Repressed and mismanaged by a cadre of generals since 1962, Burma erupted last September in the country's largest pro-democracy demonstrations in two decades. But when government troops opened fire into crowds of monks and students and detained thousands in nighttime raids, fear sent people into hiding and swept defiance from the streets.
Voices from Burma
Published February 4, 2008
"In your country, you work two days and you have food for a week," says Maung Lwin, a welder taking a break for tea after lunch. "Here, you work for one day and you eat for one day." Lwin supports his family on an average daily wage of $2.30, the same salary the government pays a specialized doctor. Money is so tight that even sitting down for a 15 cent cup of tea takes careful consideration.
"You are human, I am also human," he tells me. "But my luck is not the same as your luck."
None of it makes any sense. Blessed with wealthy deposits of gemstones, teak forests, agricultural land, natural gas and oil, Burma has the potential to be the wealthiest nation in Southeast Asia. ...
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In a rare outing from the Rangoon home in which she is imprisoned, democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi met wi
As part of Pulitzer Center's Global Gateway Georgetown students have undertaken awareness campaigns around their campus community based on issues covered by Pulitzer Center journalists.
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Jacob Baynham is a freelance journalist who has spent much of his life in Asia. He is a graduate of the University of Montana School of Journalism, and has filed stories from Afghanistan, Laos, Hong...
