Traveler's Tales blog - Thousands of golden pagodas dot the landscape of Myanmar. Each a beautiful surprise and delight, rising up out of nowhere and everywhere. The people of Myanmar are tranquil with an inner peace that beams from their smiles and twinkles in their eyes. Today there is trouble in paradise for two reasons: the people's battle for democracy and resistance to inclusion of ethnic minorities.
In 2015, I was granted opportunity to work in western Myanmar with women leaders and Buddhist monks to set up parenting programs and preschool education. The Buddhist monastery is the spiritual and administrative center of traditional villages. The monks take an active role in community development and the temple serves as a community center. I'll never forget the sight of parenting education groups taking place at the foot of the Buddha while their children enjoyed pop-up preschool education in the rear of the temple.
In 2017, I rode in motorized long-boats to support development of parenting and early childhood programs in ethnic minority communities in the south of Myanmar. The region is laced with rivers. During monsoon rains, the rivers overflow and form vast lakes covering the fertile land.
Families, living in houses built on stilts, are isolated from each other until the floods subside. With concern for the safety, education and stimulation of young children, a foreign donor provided funds for well-built, raised buildings to support active play and learning during the long monsoon season, and to also serve as a meeting space for parent-to-parent discussions on child wellbeing.
The fathers helped to construct the buildings and safely transport the children by boat. They also showed interest to start parenting groups for dads.
I was in Myanmar in the years before and after Aung San Suu Kyi was democratically elected as head of state. The people were joyous and proudly displayed her photo in their homes.
In late 2020 she won a second election with 80% popularity. In February 2021, she was removed from office by a military coup, before she could begin a second term. My visits to Myanmar also coincided with the ongoing efforts of military police to contain the Rohingya or drive them from the Rakhine State. As a result, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh in successive waves since the 1990's.
My thoughts and prayers are with the people. I encourage readers to go on-line and search for photos of this beautiful land; and access videos or articles on the current situation. Myanmar's crisis reminds us of the fragility of democracy; and also the value it holds for those who have tasted its possibility. For those who have suffered under tyrannical governments that seek power and prosperity for its autocrats, not its most vulnerable citizens.
Myanmar also reminds us that nativism and isolationism are lost causes in this transient world. A necessary solution is working toward inclusion. People of differing religions, ethnic groups and ways of seeing the world make can make a nation stronger when newcomers or minority groups are respected, well integrated, and provided opportunity to contribute; while also being protected by fair systems of justice and equality. Years of Muslim migrants from Bangladesh to Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, exacerbated the conflict.
We can only conclude that the flood of immigrants and refugees, around the world, will not abate until all nations work collaboratively to ensure stability and prosperity for countries in crisis, making them a good place to live and work and raise a family, so there is no need to flee.
My visits to Myanmar inspired me to write poetry, and I now offer some of them with fondest memories of the country and sincerest hopes for a brighter future.
Land of a Thousand Pagodas
Golden pagodas
Grace the boulevards
Standing watch for peace
Golden pagodas
Rise from the rice fields
Embellish the villages
Cloaked in foliage
And prayers
And laughter
Golden Pagodas
Humming like bees
In the dusk, before the stars
Monks in harmony
Bear Alms for Buddha
Chant prayers to sapphire skies
Cloaked in saffron and
orchid's scent
From bygone days
Shopping in Yangon
'Mother’s Son Shop,' said the sign on the wall
What is your meaning, I ask?
My father gave his mother all
And then she asks
Are you, one, Miss?
What is your meaning, I ask?
Are you lonely?
Wonderful family, never lonely
Are they with you, Miss?
Only in my heart
Two smiles, shared meaning
Moral Compass
My colleague took a taxi
Gave 25,000 kyat
Confused and over-paid
For a 2,500 fare
Her driver laughed
and gave it back
Your ride today is free
Another taxi another day
I gave 3,000 kyat
To cover the ride and tip
He turned to me and softly spoke
Forgive me, please, I have no change
Must be a ruse, I falsely surmised
Lines from a long-run play
To my surprise
He turned and placed 1,000 Kyat
into the palm of my hand
My judgment wrong, shifting sand
Left to ponder
What is a culture's moral compass?
Ask a taxi driver in Yangon.
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