been working with members of parliament since 2012 on a new National Disability Rights Law. It’s already been passed by the upper house but the process of actually bringing it into force is taking a long time – but we do hope it will be passed in 2015. The new law would require all public buildings to be accessible for people with disabilities, as well as transport systems.

So few buildings are accessible – even footpaths are not accessible. If this comes into law, there would be so many buildings that could be found to contravene the law. What is the penalty?

The penalties aren’t so big – they include fines while others are one or two months in prison. Another part of it is punishing businesses who fail to adhere to a new quota for disabled members of staff, which will be set at one percent. But yes, we’ll have to watch to see whether the change is real or not. Once the law comes into effect, it will be handed over to the Ministry of Social Welfare for implementation.

We are also lobbying for rights for the disabled to be included in the new education law and the election law. We hope to increase access for voters and we are working with USAID and the Foundation for Electoral Systems on this, as well as the Union Election Commission (UEC). We present the UEC with recommendations from community groups that we meet with. The UEC has the power to create by-laws and we hope that these views can be incorporated – such a proposed by-law to make police stations accessible.

For more information, visit Myanmar Independent Living Initiative’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/myanmarili2015

Published in Mizzima Weekly on 6 June 2015

The Australian Government’s recent decision to cancel its pledged sum of US$42 million in aid to Myanmar has left many nervous about future spending on life-saving services.

A 3MDG Fund board meeting will be held in Nay Pyi Taw on Monday June 8 to discuss the implications of the 13 percent cut from its total budget, which numerically represents a reduction of US$292 million from $334 million. Australia chairs the board, which since 2014 has also included Myanmar’s Ministry of Health.

The 3MDG Fund is the largest development fund in Myanmar and receives contributions from six other bilateral donors: Denmark, the European Union, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US. According to a statement released by 3MDG on 28 May, Australia will remain the second-largest contributor to the fund.

3MDG said the cuts will have no immediate impact on current programs, which focus on child and maternal health as well as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. These programmes will be continued to be funded until 2016 as planned. It’s what lies beyond that has many concerned.

Since 3MDG  inception in Myanmar three years ago, it has increased access to health services to more than 3.5 million people, according to its 2014 annual report.

“This included vaccinating more than 80,000 children against measles, reaching nearly 27,000 people who inject drugs with HIV prevention programs, screening more than 50,000 people for tuberculosis and treating almost 110,000 people for malaria,” the report states.

Future of harm reduction looks uncertain

“The cuts for 3MDG are very worrisome for us. HIV among people who inject drugs is already the highest among all risk groups in Myanmar; the latest data even suggest a rise in the number of drug injectors, as well as in HIV prevalence amongst them. As such, more
coverage is needed to fully address it. I hope these funding cuts will not jeopardise this,” said Willy De Maere, Technical Director at the Asia Harm Reduction Network (AHRN).

According to a June 2014 report by the Transnational Institute titled, Bouncing back: Relapse in the Golden Triangle, HIV infection rates among drug users in Myanmar are among the highest in the world.

Harm reduction activities aim to reduce the associated risks of injecting drug use, which include tuberculosis, HIV and viral hepatitis. The 3MDG Fund contributed almost half of Myanmar’s national target for prevention activities. In 2014, the fund’s implementing partners distributed 6.9 million sterile needles and syringes to people who inject drugs – many of whom live in remote or border areas that are often subject to armed disputes between ethnic minority groups and Myanmar’s government.

“What we need is more funding, not less. It’s very disappointing,” said Dr Maung Maung Lwin, project consultant of Myanmar Anti-Narcotics Association (MANA).

“My hope is that in terms of absorbing the cuts, life-saving service deliveries will take top priority. We know that 39 percent of new HIV infections are due to unsterile needles and that the most vulnerable communities live in Myanmar’s border areas; many of which are also suffering ethnic armed conflict. I hope the board takes the time it needs to weigh up its decisions,” said UNAIDS Country Director Eamonn Murphy.

“Most of the funding from donors and Myanmar’s domestic resources go towards treatment rather than prevention. As 39 percent of new HIV infections in Myanmar are injecting drug users, we can’t afford to lose this critical support from the 3MDG Fund,” Mr Murphy added.

A statement released by the 3MDG Fund on 28 May maintained an upbeat tone: “Australia has been a strong and generous supporter of the 3MDG Fund… The country is committed to the goals and continued success of the 3MDG Fund and is an engaged partner in supporting the Ministry of Health improve the health of the people of Myanmar.”

Published in Mizzima Weekly on 18 June

Oliver Tonby is the managing partner of the multinational management consulting firm McKinsey & Company in Southeast Asia. He talks to Mizzima Weekly’s Jessica Mudditt about Myanmar’s progress since 2011 and why the path to completing the reform process remains a long one.

Since McKinsey published its report titled Myanmar’s moment: Unique opportunities, major challenges in June 2013, do you feel the government has done enough to attract foreign investment?

The government has clearly done a number of significant things. The corporate tax rate has been lowered and the first licenses have been awarded to foreign banks and to telecom companies. However the task at hand is really big and it is going to be years or decades in the making. Going back a few years, there was a lot of optimism. I still think there is still that optimism, but perhaps also some realism about the pace of change.

The terms of the licenses awarded to foreign banks are quite restricted – do you think that applying a protectionist policy is the right way forward?

That is a tension that exists everywhere, including the likes of Singapore and Malaysia. At the end of the day it needs to be a thoughtful path. And it’s very sensible for a country to try to grow and develop its own companies as well. There needs to be the right balance with foreign companies, who bring technical experience and capabilities. At the same time, you want local companies to grow. It’s a tension that will last many years.

Do you feel similarly about the requirement of having a joint venture in almost every area of business in terms of ensuring that growth is conjoined?

I think the idea of partnerships and joint ventures is a good one in terms of it being a practical way to build local capabilities. The thing to avoid is a situation where there are middlemen involved who don’t add value as partners in terms of building a long term future. This is distinct from active investors who are trying to build local capability, build up assets and are also willing to re-invest whatever money they are making.

Do you believe the rush to invest in Myanmar has slowed? And if so, why?

The numbers speak of FDI doubling from 2013 to 2014, so the numbers are good from that point of view. But is there nervousness or hesitation? I think investors are clearly looking at what is going to happen before and after the election. What kind of government will there be? Are we going to continue to see the policies of the current government remain or will there be a step change? These are big questions. So I’d say that it’s not reluctance but a case of just waiting and seeing. It’s so close now, so why invest hundreds of millions of dollars? It makes sense to wait six months.

With so much of ASEAN governed autocratically, do you believe that foreign investors do care about what type of government Myanmar gets – as opposed to simply wanting stability?

Investors care about multiple things. And they absolutely care about governments. They do look for stability in terms of business policies and practices, taxes and the rule of law. That is understandable. But they also care about what a government stands for more broadly. I think multinationals want to be good global corporate citizens because corporate citizenship is critical.

Myanmar’s Moment reveals that the average productivity of a worker in Myanmar is US$1,500, which is 70 percent lower than that in benchmark Asian countries. However the report also highlights that labour costs here are much cheaper. What are the reasons for this and are there both pitfalls and benefits?

