Burma is a corner of the Golden Triangle of opium production. In 1996 the United States Embassy in Rangoon released a “Country Commercial Guide,” which states “Exports of opiates alone appear to be worth about as much as all legal exports.” Investments in infrastructure and hotels are coming from major opiate-growing and opiate-exporting organizations or those with close ties. Burma’s national company Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) is the main channel for laundering the revenues of heroin produced and exported under the control of the Burmese army. Burma has been a significant player in the transnational drug trade since World War II. The corruption, poverty and form of government all contribute to an increase in opium crops in Burma.
Burma is one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia, suffering from decades of stagnation, mismanagement and isolation. Under British administration, Burma was the wealthiest country in Southeast Asia. It had been the world’s largest exporter of rice, and Burma supplied oil through the Burmah Oil Company when the British ruled it as a colony. Burma also had a wealth of natural and labor resources; produced 75% of the world’s teak; and had a highly literate population. The country was on a fast track to development. But after a parliamentary government was formed in 1948, Prime Minister U Nu disastrously attempted to make Burma a welfare state and adopted central planning. Rice exports fell by two thirds and mineral exports by over 96%. The 1962 coup d’état was followed by economic scheme called the Burmese Way to Socialism, a plan to nationalize all industries except agriculture. This catastrophic program turned Burma into one of the world’s most impoverished countries. The economy is still slow, rated as the least free in Asia (tied with North Korea), with very limited expansion of the private sector. The workforce is not educated or skilled in modern technology, and many work doing manual labor in rice fields.
The country’s rulers depend on sales of precious stones such as sapphires, pearls and jade to fund their regime. Rubies are the biggest earner; 90% of the world’s rubies come from Burma, whose red stones are priced for their purity and hue. Human rights organizations urge bans on purchases of Burmese gems because nearly all the profits from the sale of precious gems go to the ruling junta, as the majority of mining activity in the country is government-run.
Burmese women are often more business savvy than their husbands or fathers. But when they gather socially, Burmese women adopt a fake modesty, clustering together on one side of the room, serving the men first, deferring to the men, and walking a few paces behind him carrying the bundles. A woman keeps her surname in Burma, and has full legal rights. Historically women have held high offices and been leaders of a village, chieftainess and queens. Women are allowed to freely divorce, for any reason, and if she leaves her husband for a year, he can get an automatic divorce from her. Polygamy is an accepted part of Burmese society, though a man cannot marry for a second time without the consent of his first wife, and if he does not abide by her decision, she can sue for divorce and a partition of the property. An estimated 15,000 Burmese women work as sex workers, serving clients such as college students, policemen, business people and taxi or trishaw drivers. They are exposed to violence and high rates of STDs including HIV/AIDs. This is the only way, they say, they can make a living, especially if their husband dies or leaves them.
Homosexuality is illegal in Burma. The current political climate is such that no organized LGBT political or social life can exist. You can imagine the international community has regular fits about this fact.
