Like a visual postcard, the short video A handful of Myanmar by Berta upe Tilmantaitė invites its viewers to marvel at the wonders of the Southeast Asian country. Reid Willis‘ music replaces the natural sounds of the place, as rhythm and tempo adapt to the flow of the rivers and the laughter of young monks.  via globalvoicesonline


myanmar map


wikipedia small

bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. One third of Burma’s total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres (1,200 miles) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Burma’s population of over 60 million makes it the world’s 24th most populous country and, at 676,578 square kilometres (261,227 sq mi), it is the world’s 40th largest country and the second largest in Southeast Asia.

For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and a myriad of Burma’s ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world’s longest-running unresolved civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organizations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country.

Burma is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas and other mineral resources. In 2011, its GDP stood at US$53.14 billion and was estimated to be growing at an annual rate of 5.5%. Despite good economic growth it’s believed that Burma’s true economic potential won’t be easily achieved due to the nation’s lack of development, as of 2013 according to the Human Development Index (HDI) Burma still has one of the lowest human development in the world.

what does that even mean… who’s decided hdi ness?


In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the 8888 Uprising. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General Saw Maung staged a coup d’état and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalised plans for People’s Assembly elections on 31 May 1989. SLORC changed the country’s official English name from the “Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma” to the “Union of Myanmar” in 1989.








This is a textbook case of ethnic cleansing (

new housing where rohingya once live


rohingya people fleeing myanmar to bangladesh.. et al


refugee ness

indigenous ness