The reason why productivity is significantly lower is due to a sector such as agriculture being so large in Myanmar. Productivity in agriculture is far lower than say, manufacturing, because the value of the goods produced by workers is a lot lower. And it’s good if your workers are producing textiles, but it’s even better if they are producing computer chips or petroleum products, and so on. Productivity is a reflection of the state of evolution of a country. Take Vietnam, which is well ahead of Myanmar because it started its manufacturing journey a long time before Myanmar did. But the good news is that labour costs in Myanmar are lower than elsewhere in the region: that is an asset for Myanmar. China’s labour costs have gone up quite radically over the past decade – it’s now around $27 per day per worker, which is around five times higher than Vietnam. The amount workers are paid is a competitive factor, because companies are looking to go somewhere where labour costs less. So now that wages have gone up significantly in China and other countries, companies will be looking at where to invest other than China.

At the end of the day, yes, a company in Myanmar might be paying half of what they do in Vietnam, but there are problems if it’s not possible to find people with the necessary skills and experience. Or it could be the case that a greater number of people need to be employed, which wipes out the cost advantage. That is why it’s so important to improve education and training levels in Myanmar.

The report cites UNDP’s finding that Myanmar has one of the world’s lowest averages of schooling, which is just four years. However McKinsey believes that change could come quickly if Myanmar uses technology to deliver an element of e-education to a much larger number of children of school age as well as adults in vocational training and even tertiary education. Are there case studies elsewhere where improvements in education levels have been achieved in a short space of time?

It is certainly ongoing in some countries. One of the countries in the region that is putting a lot of effort in is Malaysia – e-learning is being used to raise standards across the board. It has enabled teachers to have access to the same curriculum regardless of where they are. Ask me in five years – and that would be the early answer.

Myanmar has the highest e-learning growth rates in Asia, however it takes years and I think it’s too early to make a call on its benefits even now. It is of course pretty clear that a country doesn’t evolve unless you educate its people.

Would you agree that potential foreign investors are deterred by Myanmar’s current human resource constraints?

The answer is yes, absolutely. It depends to an extent on the type of business, but if someone is looking to set up a medium sized investment with a hundred million dollars, that person needs people to operate the lines of whatever is being produced. You need technicians who can calibrate the instruments, supervisors, electrical engineers, automation engineers and so forth. An investor will always be thinking about whether they can get the right people with the right backgrounds – and if the answer is no, they will not come. It is a significant barrier, but it’s not the only one.

What do you consider the other major barriers?

There’s also issues around infrastructure: you can’t operate a plant without electricity. And there are macroeconomic factors to consider, such as political stability and some of the tensions that are happening now. A person will ask themselves what it means for the country’s forward prosperity and growth – it’s a serious consideration. The quality of institutions, the ease of doing business and the rule of law is another significant question for businesses. These factors are significant and thrown into the mix when a company weighs up whether to do business here or somewhere else.

What are the opportunities and are they significant enough to counter the challenges?

Myanmar has huge opportunities, such as a large population and a growing economy – there are opportunities for all kinds of consumer products. There are also opportunities in mining, energy and the materials sectors. Myanmar also possesses massive amounts of water resources. So long as a real escalation in tensions – whether political or ethnic tensions – does not take place, so that it is not significantly worse than it is today, I think we will continue to see FDI coming in and that the country will continue to grow. Myanmar absolutely has its place in an Asian economy and the global economy. I choose to be optimistic, but realistic too.

Corruption remains endemic. What can be done to tackle it?

This is where the idea of professional and capable institutions come in: whether it is energy regulators, the court system or financial institutions. If you have quality institutions running quality processes and practices then over time corruption and other bad practices will be reduced.

There seems to be a greater level of transparency in the energy sector, such as the recent gas and oil exploration tender process and the fact that Myanmar is now a candidate country for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Does this encourage greater FDI?

EITI is one thing – and I think it’s a positive thing. But let’s not be naïve – it doesn’t change anything overnight. At the end of the day, a company will judge things on a day-to-day basis; in meetings with governments bodies and other companies. The hope is for step by step improvement. There is no country where in the space of a few years, it has gone from bad to great.

Is McKinsey planning another Myanmar-specific report?

Nothing has been scheduled as yet. In November 2014 McKinsey published a report titled Southeast Asia at the crossroads: Three paths to prosperity. This report contains a number of revised figures on Myanmar.

In terms of Myanmar’s overall progress since your most recent report was published, has McKinsey’s views changed significantly in any way?

No, because we continue to see very significant opportunities in Myanmar and very similar changes that were highlighted back in 2013. Growth rates over the past few years have been in the sevens and remain so, which is good – especially so if we look at what has happened globally. Our report predicts that Myanmar’s economy will have quadrupled by 2030 if the following seven sectors are expanded: manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure, energy and mining, tourism, financial services and telecoms. Things are going in the right direction, though we would encourage there to be even more ‘oomph’ behind it. So while our views have not changed, we do continue to be impatient to see even more drive by the government, as well as by local companies, multinationals and educational institutions. This is a multi-year, multi-decade journey. It’s very easy to say that not enough progress has been made over the last two years, but it needs to be thought of as chipping away at things over a long term period.

Published in Mizzima Weekly on 26 June 2015

Myat Aye is 15 years old and it is her job to take the family cow out to graze for a few hours every afternoon in the hot Delta plains. It is a dreary chore, but one day she gets talking to a boy a bit older than her who has been tasked with the same duty. They start meeting every other day in the fields and she looks forward to seeing him. But soon enough Myat Aye hears that rumours about her and the boy have started spreading in the village.

Myat Aye’s relatives tell her she is disgraced and must marry the boy. Myat Aye is horrified and tries to protest her innocence, saying that nothing happened between them, but her words fall on deaf ears and ultimately she has no choice but to obey. She’s grateful that her husband has at least moved into her family home rather than her having to move in with his, but as a newly married woman, she finds herself completely cut off from the world. She spends her days at home occupied with domestic chores and even if her husband were to give her permission to go out, she is burdened with a sense of shame about what happened to her. Before Myat Aye’s 16th birthday comes around, she realises she is pregnant.

“This kind of story isn’t rare,” said Brooke Zobrist, the founder and director of Girl Determined, a local NGO that launched programmes for adolescent girls in urban and rural communities across Myanmar in 2010.

During the past school year, Girl Determined has held weekly peer group sessions for 2,000 girls aged between 12 and 17. The sessions take part in urban and rural communities in Yangon and Mandalay regions and Shan, Mon and Kachin states, as well as 250 girls living in IDP camps.

“Many girls in these programmes are married with children by the age of 15 or 16,” Ms Zobrist said.

While Myat Aye’s future appears bleak, her participation in the weekly meetings have continued and this fact alone has prevented her from becoming totally isolated. As well as acquiring knowledge about reproductive health and having the opportunity to raise personal issues without fear of reprisals or judgment, girls like Myat Aye can also acquire potentially life-saving techniques – some of which are beautiful in their simplicity.

“If a girl finds herself being abused – whether it be by her husband, her mother or her mother-in-law, she can develop a safety plan with fellow group members. She could, for example, place a bucket on a post outside her house and when her friends see it, they’ll know to come and knock on her door and say hi,” Ms Zobrist explained.

Every group is led by a trained female facilitator, who more often than not is a member of the local community. While parents are given details about the two-year curriculum, which includes sporting and creative activities as well as those aimed at developing life skills such as goal setting and negotiation techniques, and soft skills such as boosting confidence and self-worth, everything that is discussed during the meetings remains confidential.

