Power Corrupting Absolutely (Country's name withheld)

Precious gems in abundance, elegant teak trees filling the mountain ranges, gold covered temples, jade spilling out of mines, resources so rich in abundance, making . Burma, or Myanmar as the new military power have named it, one of the richest countries in Asia. Why then is it that everywhere I look I see poverty running so deep that hope has been given up decades before. I see cars so old that they have been repaired and re-repaired for years and years gone by until there is hardly an original part left because of the import bans. Hospitals, schools, shops falling apart while a scarce few boast mansions and riches. This is Burma. The land of intentional poverty and affliction, so that the elect few can rule the country by force and fear. The military took over the country by force years ago, and why are they still in power today? Strip the people into fear and desperation and you gain control. It’s as simple as that. Not one thing happens here without some no-name with a gun or badge clad uniform’s nod of approval. Crossing a bridge, taking a photo, sending, receiving, and buying. One word of criticism of the military power will land you in jail. And if that happens, you are as good as dead. A mobile phone costs US$1000 to limit communication freedom, and if you can afford that, your calls will be listened to at any time. Every email sent in, to or from Burma is printed and filed, yes, EVERY ONE. That is only around a million a day. Every possible form of control here is and has been introduced, even if they gain nothing from it. The people hate it, but cannot escape because in their poverty, how could they ever afford it? And where could they go? I have tried to limit the name of the country in this blog just in case I am denied access to the country again. It has happened to someone else I know. But the people do the best they can. The luckier ones are the husbands who somehow borrow enough money to go and work overseas and send money back to their families and relatives, absent for years and years, sacrificing vital time with their families, missing seeing their children grow up. But they are ensuring a better future for their children. Everything seems so unfortunate. One young guy finished University with 4 HD’s, but could not get the scholarship he deserved because he does not have a national ID card due to his ethnic inferiority. If you crash your motorbike, and don’t even hit anyone or anything else, it could land you in jail, no questions asked. Then you might be up for hard labour with shackled feet, for hours. I could go on but I won’t. It seems like nothing is being done about this horrible situation. People are suffering. Children are hungry. What is being done? The monks were the only ones brave enough to stand amid the risk of death and look what happened to them. They saw it fit to sacrifice their lives just to gain the attention of the world in order to bring peace and fair rule to their country. Hundreds died, but the world has forgotten them and their plight already. Most people wish for freedom from their current country situation, but have already given up hope. I don’t blame them. It’s been happening for 40 years. The only thing we can do is spread the knowledge of the horrible things going on there and hopefully draw attention to it. It is a beautiful country filled with beautiful people just wanting the chance at life that we have had, merely because we happened to be born on a free privileged continent.