Think globally...act locally !

Think globally, act locally is a motto that I learnt during my studies in the US. It is a good motto that fits my current situation very well. Even in a remote place like Svångemåla, a satellite dish is constantly bringing down the latest news from even the remotes places on earth, right into the middle of the deep forest where I am. Some of the news are difficult to just ignore and I will take the opportunity to let you know what I think about them and hope some of you might come in and give the rest of us your opinion.

The first issue I would like to raise is the situation in Burma or Myanmar as the official UN name of the country is. As we all know, a junta has ruled the country for a number of years and the only credible opposition party has been destroyed and its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been in house arrest for a long time. The political situation is totally unacceptable as is the way the junta is ruling the country and its oppression of all opposition, its use of forced labour and so on, but at the same time, and this is my main point, the current isolation and boycott of the country is a grave mistake!

I have lived and worked in many countries and visited many more but Burma is the only country where people have come up to me and thanked me for coming to visit them. The Burmese people is one of the warmest, most hospital, generous, honest and gentle I know and they are desperate to meet and talk to people from other countries, with other experiences than they have. They want us to see with our own eyes what their rulers are doing to them, what the ordinary man is experiencing but also to hear what the “outside world” is like and what we think about their plight.

My plea is that as many as possible should go to Burma, interact with the people and that way show our solidarity. It is possible to avoid the hotels owned by the generals, boycott their other tourist “attraction” and instead support and encourage the “man on the street”, the taxi driver, the small people on the market, street vendors and even the beggar on the street. The fact that Burma offers some of the most incredible historical and religious sites in the world is a fact and since a visit to this wonderful country should also mean a lot to so many amazing people should make it easy to decide to plan a visit!