Although Girl Determined has encountered some resistance, which Ms Zobrist said tends to mostly stem from the household level in terms of a girl being told she cannot go because she has chores to do, overall, the response has been positive and Ms Zobrist and co-founder Nant Thazin Min have not encountered opposition at the community level. This may in large part due to the fact that the programme has expanded to different areas through word of mouth – and the recommendations most often come from local religious leaders who have seen the benefits Girl Determined confers on its participants.

“We meet parents all the time who say, ‘It’s amazing – I didn’t realise my daughter was so intelligent, so able and so vocal and we’ve started to include her in family decision making.’ That’s actual status change within the household and it’s a wonderful result.”

In fact, Ms Zobrist said that parents appear to be more amenable than ever before.

“I’d also assert that given this historical moment in Myanmar, parents are concerned about the future in a way that they weren’t in the past. Fifty years of military dictatorship have come to an end and things are really in flux now. So parents want to ensure their own children are prepared for a future they can’t anticipate.”

Since its inception, Girl Determined has been able to sustain its operations thanks to the generosity of private donors abroad and grants, the latter of which are inherently time-consuming to apply for.

Girl Determined’s first ever public fundraising event will take place this Sunday 28 June at the Goethe Institute in Yangon’s Bahan Township.

“It’s very exciting and a bit of an experiment to see how it will go – but we know there is a lot of good will out there. Girl Determined is an investment in the future of Myanmar and we’re hoping that people who are based here in Myanmar will be active in supporting what we are doing.”

Tickets for raffle prizes can be purchased online or at the door, with some prizes not requiring attendance. As well as a performance by the Gitameit jazz ensemble and complimentary nibbles, there will be an auctioning of works by the renowned photographer Andrew Stanbridge.

Over the past three years, Mr Stanbridge has donated his time to document Girl Determined’s activities and the lives of its participants in between assignments for National Geographic, Al Jazeera and the International New York Times. Mr Stanbridge’s photographs will also be exhibited at the event. The Girl Determined fundraiser will be held on June 28 at the Goethe Villa on 8 Ko Min Ko Chin Road, Bahan Township.

For more information about Girl Determined and how you can help, visit www.girldetermined.org

Published in The Myanmar Times on 22 June 2015

Although no data exists as to the prevalence of cataracts among Myanmar’s population, experts say more needs to be done to raise awareness about the condition, particularly as it can cause progressive deterioration of vision if left untreated.

Globally, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness and account for more than one-third of the world’s visually impaired people, who number some 20 million. According to the World Health Organization, the vast majority of untreated cases are in developing countries, due to lower levels of access to diagnosis and treatment.

Cataracts are a clouding of the eye’s natural lens, which results in an opaque, brown or milky white colouring which obscures vision. It often occurs as we age, because the lens protein is prone to degrading over time. A person’s eyesight can deteriorate in a variety of ways as a result of cataracts, including a fading of colours, blurred vision and what is known as glare – an extra sensitivity to light.

Cataracts can be present from birth as a result of a congenital condition, or result from an injury that inflicts trauma on the eye. However the onset of cataracts can also be brought about by lifestyle-related factors or the misuse of certain medications.

Myanmar Eye Centre is a private eye clinic in Yangon that was established seven years ago. It currently has six eye specialists, who are known as ophthalmologists. Approximately one-fifth of its patients – which number around 50 a day – are affected by problems associated with cataracts.

“Most patients complain of having poor vision that has deteriorated gradually, or experiencing glare, such as when they stare into the lights of an oncoming car at night,” said optometrist Dr Phyo Thiri Aye.

Diagnosis of cataracts requires an eye exam: Although surgery does not need to follow immediately afterward, an operation is the only means of restoring sight and must not be left too late. Contrary to some beliefs, neither eye drops nor oral medicine can be used to prevent or cure cataracts: Surgery is the only treatment possible, and it’s better done sooner than later.

“Cataracts grow denser over time, which makes surgery more complicated because it requires a large rather than a small incision,” said Dr Khin Thida Oo.

The procedure involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial one, which stays in the eye forever more. Dr Khin Thida Oo said that surgery should take place as soon as the deterioration in sight leads to difficulty carrying out daily activities.

According to the eye specialists at Myanmar Eye Centre, surgery is more frequently delayed among Myanmar’s rural population, due to lower awareness about the risks of leaving cataracts untreated as well less access to medical care.

Also complicating matters in remote areas of Myanmar are “quack healers” – hucksters trained in neither modern nor traditional medical practices – who are known to continue to carry out a form of treatment that dates back to ancient Greece called “couching”: hitting the lens with a pointed object with such force that it causes the entire lens to dislodge from where it is attached within the eyeball and fall to the cavity in the back of the eye. As well as being extremely painful, couching has very high risk of severe infection of the entire eye and, most often, requires very thick glasses afterward, as you no longer have the eye’s natural lens to rely on.

“We’ve had some patients come in from rural areas that have undergone this procedure,” said Dr Aye Thi Han, adding that the patients find it difficult to perform necessary visual tasks in the aftermath.

Any means of shielding the eyes from exposure to direct sunlight will work to delay the onset of cataracts and is therefore recommended.

“The greater an individual’s exposure to UV rays, the greater the risk of developing cataracts,” Dr Aye Thi Han said.

Sunglasses that provide UV protection are one of the most common methods. Although sunglasses are unpopular in Myanmar, fortunately doctors agree that the ubiquitous sun umbrella does an equally good job. Those who are most exposed to the risks associated with prolonged exposure to direct sunlight are engaged in farming – a group that makes up two-thirds of Myanmar’s workforce. An added aggravation is the fact that Myanmar is located in a region where ozone depletion is higher than the norm, as is the number of sunlight hours.

While men and women are equally predisposed to developing cataracts, certain cultural factors suggest there may be a higher prevalence here among men.

“Women are more likely to stay indoors and men are more often working in occupations where injuries to the eyes can occur,” said Dr Aye Thi Han.

Those who consume alcohol and tobacco also place themselves at higher risk, with cases of cataracts occurring in people as young as 40, according to the doctors at Myanmar Eye Centre.

There is a further dangerous practice that may make Myanmar’s population more susceptible to cataracts: the misuse of certain medications.

“It’s a cultural thing in Myanmar for someone who goes to see a doctor to want to leave with some sort of medication, even if there’s nothing wrong with them,” said Dr Phyo Thiri Aye.

Even more alarming are the effects of corticosteroids, which are strictly intended for a confined period of use.

“Corticosteroids are a good and useful medication for certain problems, such as inflammation or an infection like pink eye. But if misused, they can have a dangerous effect that includes both cataracts and glaucoma,” said Dr Khin Thida Oo.

Corticosteroids can be bought over the counter without a prescription in Myanmar, which causes medical experts to worry that large numbers of people are self-medicating to detrimental effect.

“Steroid eye drops can be used to treat pink eye and they’ll think, ‘Oh this is working well, so it’s okay.’ But pharmacies shouldn’t be dispensing this type of medication without a prescription and patients shouldn’t be using it without being monitored by an eye doctor,” said Dr Khin Thida Oo.

For more information, contact the Myanmar Eye Centre helpline on 09-31311304.

Published in Mizzima Weekly on 18 May 2015

Dr Thant Thaw Kaung is the CEO of Myanmar Book Centre Co., Ltd and has more than two decades of experience in Myanmar’s book trade. He talks to Mizzima Weekly’s Jessica Mudditt about the problems facing the industry and why he remains optimistic about its future.

Until strict censorship laws were abolished in 2012, every title imported to Myanmar required the approval of the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division. Many were banned, such as the biographies of Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama – and of course, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Are book sales benefitting from a new era of liberalisation?

