preparation.

A few months ago my friend, Alina, lent me Amy Tan's newest novel, Saving Fish from Drowning. After reading the novel and researching Myanmar, I became interested in visiting the country. I especially wanted to visit the infamous setting of Inle Lake, where an entire tourist group disappeared.

However, upon conducting research, I was stunned by the things I did not know: the violent military junta...the permanent house arrest of the nation's democratically elected leader, Aung Sun Suu Kyi...the horrific human rights abuses...the poverty...the list goes on and on. I read about the on-going tourism-boycott debate. I read about the activist groups. I read about the links between tourism, the economy, and SLORC. And after all my reading I decided to proceed with this trip.

Why? Why would I choose to go to a country where the government tortures its citizens, profits on illegal drug and timber trades, and places the people's Pro-Democratic leader under house arrest?

I went to Myanmar for the same reason I came to China: for the people. I wanted to meet the people...see their families...understand their lives. And I did.

Although I was inspired by a book, I was driven by knowledge. And I knew, if I was careful and prudent, I could help place some of my American dollars into the hands of the people...into the hands of some of the poorest, underprivileged, and abused people.

Can a dollar help? Yes and no. It will help a family eat for an entire week. But, it cannot stop the current regime's cruelties. Positive change can only be applied through international pressure. But as long as China, Thailand, and other Asian countries continue illegal trade with Slorc, and as long as Myanmar has a seat with ASEAN, and as long as the west sits in an ignorant, apathetic state, nothing will change.

The last and most important question is: did any good come from my travels? Yes. I believe so. I did exactly as I intended. I met the people, I made friends, and I placed money in the hands of the desperate. I came back and I informed others. I will not have a lasting effect; but lasting effects--in a country like this--can only result from mounting international pressure. International pressure is enforced when the people in international countries place pressure on government officials. People only pressure officials when they themselves feel a moral pressure from what they have seen or what they know.

We can do as much reading as possible. We can read about the Darfur crisis, Bosnian refugees, Chinese orphanages, the Bulgarian Nurses in Libya, the devastating conflict in the Congo, the poverty and horror of Colombians, the on-going war in Chechnya...et cetera...et cetera...et cetera. But reading only instills a partial understanding, as does any news network. If you want to truly comprehend how the other half lives, you must witness it yourself. I am not suggesting people visit these places, but I do suggest people start accepting a new form of travel. Travel that excludes beach resorts, five star hotels, and a promise of picturesque scenery. Travel that is harder. Travel that hurts. Travel that makes you cry. Travel that is so special and so important that "the faulty camera in your mind" is no comparison to your emotional response. Travel that affects you until the day you die.

I will post two new entries that explain my travels at Inle Lake and Yangon. But, you won't see so much of Myanmar; you'll see the people...the faces of the forgotten and neglected.

If you know nothing about this nation, please do some reading.

Free Burma Coalition (www.freeburmacoalition.org)
Burma Project (www.burmaproject.org)
Voices of Burma (www.voicesforburma.org)
Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org)

Books by Aung San Suu Kyi
Voices of Hope (1997)
Freedom from Fear (1991)
Letters From Burma (1997)