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Mainichi Daily News, Monday
"Transitions 1"
The process of significant change from one state to another is
often
fraught with difficulties. In Burma, we tend to attribute vague,
unidentifiable sicknesses with seasonal change. People generally
feel ill at ease and uncomfortable in these in-between periods where everything
from the temperature to the state of their bones seem uncertain. How
much more unsettling it must be during periods of social and political transition. Burma is supposed to have started the transition from a one-party
socialist authoritarian state to a democratic society eight years ago. Leaving
aside for the moment the question of whether or not we have made any progress
along this path we can certainly confirm that all the difficulties
and more associated with times of transition are being experienced in our
country.
There is uncertainty about matters to which people would not give
a second thought in normal societies. For example, school children, university students and their parents all over Burma are waiting to hear when
the "summer vacation" will come to an end. Some universities
have been closed since the student demonstrations of early December last year. As
for the schools which closed for their usual summer holidays at the beginning
of March, the new term was meant to have started at the beginning of
this month. But for some reason there has not yet been any indication
as to when
this new term will begin. As an added complication there are rumors
that the color of the children's uniform, which is known as "school
green," might well be changed. There is some speculation as to whether the new
color is to be blue or purple (blue is considered to be the safer bet). One
wonders whether such decisions are based on esthetics, politics or astrology.
None
of this helps to alleviate the confusion of the people who are already uncertain of the road ahead of them.
The subject of inflation is both tedious and irresistible. A housewife
comes back from the bazaar muttering a litany of the price rises
that have taken place since the last shopping expedition which could have
been as recent as the previous day. It does not make for security to be
unable to calculate your daily household expenses. Perhaps the only ones who
have received a temporary respite from the worry of inflation are the
school children who do not for the moment have to haggle with their parents
over the pocket money they need. In Rangoon, a decent school lunch costs
the equivalent of the average daily pay earned by the lowest-ranking
civil servant. This makes the fact that some families of state employees
can still manage to send their children to school a near miracle.
But, of course, most people are aware that this is more the age
of bribery and corruption than of miracles because our civil servants are obliged
to supplement their official income to make ends meet.
Burmese Buddhists talk constantly of /annica/, the law of impermanence.
Nothing is forever, everything is in a process of change. But it
would be so much more bearable if that change could be a smooth journey rather
than a series of rough leaps and bounds across precarious terrain. While
accepting that nothing is permanent it would still be nice to think that electricity supply is more, rather than less, permanent and lights can be turned
on at the flick of a switch. The erratic nature of our electricity supply
may confirm the basic fact of life that we cannot take anything for
granted.
But it certainly doesn't make life any easier. It came as a surprise
to many Burmese people when the power failure in Kuala Lumpur last
year was considered news of international importance. We reckon that if every
time there was a power failure in Rangoon and had to be reported in the newspapers there would not be much room for other news items. The unreliability of our electricity supply is nothing new -- it was
very much a part of Burma under socialism. But according to some people, the
element of unpredictability has increased since the frequently proclaimed transition
to what is said to be a free market economy. We all feel vulnerable
when the process of change is not cushioned by the necessary mechanism to
take away some pains of adjustment.
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