Certainly – sales are on the up. When my wife and I started our business in 1995, censorship was extremely strict, so we were so happy when the situation changed and we no longer had to obtain permission to import every single title.

Nowadays, political works which wouldn’t have seen the light of day are best sellers. There’s been an emergence of new writers, particularly in the Myanmar language, and many are the memoirs of former political prisoners. Ma Thangei and Ma Thida come to mind – and they’re very talented writers. Just last night I read an excellent book in Myanmar by Kyaw Zwa Moe, the editor of The Irrawaddy, which is titled You Need to Apologise to the People. He recounts a wide range of fascinating interviews he carried out – including an unnamed person who attempted to assassinate the former head of Military Intelligence, Khin Nyunt, as well as monks who were imprisoned for many, many years. I hope it will be translated so that English readers can also enjoy it.

Do you feel that writers practice self-censorship in any way?

No, I don’t. In fact what I would say is that things are completely different now than they were before 2010, but of course, not everyone is completely satisfied with the speed of progress. I think that some people may be expecting too much too soon, and that change needs to be gradual –Myanmar will eventually become fully democratic. Some feel that after living under oppression for so many years, now is the time to speak up – whenever they like, and sometimes in an extreme way. It’s usually in the form of personal attacks or hate speech – the former of which I read in the media and the latter, on Facebook. I think it’s a very big problem, but it’s not one I’ve found in books.

What types of books dominate Myanmar’s book trade?

If you think of it as a pie chart, books on English Language Teaching (ELT) take the biggest chunk. Myanmar Book Centre is the official representatives of the ‘Big Four’ – Oxford University Press, MacMillan, Pearson and Sage, the titles of which we print locally. Second to that are education titles for basic and higher education – it’s quite big business here. The reason why is because there is a huge appetite to learn English – just look at the British Council, which is always full. Our society’s aptitude for English is generational – those who are over 70 speak excellent English as many attended convent or missionary schools, while those born following 1960 lived in Ne Win’s era and cannot speak English well because the language was deliberately suppressed and everything was Burmanised. The young generation – and their parents – understand the value of learning English. But the problem is that there is a lack of skilled teachers in public schools, as they come from the previous generation. It’s a big problem, but the benefits of the government’s new policy towards the teaching of English will be seen in four or five years.

Another genre that’s doing very well are English language books that relate to Myanmar – whether it be guide books, historical fiction or biographies, as well as the political works as I mentioned. This is largely driven by the recent influx of tourists.

Is there are a shortage of quality translators as a result of past education policies?

Yes, there is most definitely a shortage of translators, which means that many talented Myanmar writers are unknown in the West, while many contemporary classics are inaccessible to Myanmar readers. There are so few reputable translators that they are overloaded and we sometimes have to wait a few months before they can take on a project.

There are also some inherent difficulties in translating Myanmar to English – the languages are totally different. Translating from Myanmar to English is more difficult, because the translator must be very good at English and be highly familiar with the subject matter. Many translators write well in English, but often their style is more like news reporting than literary.

Since setting up a publishing wing five years ago, Myanmar Book Centre has published ten books translated into Myanmar, including Dr Thant Myint U’s River of Lost Footsteps and Where China Meets India. We’re selective about the books we choose – only titles which will work here in Myanmar in that they speak to a local audience.

Is piracy a problem?

It’s a huge problem – particularly for us, as our main line of business is in imports and distribution. In Myanmar, only books published which are published locally are protected by the Copyright Law of 1914. These pirate guys are clever – they don’t bother pirating local language books because they know it’s against the law – plus the prices of such books are so cheap that it wouldn’t be profitable. I heard recently of a local publisher who published a map that was pirated by a foreign company. The local publisher tried to sue the company but he couldn’t – they simply ignored him because they know there’s no legal remedy.

Piracy is divided into two sectors – the first is books on Myanmar aimed at the tourist market, and the other is English Language Teaching (ELT) and education books. As I mentioned, education is a big industry, so our business really suffers.

We’re literally losing money every day. There’s a guy who owns his own shop and comes to Myanmar Book Centre on a daily basis to buy single copies of our best-selling education books. Then, about two weeks later, we see those titles being sold for 20 percent less than ours. There are a number of people doing this – I know them well but we can’t take action against them because there’s no law against it. It’s terrible.

Could you not refuse to sell books to this person?

There’s no point – it would be too easy for him to just send someone else and I can’t refuse a customer.

With so much undermining the profitability of your business, how does Myanmar Book Centre manage to retain its viability?

We’ve developed close relationships with many private and international schools, such as Yangon International School and Myanmar International School. These institutions strongly support original books, so we import books on their behalf. We also work hard to provide excellent customer service at the retail level, such as by providing catalogues and free samples.

I’d also say that the mentality towards piracy is changing – of course there are still those who just want cheap books – but many now want quality. Fortunately there is a growing middle class who feel this way. We also work hard to offer the most reasonable prices we can. In this regard we’re very lucky, because as we’ve been in the book trade for many years, we’re fully supported by international publishers and they provide us with good discounts. We also source a lot of books from India as the prices there are very reasonable prices – we work with over 50 different publishers in India.

Are you confident that if the Intellectual Property Law is passed, it will put an end to piracy in Myanmar’s book trade?

I’m very confident in the draft law because it really supports investors and importers. It will be drive our local publishing industry to new heights and it’s expected to come into effect in 2016. I have given input into the draft during regular meetings with a committee which is led by the Ministry of Science and Technology, which is involved in design and trademark aspects. The Ministry of Information is handling the copyright side.

Do you think there will be any practical challenges in terms of the law actually being enforced?

Well, it will of course be the responsibility of the government to enforce it. But luckily for our industry, the pirating of books is done by small-scale players who own shops downtown. This is unlike the pirating of music, which is done on a mass scale and is linked to members of the military.

But when the law is passed, we will have to take action, whether we like it or not, because we are the official representative of various publishers and they will pressure us to do so. Many of the people involved in piracy are my friends – I’ve already spoken to Bagan Book House to ask them to reduce the number of pirated books. I offered to supply them with our imported books to avoid prosecution. However they didn’t really listen to me, because the law isn’t yet in force.

Are local writers and publishers familiar with contractual rights?

In general, knowledge is very low on both sides. My authors, such as Dr Thant Myint-U don’t need anything explained to them – in fact he himself secured personal copyright for each of his books, which was a very clever move.

But in the majority of cases, authors simply trust their publishers and don’t even discuss who will own the copyright – so the publisher takes everything. Nor are digital rights discussed, though they should be, because eventually e-versions will appear and the rights to them should belong to the author.

Is Myanmar ready for an e-book market?

It’s not the right time to introduce e-version of books. This is because they are already available online, free of charge. As soon as a book becomes popular or famous it is scanned and appears on one of a variety of sites in the Myanmar language. No one can take action against this, so as a business model it wouldn’t be viable. The people who are uploading scanned books aren’t doing it to make money and they don’t see any problem with ‘sharing’ free content – so a lot of education is needed to change such attitudes. The maximum number of copies of any single title published is just 1,000 because there is no demand, no market for more when a book can be downloaded for free. As a result, the writers are dying and the publishers are bleeding a lot. We cannot survive if it continues.

Published in the July 2015 edition of Myanmore

Despite the abundance of domestic airlines in Myanmar, there’s surprisingly little variation between them. Aircraft models, flight routes, fares and schedules are virtually indistinguishable, and the onboard service is often mediocre.

