Word: shwe
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...ruling military junta gave no reason for its sudden abandonment of the bustling city of Rangoon. Then, shortly after thousands of civil servants were forced to move to an isolated construction site in the middle of nowhere, a secret government document leaked to local journalists. Junta leader Than Shwe outlined his fears of an invasion by the U.S. and lauded Naypyidaw's superior defensive position compared to the former capital: mountains on one flank, distance from the sea and limited road access. The only vulnerability to this bunker city was from the air. But even here, Naypyidaw has been blessed...
...Rangoon, pleaded in a public statement. "Just come now." When I floated the idea of unilateral intervention with a democracy activist in Rangoon, he brightened up. "People would be so happy if they got foreign food from the sky," he said. Then, he whispered to me that Than Shwe's compound in Naypyidaw is now visible on Google Earth, in case I wanted to pass on a helpful tip to the U.S. Pacific Command. But as tempting as it might sound to a Burmese opposition figure to airdrop high-energy biscuits over refugee camps - or lob a missile at junta...
...weeks has to be harvested in October, by far the biggest of the twice-yearly crops. But the farmers face appalling odds. Their fields are inundated with sea water and there are no pumps to drain them; the buffalo that pull their wooden plows are drowned. Laputta resident Myint Shwe tells how the cyclone claimed 20 of his cows and buffalo, wrecked his house, and destroyed his boat. He can now only plow his land "if the government gives us equipment," he says. "No equipment, no rice." He is unlikely to get it. He and his large family have...
...said hello. He was the local teacher and could speak a little English. He showed me the rubble of his destroyed schoolhouse. Only two things had been salvaged from the building: a small, waterlogged globe used for geography lessons and a framed photograph of junta leader Than Shwe that normally hung at the front of the classroom. Asked if Than Shwe was a good person, the teacher laughed. "No, very bad." Asked why he had salvaged the picture the teacher struggled for the right English word and said, "scared." Then he brought his wrists together to mime handcuffs...
...week after the cyclone, no government officials have come to the teacher's village to assess the damage. But fear of the junta pervades. So just to be safe, the picture of General Than Shwe is propped up against one of the schoolhouse's few remaining pillars. As I walk back to my boat, the teacher asks where I come from. I tell him. He asks me whether in my country people can "say government bad." I say, yes, we can. He looks at me and shakes his head. Then the teacher makes another gesture. He points at the waterlogged...