Word: burma
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Born in India and raised in Burma, Shah knew as a young boy that he was supposed to be somewhere else in the world. He would pass beggars in the shadowy streets of Rangoon on his way to the movies, where a glamorous, faraway place filled the screen every day. William Holden was up there, along with Gregory Peck and Kim Novak, golden with the light of the West...
...editors of Let's Go! have acted responsibly in the past by refusing to include Burma in the Let's Go! series, and explaining why it is not included. A break from this tradition--a decision to offer a Let's Go Myanmar! in the upcoming year--would play into the hands of a dictatorship trying to market itself into survival despite the wishes of the people...
...democracy and the value of constructive engagement should ring hollow when compared with the simple, sincerely expressed wishes of the Burmese: they do not want tourists as long as tourism undermines their democratic aspirations. And with the current level of military control over the burgeoning tourist trade, visitors to Burma cannot but hurt the people and land they are visiting. In any case, I cannot imagine that staying in hotels built with slave labor makes for a pleasant holiday...
...Burmese I know are warm and friendly, and I am certain their country is fascinating and beautiful. And when I can be welcomed to Burma by these people, and not the military government, I will be the first to go. At that point, I may be able to grab a Let's Go Burma! to pack in my suitcase. But as long as my travel there would buttress a cruel regime that does not enjoy popular support, I hope never to see a Let's Go guidebook to the country. As long as Burma remains unfree...
David S. Grewal '98 is an economics concentrator in Kirkland House. He is chair of the Harvard Burma Action Group...