However one of the newest of the 10 airlines, FMI Air, is making a concerted effort to stand out from the pack.

“We’ve remodelled the whole experience of flying: we provide a business class service on all our flights,” said Trevor Jensen, the Chief Executive Officer of FMI Air.

The airline was launched as a charter flight service three years ago and began offering scheduled flights on May 4.

It boasts a fleet of three Canadian-made Bombardier jets, which seat 50 passengers and reach significantly higher speeds than the ATR turbo props used by other operators.

“Our jets are very comfortable, fast and modern. The CRJ100 has been used extensively throughout Europe and the United States as a city commuter jet and it’s a well established aircraft,” said Mr Jensen, whose career in aviation began in the 1960s as a captain at Australia’s Qantas.

The Bombardier jets are also comparatively quieter and fly at higher altitudes: while the ubiquitous ATRs fly at around 14,000 feet, the Bombardiers cruise at 22,000 feet.

“This means that it’s a more comfortable flight because the aircraft gets above low level turbulence,” Mr Jensen said.

“Quite frankly, at this time of year, you can’t out-climb all the turbulence, but it is definitely smoother on a Bombardier,” he added, referring to Myanmar’s powerful monsoon season.

The airline’s 12 pilots are expatriates, although a Myanmar national is in the process of being recruited, while the 22 cabin crew staff have undergone an extensive training programme and some having prior experience on top tier airlines such as Qatar Airways.

“In my whole career, I’ve never worked with a more professional and well trained group of people. Our cabin crew are absolutely fabulous,” Mr Jensen said with a grin.

FMI Air currently operates five flights a day between Yangon and the administrative capital of Nay Pyi Taw, where the airline is based.

“We offer businesspeople better frequency. If a person has a meeting in the afternoon, they don’t have to fly up in the morning and waste time waiting around in a coffee shop or the airport. And you have to bear in mind that communications in Myanmar aren’t all that good, so it’s not always possible to whittle away the time by working on emails.”

Time is money, after all.

A one way flight between Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw costs between US$120 and $180, which makes it pricier than its competitors.

However Mr Jensen maintains that FMI Air offers excellent value for money. A complimentary invitation to a business lounge is provided with every boarding pass, which means that passengers can avoid the dreary and noisy departure lounges in Yangon’s domestic terminal (not to mention negating the need for the airline colour-coded  stickers passengers don to ensure they are herded onto their respective flights).

FMI Air’s seats are of business class proportions and the onboard meals are provided by two five-star catering companies. The juice served is seasonal and freshly squeezed and meals are rotated frequently to avoid boring the palates of its passengers.

FMI will start operating flights to Mandalay on July 1, with Sittwe following suit in mid-July.

Plans are also in the pipeline to launch international flights, with the ambition of becoming “the region’s premier airline,” Mr Jensen told Myanmore.

To date, FMI Air is the only airline that allows flights to be booked online using credit cards and its operations control room is the most sophisticated in the country.

“We always know exactly where our planes are in the sky, which cannot be said of other local airlines,” said Jeremy Kingston, FMI Air’s manager of system operations control.

Mr Jensen told Myanmore that FMI Air is also “in total support” with the Ministry of Transport’s ambition to restore Myanmar as a regional aviation hub.

“Our main contribution is to raise standards across the board. In line with that, we invited other domestic airlines to take part in a seminar about the use of Maestro. Some companies don’t believe in sharing knowledge, but we do.”

For those uninitiated with aviation technology, Maestro is a web based application designed to enhance personnel and management systems and help airlines better achieve compliance with safety and operational standards, which in Myanmar have known to be sadly lacking.

However it seems that with FMI Air raising the bar, things are on the up in Myanmar’s aviation industry.

For more information, visit http://www.fmiair.com

Published in Mizzima Weekly on 27 August 2015

For those intrigued by the practice of nat worship in Myanmar, a trip to Mt Popa is a must as it’s the most revered place in the country for this fascinating, millennium-old form of spirit worship.

Mt Popa’s name is derived from the Sanskrit word for flower and this rocky crag contains a complex of monasteries, shrines and pagodas at its summit. It’s mind boggling to contemplate how they got there (divine intervention perhaps?!). Mt Popa is located just 50 kilometres southeast of Bagan, which means it’s possible to explore it by taking just a half a day out of the more touristy temple hopping activities on offer there. Booking a minivan or shared taxi is a cinch from Bagan’s tourist town of Nyaung Oo and costs around K45,000 per person, however it’s worth investing a little more to hire an English speaking guide because the area is rich in stories of legend, history and mysticism. It is said, for example, that a person who gathers an army at the slopes of the mountain is guaranteed of victory. I doubt the claim has been tested for some years though…

Worshipping nats (‘spirits’) predates Buddhism in Myanmar: the institution of the official 37 nats was made (albeit later amended) by King Anawrahta of Bagan, who also founded the first Burmese empire during his rule from 1044–1077. When Buddhism arrived, the nat worship system was merged without so much as a hiccup – although it cannot be said that all Buddhists subscribe to the practice of nat worship in contemporary times. It does, however, remain immensely popular in rural areas.

Not one, but two Mt Popas

The term Mt Popa can be a little confusing due to it being duplicated. Mt Popa is now the official name of the famous Popa Taung Kalat, which is a 740 metre volcanic plug with 777 steps leading up to its gilded Buddhist temple complex. The 1500 metre volcano that was previously known as Mt Popa has been renamed Taung Ma-gyi (‘Mother Mountain’) and is nowadays home to the luxurious Popa Mountain Resort and Popa Mountain Park, which offers excellent hiking environs. There’s a bit of debate as to when the volcano last erupted: some say it was 250,000 years ago while others contend it was 40 million. Either way, both estimates are distant enough to be sure the volcano is well and truly (and safely) extinct.

Do make sure that your driver understands which of the Mt Popas you wish to visit – the assumption would likely be that it’s the temple complex you’re seeking. En route you’re very likely to stop by a toddy ‘brewery’ because the region is well known for producing palm wine (in fact I believe everyone stops at the same road-side place, which also features an interactive mill where oxen slowly turn sesame seeds into oil). Toddy is made from the fermented sap of certain types of palm trees – including coconut palms – the same trees also produce the non-alcoholic jiggery, a type of candy loved across the region. Both are available to buy at the little shop, but do watch your toddy intake: drink enough in the morning at you’ll be out of it by lunch…

Play by the rules

A word of caution: according to local superstitions, visitors should avoid wearing red, black or green while visiting the area (so forget your favourite football jersey). Swearing or saying nasty things about others is also ill-advised (as it should be in general!), as is packing meat-based snacks. Pork is a definite no-no. There’s a bunch of restaurants serving up hot meals and refreshing drinks along the base of the temple steps, so there’s no real need to bring anything other than possibly a bit of trail mix. Those who breach the aforementioned rules risk offending one of the 37 extremely powerful nats, who may retaliate by inflicting dramatic ill fortune. Nats aren’t to be messed with: they have a reputation for being far less forgiving than the Lord Buddha. Whether this is because almost all of them met a violent death during their lives as humans is an un-established but plausible reason. A violent death in Myanmar is known as ‘sein’ – a ‘green’ death, whereby green means ‘raw’. ‘Nat sein’ is another term for nats. There’s a book called The Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe that makes for wonderful pre-departure reading. The memoir begins by describing the author’s childhood in a remote Burmese village, where nat worship is part and parcel of his mystically infused upbringing.

