Burma - Aung San Suu Kyi

In 1996 I had planned to go to Vietnam from Thailand but was told that foreigners were not allowed in for about 4 weeks while a special communist meeting was taking place in the country. No airline could sell me a plane ticket from Thailand for that time period and I could not obtain a visa. Therefore, I needed a new plan. Based on recommendations from a couple of new American friends I had made while trekking in Nepal, I decided to buy a plane ticket to Burma instead. This turned out to be a good call.

I flew into Rangoon. I was a bit nervous at the airport, since I was trying very hard not to buy the required $300 worth of Burmese currency at the airport. This was a government mandate so that the government could get U.S. dollars in their pocket and at an incredibly bad exchange rate - 10 to 1 vs 123 to 1 on the street. Based on the suggestions made by my new friends, I managed to sneak past security at the exchange counter. Of course, now I was outside needing transportation but without any local currency in hand. My taxi driver made a stop along the way so that I could exchange with one of his friends at a bad rate of 112 to 1.

Somewhere I read that the Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, lives under house arrest at her home at Inya Lake in Rangoon. What I did not know is that she is permitted to give a speech each week at her house. Sometimes she speaks in Burmese and sometimes she speaks in English. Of course I felt compelled to go to hear her speak. I had no idea what to expect. Would I be allowed inside her house?

I remember walking to her house in a nice neighborhood. As I got closer there were military/police all along the road. I was surprised to see a crowd of about 200 people. Most of the people of Burma are very scared of the government. I knew not to ask government related questions to anyone without potentially putting that person in harm's way. I could not believe there were that many people willing to show their faces in the vacinity of the opposition leader.

It was a very hot day and I sat on the ground in the middle of the street. I must have waited an hour before she appeared at the gate. Again, I had no idea what to expect. I could not figure out how she was under house arrest but also permitted to speak. This was shocking to me. As you can see from the picture above, Aung San Suu Kyi stood on a platform inside of her gated home. Notice the large speakers on either side. In front of the gate were military/police. Unfortunately for me on this particular day Aung San Suu Kyi spoke in Burmese. To this day I still have no idea what she said. I think it was just important for me to observe the dynamics of the entire event.

Since you are only permitted into a very limited area of the country, it is quite possible to visit Burma and have no idea that there is any conflict with the government. You have to really watch and listen. For example, one time when I was taking a train up north we passed by a large, vast bridge. The passengers wanted me to quickly snap a picture of the bridge before anyone in authority saw me. It turns out that this particular bridge was very key to the government's strategic defenses. One man took me into his confidence and showed me a pro-democracy membership card that he had. Had he been caught with this card, there is a good likelihood that he would disappear. The men that are seen building and repairing the roads are not paid. I was told that the people who live in the villages must give up 1 family member for use by the government for whatever they see fit.

The night before I left for the airport a stranger came to my hotel room door and asked me to carry out a video tape that would show proof of the government's abuses. I wanted to help the people of Burma but I had to think long and hard about this request. My backpack would most likely be thoroughly searched at the airport. How would I respond? What would be the consequences? After much thought I decided against carrying the tape out. Had I worked for one of the oil companies or Pepsi, companies with a great deal of investment in Burma, I might have been able to navigate my way out of a bad situation. I honestly did not feel that the U.S. government would be able to get me out of a Burmese prison. If I recall correctly, the U.S. had an on-again-off-again embassy in Rangoon at the time. I did not feel that I would be able to buy my way out of trouble either. It turns out that my backpack was never even touched let alone opened.