Susan's Email to friends and family announcing posting of photos.
August 7, 2007
Mingalaba Friends (that's a Burmese "hello"),
You are receiving this email because at some point you've expressed interest in my recent trip to
Myanmar (Burma). If you are no longer interested, feel free to delete this email now. If you are still interested, despite the fact that I've been back for weeks now and this trip is old news, please read on.
After countless hours of fine tuning and posting photos, my
Myanmar gallery is finally complete. That's the good news. The more difficult news (for you, at least) is that I've managed to whittle it down to no less than 228 photos. In such an extraordinary country that is so rarely traveled, I had a hard time filtering out shots, particularly of people, as I'd like to paint as thorough a picture as possible. (My recommendation would be to use the pull down menu on the upper right to select "all thumbs", or else maybe you can just bookmark it and return when you get a chance. In either case, I appreciate your patience.)
http://szphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/3098133/A few extremely inarticulate thoughts about my experience in
Myanmar...
Myanmar is an extremely impoverished country, currently under a tightly controlled military imposed government. The majority of the nation's heroes, members of the NLD (National League for Democracy), who legally won
Myanmar's first democratic election in 1989 and should be in power today, are under house arrest or imprisoned in prisons under poor conditions. This includes noble peace prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi. Due to the political situation,
Myanmar is under trade embargo with most countries. This is both good and bad as the embargo keeps the military in check due to a poor economy yet at the same time leaves everyday citizens struggling to feed their families. Though the military government allows tourism (28 day visas only), the areas where tourists are allowed to venture are extremely limited.
Traveling through
Myanmar it was at times easy to forget what an awful disposition the people are in. The landscapes were more beautiful and pristinely undeveloped than any other country I have traveled to, and the people were hands down the most unassuming, generous people I have ever met in my travels. My brother and I were invited into huts for tea or modest homes for dinners in every city we visited. On one occasion an extremely poor family who lived in an open roofed hut and made a living preparing food for the occasional tourist on an outdoor burner just feet from where they slept prepared a 7 plate dinner for us, followed by dessert, and then a presentation of gifts to each of us for nothing more than our company and friendship. It was during intimate exchanges like this one that people would share their true feelings and personal stories about the harsh political and economic situation in
Myanmar -- stories of how educated men have resorted to driving tri-shaws (bicycle taxis) for a living to feed their children who they can only see on the weekends as they live hours away in the countryside, family members who have lost loved ones in student protests where the military opened fire in retaliation, family members who haven't seen brothers and sisters for years as they have been exiled from the country for trivial reasons.
Now on that depressing note, you'll notice that all of the Burmese people in my photos look much happier than perhaps you and I sitting at our desks all day staring at computers or behind the wheel of a car in commute traffic. I would say that that's because they are. Somehow despite the poverty and the political oppression, all of the Burmese people my brother and I encountered were cheerful loving people who seemed to appreciate the important things in life - family, friends, community - and enjoy each moment. Needless to say, this certainly put our privileged lives into perspective and had us re-evaluating our priorities in life.
Without going on and on about my experience in
Myanmar, which I already have, I'd like to put out there that if anyone is interested in hearing more about
Myanmar or perhaps would like to be pointed in a direction where you can find out more about what's going on there, I'd be happy to chat. My brother and I have also discussed potentially putting on some sort of event to generate awareness and raise funds for organizations that do outreach in
Myanmar (which are far and few between as the government mostly doesn't allow them). More on that when it happens.
Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy email, assuming you made it to the end, and I hope you enjoy the photos.
Da da (Burmese "goodbye"),
Susan