Drunk Nat and Flower Eating Ogress

The most popular Kyawswa in Myanmar spirit history is Lord Kyawswa (‘Drunk Nat’), who was himself born at Mt Popa. He is famously claimed to have said, “If you don’t like me, avoid me. I admit I’m a drunkard.” He’s the guardian of gamblers and drunks and sits on a horse decked in rum and whiskey bottles. Pilgrims leave unopened bottles of whiskey, beer and rum as an offering – not just to Drunk Nat but to a variety of the male nats. Lit cigarettes are also placed on their mannequin-like hands. When the ash of a cigarette remains unbroken to the filter, a blessing is considered to have been bestowed on the donor. Meanwhile, female spirits are sprayed with perfumes and decorated with scarves by devotees.

Before embarking on your journey up the 777 steps, it’s worth paying a visit to the tiger-statue shrine in the village at the foot of the mountain. The display inside begins from a dark inner hallway containing mannequin-like figures representing some of the nats, as well as Hindu deities. This shrine contains nats excluded from the principal group of 37, including the Flower-Eating Ogress and her two sons, Min Gyi and Min Lay. There’s also the Pyu goddess Shin Nemi (Little Lady) who is a guardian of children and receives a bounty of toys during Myanmar’s exam season. Locals pray to Shwe Na Be (Lady with Golden Sides) when a snake enters their house. Unsurprisingly, you’ll note that she’s the one grimly holding a serpent.

Monkey mayhem

An abundant population of Macaque monkeys also call Mt Popa home. They’re completely brazen and some are so well fed that some are the size of a small child. Keep your belongings safely tucked away in a bag as you climb the steps – despite being fed loads of bananas which hawkers sell to tourists and pilgrims, they won’t hesitate to rob you of the water bottle you’re clutching. I saw this happen to a lady walking a few steps ahead of us – and I heard several others let out squeals of terror during a close shave. A number of Myanmar workers have been tasked with the unfortunate job of clearing the steps of the prolific monkey poop and will approach you for a donation; sometimes a little aggressively. It’s your call either way. And be on the lookout for hermit monks known as yetis: they’re dressed in brown robes and sport conically peaked hats.

Once at the temple there are breathtaking views of the Myingyan Plain. The summit is a rocky crag crowned with a complex of monasteries, stupas and shrines. It shouldn’t take more than 20-30 minutes to reach the top – but it’s worth stopping along the way to take in the views. Those who visit on the full moon month of Natdaw (which occurs in December) are in for a treat – not only is the weather discernibly cooler but it’s when the annual festival takes place at Mt Popa, which is a riot of colour and costumes. During either May or June, there’s an arguably larger festival during the full moon of Nayon.

Published in The Global New Light of Myanmar on 7 October 2015

Mr Rajib Bhatia served as India’s ambassador to Myanmar from 2002 to 2005

Mr Rajib Bhatia’s career as a top level diplomat spanned more than three decades and nine different countries, including Myanmar, where he served as India’s ambassador between 2002 and 2005. Since retiring from the Indian Foreign Service in 2009, Mr Bhatia has written more than 150 articles on foreign affairs. On Monday his new book, India-Myanmar Relations: Changing Contours, was released in Yangon. He talks to The Global New Light of Myanmar about what his research unearthed and some of his career highlights – such as taking Senior General Than Shwe to the Taj Mahal.

Your book covers a topic of vast proportions – how did you go about it and how would you describe the finished product?

Indeed, I’ve covered the whole period of India and Myanmar’s relations, from ancient times to the present. It took me four years to research, with my research beginning in 2011 when Myanmar’s reform period began. And I did of course draw on my four years of experiences as an ambassador.
One aspect of my book that I’m very candid about talking about is one of the most talked-about dimensions of the relationship: China. I devoted a separate chapter to what I call the ‘India-China-Myanmar triangle.’ The other feature is that my book presents an Indian perspective on Myanmar polity, society, culture, foreign policy and economy. Although my book’s title is India-Myanmar: Changing Contours, it’s about much more than that: it’s about the surrounding region as well. I can also say that while I have tried to be objective, I did have an agenda. That agenda was to try to contribute to strengthening of relations between India and Myanmar.

As India already has so many trade partners, is the benefit you refer to Myanmar’s alone?

No, it’s a shared interest. First of all we are immediate neighbours. We’ve become close through history and we also share common challenges: both Myanmar and India want this region to be one of peace and harmony. Neither wants a single country to dominate the region. Both want to see a strong ASEAN. When I say ‘strengthen,’ it means a shared interest between India and Myanmar, and also for the region’s interests.

How would you describe the dynamics between India, Myanmar and China?

China has a legitimate reason to have good relations with Myanmar – after all they share borders and history. And similarly, the fact that India wants to have good relations with Myanmar also makes sense. One of my central questions was to find out what Myanmar wants, because it’s a country in the middle of two big giants and it’s being wooed by both. My own reading is that Myanmar does not want to choose one country over the other. Myanmar wants to have a cooperative relationship with both. It does not want either country to compete, much less confront one another over it. If we understand that, it becomes clear that all three countries should work for the harmonisation of interests in such a fashion that the stability and progress of Myanmar is assured.

One of my central questions was to find out what Myanmar wants, because it’s a country in the middle of two big giants and it’s being wooed by both.

Would you agree that in comparison with China, India has been less actively engaged with Myanmar?

I must first say that China’s economy is about five times bigger than India’s. So if you were to just calculate the dollars and cents, then the answer is yes – China’s economic stakes are much bigger in Myanmar. But if you take a larger and deeper view, the bond between India and Myanmar is very, very close. Buddhism came from India, which defines Myanmar. There are cultural influences that came from India that remain today. During the British Raj, for five or six decades, Myanmar was ruled as part of British India. These are historical facts that cannot be denied. And in recent years, India has put in very substantial sums of money in various cooperation programmes – somewhere in the range of 1.5 to 2 billion dollars. That is not a small sum of money. So while China may have much bigger stakes, India’s are not small. I also believe that India is willing to do more, and that if Myanmar were to look a little bit more towards India, it will find India looking back towards it.

You mentioned that your book is written from an Indian perspective – please could you elaborate on that?

There are two things I’d like to mention in terms of the ‘Indian perspective.’ The first is that I have used a lot of Indian sources and views of Indian scholars to illustrate my points. I feel that – with due respect – if Australian, French and Norwegian scholars etcetera can hold forth on Myanmar – well, we are next door and would like to do so also. My idea was to put across Indian voices and views onto the international stage, which I believe I will succeed in doing because my book is published by Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

The second thing is that there is vast knowledge in India about Myanmar – it’s scattered, but it’s definitely there. From the northeast we have Myanmar next door, as we do from West Bengal and from the Bay of Bengal. So the knowledge is there and what I wam arguing is that we must recreate the sense of proximity between Myanmar and India.

What was it like being an ambassador in Myanmar, back when it was truly a different place than it is today?

I had a very rich and varied experience. Of the nine countries I served around the world, which included Africa, Central America, North America and other parts of Asia, it was Myanmar that had the deepest impact on me. It’s very close to my heart.

The high point of my career in Myanmar was accompanying Senior General Than Shwe, who was then the head of state, to India on a four-day state visit. I acted as his personal guide to some of India’s highlights and we had an excellent relationship. I took he and his wife to the Taj Majal, as well as to Kolkta, Bangalore and Delhi. He was mesmorised by India’s diversity.

