Apologies to George Orwell for the title, but “Myanma Days” just does not have the same resonance as the original title of Orwell’s novel.  And to perpetuate any confusion over place names, I have spent much of the last week in Yangon (formerly Rangoon), which was until recently the capital city of Myanmar (formerly Burma).  I was there to conduct some research in that Orwellian land, a country that is so isolated that it is one of the few places in Asia that does not yet have a United World Colleges National Committee or Selection Committee.

Please forgive me if you prefer the name ‘Myanmar’, but I still prefer ‘Burma’.  So to continue - I was a little concerned about going to Burma this week.  I was acutely aware of the impact of Cyclone Nargis in early May and of the continuing effects of that great tragedy.  Fortunately, Rangoon has actually recovered remarkably well from the cyclone.  The shops are well stocked with food that is remarkably cheap, diverse and affordable, and the buildings that were damaged have mostly been repaired.  It is easy to see where repairs have been carried out as the roofs are clean and shiny, unlike the normal moss and lichen covered walls and roofs of the city’s buildings.  It is also easy to see where some old trees beside the streets were uprooted because the footpath paving has been destroyed, sometimes together with the adjacent fence, but there is almost no evidence remaining of fallen trees in the streets.  Perhaps the main way that the lingering effects of the cyclone affected me as a visitor this week to Rangoon was that I was unable to catch the ferry across the river to visit the Irrawaddy Delta region - the delta remains closed to foreigners without special police permission, which is only granted for special government-approved purposes.

Although Burma has now abandoned the “Burmese Way to Socialism” (a unique blend of Buddhism and Marxism) that was still official policy in 1982, and the country is now using China as its model of economic reform, an Orwellian cloud still seems to hang over ‘the Golden Land’.  One has only to pick up a copy of Burma’s main (i.e. government) English language newspaper to get the drift.  Every day, “The New Light of Myanmar” has a large display notice on its back cover under the heading “Skyful liars attempting to destroy nation” which notes in bold type: “BBC lying, VOA deceiving, RFA setting up hostilities, Beware!  Don’t be bought by these ill-wishers!”

Every day, the front page of “The New Light of Myanmar” has a large boxed text display outlining the “Three Fours” - the Four Political Objectives, the Four Economic Objectives, and the Four Social Objectives for the country.  To get an idea of the tone, the Four Social Objectives are (1) Uplift of the morale and morality of the entire nation, (2) Uplift of national prestige and integrity and preservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage and national character, (3) Uplift of dynamism of patriotic spirit, and (4) Uplift of health, fitness and education standards of the entire nation”.

He was right.  I have always felt that I am in some ways a better person for having visited Burma.  This was my sixth visit, but my first since 1999, and every time I leave I feel calmer and more serene for having experienced the gentleness of the Burmese people (Rangoon’s car drivers excepted!).  There are few places in the world that make such an impact on me as Burma.  There is nothing quite like the experience of sitting on the platform of the Shwedagon Pagoda, in the humidity and tropical heat, bare-footed like everyone else, listening to the tinkle of the chimes at the top of the spire, almost 100 metres above, as they blow gently in the refreshing late afternoon sea-breeze.

Simply magic!

And yet, Burma is no primal paradise, especially for many of those who live there.  Despite its abundant natural resources, mis-management has forced the country to break its isolation and seek foreign aid on the basis that it now claims to be one of the world’s ten poorest countries.  We have only to think of Aung San Suu Kyi, still under house arrest in her home in University Avenue almost 20 years after having lost the 1989 election.  We have only to think of the monks’ protests in the streets of Rangoon in September 2007, and the brutal repression of those demonstrations by the government, to remember that not everyone in Burma is sweet, tolerant and gentle.  When I visited the Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda, I was told that many of the monks are still “up-country”, sent away from Rangoon following the protests.  When I was at the Shwedagon Pagoda, I spoke with a history professor who lost his job 10 years ago because his views did not accord with those of the government; he has been unable to work ever since.  My taxi driver to the airport when I left the country this week was a young Christian man who told me in some detail of the persecution and intolerance he faces in various ways because of his religion, all this in so-called tolerant Burma.

Yes, Burma is a very beautiful but extremely sad paradox.