I picked up my passport at the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok today, with no problems. In a matter of hours, I will be on my way to Yangon. The whole visa process was really quite simple. If the Burmese government didn't want me to visit their country, they could have easily prevented it. This gives me hope that it will be a smooth trip.
Even though, as I mentioned, I have wanted to visit Myanmar for a long time, I never felt that it was the "right time" to go. Obviously there is a huge debate over whether or not tourists should visit. I did some research, and I have come down on the side of "should".
Why is this? I think it mostly boils down to the fact that I do not think that isolating "bad" countries is the answer. Although this seems to be the US foriegn policy, I don't think it has ever worked. Well, then again, perhaps the recent case of Libya is the only time that putting pressure on a country and on a leader has actually made the leader (appear) to change his heart. But it didn't work in Iraq. And 40 years after JFK, Castro is still in power in Cuba. It doesn't seem to be having any effect in North Korea either. Embargos and boycotts have almost always failed miserably. All they have done is made the people of the country more poor and made life more difficult for them.
So, I am going to Myanmar, not as a show of support for an "undemocratic" government (I use quotes because Myanmar is certainly not the only country in this category) but instead to support the people. And of course there is some selfish motives as well, as it seems like Burma has always had a very rich culture and history. I think it will absolutely fascinating.
But, in the end, I believe that real, sustainable change and progress comes from education, it comes from diversity, it comes from contact with people who are different from you. It does not come from boycotts. At the same time, I am a bit nervous about what I will find there. Wish me luck!
Wishing you a great trip and looking forward to the pix/entry about your visit.
Good luck from Atlanta!
As our pastor said on Sunday morning .... "I know not when this will happen, no man knows when this will happen, but there will come a time when the country we know and love, the United States, will fall. The Roman Empire lasted 2000 years, but it eventually met its demise."
Quite a humbling observation.
I hope you had a good trip ---- guess I'll find out when I read your other entries!!!
Love you!!
I couldn't agree with you more on your reasons to go to Myanmar/Burma. I lived in Germany when the wall came down. It was ultimately not because of pressure or isolation, but because East Germans learned more and more how West Germany was, stood up and said "enough is enough".
Go, meet, engage, inform, discuss, share - and see what happens!