What do you think Myanmar can learn from India in terms of celebrating diversity?

India certainly learned the hard way since the time it was partitioned with Pakistan, that religion and politics have to be separated. Religion is between an individual and their god but politics is about the peoples’ wishes. So the two must be separated.

While Myanmar and India are close, how does your book address the waves of anti-Indian sentiment that have arisen from time to time?

History is history: it cannot be changed. It is a fact that large numbers of Indians left when World War II began, when U Nu made legal changes and when Ne Win was in power. All those periods are there. But we should learn from history. Indian people are not against Myanmar – they are very friendly towards them. And those of Indian origin living in Myanmar have contributed in important ways to the country. I would strongly recommend, as I argue in the book, that two things are very important. The first is to expand economic cooperation and the second is to develop a close and more diversified relationship between the people of India and Myanmar.

In a practical sense, how can this be achieved?

One idea I have is to set up an India-Myanmar cultural foundation, which could be funded through the business communities and governments of both countries. The funds could be placed at the disposal of the ambassadors in Yangon ad Delhi. This would free up the ambassadors from bureaucratic interference and would allow them to truly contribute to small programmes bringing in tourists, media, university students and so forth. Bringing these types of people together more often could prove enormously beneficial.

In the last chapter of my book, I also suggest that a strategic partnership should be set up to hold annual meetings and such things. It’s among a specific list of recommendations I make in the final chapter of my book.

India-Myanmar Relations: Changing Contours is published by Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.

Published in The Global New Light of Myanmar on 27 November 2015

Thiri Swe was just two-years-old when she was diagnosed with liver cancer. The discovery was accidental: her parents had brought their baby daughter to a clinic to treat a fever and diarrhoea.

After nine months of chemotherapy and an operation to remove the tumour, Thiri Swe is now cancer free. The tiny survivor of one of mankind’s most devastating diseases giggled as she lifted her polka-dot blouse to display a scar spanning inches across her belly.

“I feel so happy that my daughter is okay. She’s our only child. We were very worried before the operation because she has a rare blood type: we were scared there wouldn’t be enough blood available if she needed a transfusion. We were lucky that only one unit was required,” said her father, U Myo Hlaing.

Although the chemotherapy was provided free of charge by the Ministry of Health, the indirect costs associated with cancer, the treatment of which can last two years and involves lengthy hospital stays, puts a heavy toll on families who are already struggling to make ends meet.

Eight-year-old Htun Htun Min from Bago was diagnosed with leukaemia seven months ago. Both his parents are labourers and had to abandon their livelihoods to travel to Yangon Children’s Hospital. Although they didn’t have to pay for the medication, the travelling costs and loss of earnings dealt a severe blow to the family’s finances. Although Htun Htun Min no longer has leukaemia, his case isn’t straightforward, with infections reoccurring. When a private donor stepped forward to cover the ongoing travel costs, his parents were overwhelmed with relief.

“Our situation would have been impossible without the help of a donor,” his mother Htin Htin Khine told The Global New Light of Myanmar.

Regular donors also turn up to the hospital at 7am and unload hot food for patients and their families in the car park. Some cover the costs of funerals. Any money donated to the hospital is given directly to the families.

Myanmar has just two paediatric oncology units: one is at Yangon Children’s Hospital and the second  is at Mandalay Children’s Hospital. Dr Aye Aye Khaing established the first paediatric oncology unit in Myanmar in 2002. She is the head oncologist for the unit and the only one there: her work is supported by junior doctors and nurses, who are themselves too few in number.

Kyaw Min, 12, is from western Rakhine State and has refractory cancer, which means that it is resistant to treatment. He is completely bald and his wispy eyebrows border lifeless eyes.

“We are not winning,” said Dr Aye Aye Khaing quietly.

Kyaw Min’s parents are farmers and getting to Yangon involves travelling by boat and bus: it’s a journey that takes 36 hours. It is difficult to imagine how the gravely ill 12-year-old has the stamina to cope with repeated trips to Yangon. His current visit will last a week and he and his mother will sleep on the second floor of the hospital, which is crowded with other patients and their families.

“We don’t have proper accommodation for patients and their families. In the Philippines, there is House of Hope and in the US, Ronald McDonald House. I wish Myanmar had something like that,” said Dr Aye Aye Khaing.

In Myanmar, a child’s prospects of survival are determined by their family’s socioeconomic status. The parents of a 13-year-old boy with a very rare form of cancer were able to pay for him to travel overseas for an investigation, which led to identifying the correct medication to administer to him when he returned to Myanmar, said Dr Aye Aye Khaing.

These children are among dozens of others sitting in a waiting room at the paediatric oncology ward – including a woman cradling a five-month-old baby who has had cancer three times and is awaiting blood test results. Whilst the walls are decorated with colourful murals and there’s a scattering of toys to play with, the children sit listlessly beside their parents. One boy sits atop a plastic slide with his head in his hands.

Around a hundred patients assemble at the ward every day. An average of 60 remain overnight as inpatients. The hospital is chronically short of manpower, but the situation has been improving since World Child Cancer set up a partnership with Yangon Children’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital.

World Child Cancer is a charity that was established in 2007 and its activities in Myanmar are funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). World Child Cancer funds partnerships between hospitals in different parts of the world, with the aim of improving access to treatment and care for children with cancer and their families.

World Child Cancer estimates that between 1,600 and 3,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in Myanmar. One of the challenges is that diagnosis is often fatally late and only a fraction of cases are thought to be diagnosed.

“The typical scenario for a patient in Myanmar is that the cancer is in the advanced stages: tumours are larger and more disseminated. The condition in which they arrive makes treatment more complicated. And many children are malnourished or have competing illnesses such as TB, HIV or parasitic diseases. And they are more vulnerable to infections if there is a lack of access to clean water,” said Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, a consultant paediatric oncologist who works with World Child Cancer.

The most common form of childhood cancer is leukaemia – it accounts for around half of all patients. Cure rates in the US and Europe are 90 percent, but due to limited supportive care in Myanmar, such as physiotherapy, nursing care, laboratory support and nutrition, a patient’s chances of survival are fifty-fifty at best. Many children die from side effects, such as having a very low white blood cell count, which makes them prone to infections. Laboratory facilities are ill-equipped to identify various infections, which prevents doctors being able to select the correct antibiotics. A further problem is that the hospital cannot treat patients receiving high doses of chemotherapy, so doses are lower and therefore less effective, said Dr Sophie Dewar, a highly specialised clinical psychologist who works for World Child Cancer.

“The early symptoms of leukaemia usually include fever, fatigue, paleness and feeling weak. It’s sometimes mistaken for a virus because the symptoms are quite vague,” said Lisa Morrissey, nurse manager at Boston Children’s Hospital during a visit to Myanmar.

“Another big problem is that leukaemia treatment can last more than two years. A lot of families live far away. The costs of having to travel between their home and the hospital, which during the rainy season can become very difficult, and to sustain that over a long period, leads many families to abandon treatment. And sometimes parents are faced with choosing between caring for a sick child and being able to provide food for their other children,” she added.

Dr Aye Aye Khaing estimates that as many as 60 percent of patients discontinue treatment. Although doggedly pragmatic, she agreed that has one of the most emotionally challenging jobs in the world.

