Burmese Days
One month after the uprising on the streets of Burma and the following violence I visited the border town of Kawthoung to witness burmese life as it is now.
Luckier than most Burmese towns, it was isolated from most of the political troubles directly affecting Rangoon and other larger cities. Not that Kaw Soung is with out its own problems. Drug use, smuggling, prostitution and human trafficing to name a few, but it is also more economically prosperous than...
more »Burmese Days
One month after the uprising on the streets of Burma and the following violence I visited the border town of Kawthoung to witness burmese life as it is now.
Luckier than most Burmese towns, it was isolated from most of the political troubles directly affecting Rangoon and other larger cities. Not that Kaw Soung is with out its own problems. Drug use, smuggling, prostitution and human trafficing to name a few, but it is also more economically prosperous than Burma's interior with a thriving cross border trade, a fishing industry and the opportunity to go and work in Thailand (legally and illegally) and send a much need income to poverty stricken families.
Despite Kawthoung's distance from Rangoon, outrage over the army's bloody put down of the recent protests and hatred towards the government is prevalent here as it is elsewhere in burma.
One of the first people I spoke to, a motor bike taxi driver whose name will remain anonymous, said to me "Our government is no good. They kill monks!", a comment I would hear a few times by those brave enough to speak there mind. I was visiting during the end of Buddhist lent. A time when local people visit the temples to pray and offer incense. It is a happy, peaceful and relaxed festival that demonstrates the central role buddhism plays Burmese society. The killing of monks has further distanced the all ready despised military junta from the burmese people. The future of Burma and it's current ruling junta is unknown. The international community can not reach a consensus on the best course of action to take and the burmese people are yet again crushed into submission within their own country.
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