ur return to Yangon was a long 14-hour overnight bus ride. Although it seemed somewhat luxurious with AC and an overhead TV, it was still packed to the gills with people and cargo. Even the standard, third-world fold-down aisle seats were filled. When the sun had set, the AC went off and the movie began. As we opened our windows to catch a breeze, the opening scenes of an American movie began. It was called, "U.S. Marshalls".
n the beginning of the film, convicts bound for a maximum-security prison are being shuttled across the U.S. in a jet airplane. As people strained to see and hear the film, we wondered what impressions they had of America. They hoped to travel on an aircon bus that didn't break down, where seats had a bit of legroom and the kid next to them didn't throw up. Maybe this dream comes true, and then they watch a movie like this one where America's worst prisoners, the people who have lost their rights, are shuttled from place to place by chartered jet. What would you think?
erhaps too much thinking and too much influence from the outside are what the oppressive government is afraid of. Anti-democracy propaganda line the newspapers. People know they want a better way, but are unsure of the consequences for speaking out. We had people skirt their way around a variety of questions about their country unsure of who we were and afraid to be candid because of it. Some days, we saw conscripted labor repairing roads and fields while a soldier standing nearby in the shade made sure no one got out of line.
he government is so protective that most U.S. goods aren't legally sold here, not even the almighty Coca-Cola! It finds its way across the border with other goods as contraband from neighboring countries. Even Western music is only legally aloud with dubbed over Burmese vocals. For the hopeful Burmese, a shining star exists. Voice of America and the BBC are piped over nightly from Thailand reminding once prosperous Burma, that they aren't forgotten.
ur return to Yangon was a long 14-hour overnight bus ride. Although it seemed somewhat luxurious with AC and an overhead TV, it was still packed to the gills with people and cargo. Even the standard, third-world fold-down aisle seats were filled. When the sun had set, the AC went off and the movie began. As we opened our windows to catch a breeze, the opening scenes of an American movie began. It was called, "U.S. Marshalls".
n the beginning of the film, convicts bound for a maximum-security prison are being shuttled across the U.S. in a jet airplane. As people strained to see and hear the film, we wondered what impressions they had of America. They hoped to travel on an aircon bus that didn't break down, where seats had a bit of legroom and the kid next to them didn't throw up. Maybe this dream comes true, and then they watch a movie like this one where America's worst prisoners, the people who have lost their rights, are shuttled from place to place by chartered jet. What would you think?
erhaps too much thinking and too much influence from the outside are what the oppressive government is afraid of. Anti-democracy propaganda line the newspapers. People know they want a better way, but are unsure of the consequences for speaking out. We had people skirt their way around a variety of questions about their country unsure of who we were and afraid to be candid because of it. Some days, we saw conscripted labor repairing roads and fields while a soldier standing nearby in the shade made sure no one got out of line.
he government is so protective that most U.S. goods aren't legally sold here, not even the almighty Coca-Cola! It finds its way across the border with other goods as contraband from neighboring countries. Even Western music is only legally aloud with dubbed over Burmese vocals. For the hopeful Burmese, a shining star exists. Voice of America and the BBC are piped over nightly from Thailand reminding once prosperous Burma, that they aren't forgotten.