“It’s very tough. Paediatricians can generally see a bright outcome, such as a baby being born and discharged – the parents are so happy. Here, things are mostly very grave. I try to get parents to focus on the present. I’ll say, ‘Today your child is sleeping and eating and isn’t in pain. Be happy for today.’ But sometimes I know from the prognosis that a child isn’t going to make it. Some of the nurses and doctors cannot cope,” she said.

She said that one blessing is that child cancer is rare. Prevalence rates around the world differ little. According to the World Health Organisation, 1,500 children out of 100,000 under the age of 15 contract cancer, whereas the ratio for adults is 470. An estimated 90,000 children under the age of 15 die of cancer every year. Lifestyle factors are not considered to play a role in up to 90 percent of cases, as children are unlikely to be exposed to common risk factors. Scientists are yet to discover why some children contract cancer and others don’t.

In September, World Child Cancer and Yangon Children’s Hospital received support from the Citymart Love & Hope Foundation and have been working in partnership to improve care for children with cancer in Myanmar.

“Our new partnership with the Citymart Love and Hope Foundation is a welcome development. With this additional funding, Yangon Children’s Hospital can now provide better nutrition to improve the overall health of the children during treatment, provide transport to help children and their families get to the care they need, and provide local community care to extend the reach of the hospital,” said World Child Cancer UK CEO Jon Rosser.

“I’m confident that our focus on mentoring, education, facilitating partnerships, improving access to medicines and data collection practices has made a difference to the chances of Myanmar children beating cancer and having a future.”

For decades, Myanmar’s health system has been heavily centralised and chronically underfunded. However if the pledges contained in the National League of Democracy’s election manifesto are fulfilled, there is hope on the horizon. The NLD has committed to “enable government hospitals and clinics to provide high-quality drugs and modern treatment methods [and] raise the qualifications of government health staff.”

It will also “increase the national health budget, and enable a reduction in the level of out-of pocket expenditure incurred by the public for medical treatment [and] will cooperate with international experts and organisations.”

Ensuring that children with cancer in Myanmar have the best possible chance of survival will lessen the suffering that many families are currently enduring.

To donate to the children’s cancer ward at Yangon Children’s Hospital, email Dr Aye Aye Khaing: ayeayekhaing.dr@gmail.com

For more information about World Child Cancer, visit http://www.worldchildcancer.org

Published in The Global New Light of Myanmar on 22 October 2015

Jojo Yang swapped a financially comfortable but unfulfilling corporate life in New York and London for a yoga-led existence in Yangon

Jojo Yang spent the first 20 years of her life avoiding all forms of exercise.

“I was never athletic – I was the last kid picked for sports teams at school because I was small, scrawny and uncoordinated,” she told The Global New Light of Myanmar.

She was so determined to skip high school gym class that she used the only loophole that enabled her to do: by managing the boys’ wrestling team.

Ms Yang took her first yoga class 10 years ago after a friend promised her that it wasn’t like other types of exercise in that she could ease her body into it.

Ms Yang soon found yoga a useful outlet to counterbalance the prolonged periods she spent sitting down as a frequent business traveller – and as a way to pass the time during long evenings spent in hotel rooms. It certainly wasn’t a case of immediate infatuation.

“For the first few years, I was like, ‘I’m not sure I get it.’ I was always asking myself if I was doing it right and I was always trying to match someone else’s pose. It wasn’t until I took a few private lessons that my practice completely transformed,” she said.

The 30-year-old started getting serious about yoga three years ago. She found that if she went a couple of weeks without doing it, she’d get the feeling that “something was missing.”

At around the same time, her disenchantment with life in the corporate fast lane, both in Manhattan and London, led her and her partner to give their careers a serious rethink.

“Every day felt like the worst day of my life. My job was draining and soul-sucking. No one ever came up to me at the end of the day to give me a hug and say, ‘Thanks for that power point presentation’ or whatever,” she said.

Ms Yang zipped off to Bali to complete a 200-hour yoga teachers’ course and she and her partner then settled in Myanmar last year, after friends insisted that Yangon is “where the action is.”

Within a month of teaching her first class, a student came up to Ms Yang and gave her a hug – she was grateful that Ms Yang’s cues had helped her master a certain yoga posture for the first time.

“It was the best career choice I ever made. What I do is fulfilling. I wake up every day and feel excited to teach,” she said with a grin.

And it’s not as though business in Yangon is grim: since starting off a little over a year ago teaching a free class once a week in a friend’s apartment, Ms Yang now has her own studio – Yangon’s first – and a client mailing list of around 750 people. As many as 200 students visit Yangon Yoga House every week for a lesson from Ms Yang or one of the eight other teachers. Different styles of yoga are taught, with classes that cater to the beginner to the more advanced, and there’s are also pilates, barre and circuit training classses. Yangon Yoga House has arranged a number of international yoga retreats, including one at Cambodia’s Angor Wat that took place in early October.

However not everyone has been converted.

“The first thing I hear is: ‘I can’t do it because I’m not flexible enough,’” Ms Yang said.

She said this is one of the most common misperceptions about yoga – and yet as Ms Yang explains, flexibility is one of yoga’s core benefits (pardon the pun). And this is not simply about being able to touch your toes or do the splits.

“As people start to get older, things start to contract. Mobility becomes limited. It commonly starts with lower back pain and that’s because the core is weak or the hips are tight.”

The more flexible a person becomes, the better able they are to sit or stand for long periods of time. It’s also an enormously effective way of preventing injuries among those who regularly do other forms of exercise, such as running.

Another common misperception is that yoga isn’t hard enough because it’s not a cardio-based work out.

“If the poses are done properly, it’s always an effort. And if you breathe properly you will sweat and feel the intensity,” Ms Yang said.

However Ms Yang is at pains to point out that yoga is more of a lifestyle than an exercise. Serious yogis rarely eat meat and one of the most common reasons people rave about yoga is its ability to soothe the soul and de-stress the mind.

However for some, yoga’s spiritual aspects (namely, chanting) are off-putting; for years yogis fought against the stigma of being associated with hippies. Yet it’s they who are having the last laugh as more and more become converted; perhaps in part out of sheer envy of practitioners’ beautifully toned and sculpted bodies. (For the record, when asked, Ms Yang put her total lack of body fat down to “luck in the genetics department.”)

Yoga’s meditative element

Interestingly, up until quite recently, yoga and meditation were one and the same. The sole purpose of a ‘vasana’ (posture) was to prepare the body to sit for extended periods of time during meditation. It wasn’t until 100 years ago that yoga became a separate discipline and a host of new postures were invented.

“Back then, being a yogi was like being a hermit – the original tradition was to retreat into the Himalayas and sit in a cave and eat very little,” Ms Yang explained.

It’s ironic that in today’s modern age, in which we stare at computer screens for hours on end – during both work and play – that yoga’s potential benefits have never been greater.

The West has in general been pretty slow to catch onto the benefits of the ancient practice, whose origins lie in India. Yoga was first mentioned in the texts of Hindu Upanishads and Buddhist Pāli Canon during the third century BC, but it took until the 1980s for yoga to be accepted as a legitimate form of exercise in the western world.

“In terms of general wellness, the exercise is just one element. If you really want to get healthy you need to bring it into your diet, how you approach life – stress plays a big part in how your physical being is. It’s all connected.”

As someone who never had the confidence to take on traditional sports, Ms Yang is keen to emphasise that everyone can enjoy the benefits of yoga.

“It’s about accepting where your body is now. Yoga is a journey and there is no destination or end point. It’s simply something you can do for the rest of your life.”

For more information about Yangon Yoga House, visit yangonyogahouse.com