IT WAS A SUNDAY AFTERNOON WHEN I ARRIVED IN RANGOON, Burma last month for what was supposed to be a month-long stay. I knew back then that a protest movement was on the rise in the military-ruled country, spurred by a sharp increase in fuel prices last August. That was one of the reasons that got me excited about the trip. Little did I know that things would become much worse than what I had hoped for.

I left my loved ones in the Philippines, saying that I was going to Burma to do some “soul-searching” and to engage in a time of “self-discovery and reflection.” Actually, I just wanted to see the place and find out about life there. Having talked to a relative who recently visited the Golden Land, and seeing how much he has changed since the trip, it was easy to come to a decision when the opportunity to go there presented itself.

Rangoon is a beautiful place, with abundant trees and large parks. Sure, a lot of the buildings are dilapidated and the cars and taxis look at least 30 years old, but the city still has a certain charm that I cannot put into words. It’s kind of like traveling back in time to a land where people in colorful tie-dye shirts and huge peace sign pendants could have lived in.

Traditional garment

But in Rangoon people are mostly in longyi, the traditional skirt-like garment worn by men and women alike. Only around 10 percent wear trousers. The Burmese look a lot like Filipinos, and it is very easy to be mistaken for a local when you are there. And they seem to be a content people. Theirs is a very kind race, always ready to greet you with a smile.

The first few days of my stay was marked by continuous rains, which prevented me from going out and exploring the city. I was able to go out only a couple of times to have dinner and get some groceries.

Near the end of my first week in the country, the weather cleared a bit, and I was able to take a walk up to nearby Inya Lake, the largest lake in Rangoon. On the way there, I passed by a part of Rangoon University. Once a hotbed of student protests, the university has been shut down by the government since the 1990s for fear of a repeat of the massive uprising in 1988.

A Filipino, who resided in Rangoon, told me that it was about four times the size of UP Diliman. It used to be known as one of the the most prestigious universities in Southeast Asia in the 1950s, attracting students from all over the region. Now, it is nothing more than a cluster of mossy buildings, while undergraduates get their degrees even without leaving their houses through distance education programs.

My first Catholic Mass outside the Philippines came on my second Sunday there. That morning, talk of a long line of protesting monks marching on the streets of downtown Rangoon was spreading. Apparently, they were demanding an apology from the government for killing one of their own in a protest action against fuel price increases earlier that month.

The following day would mark what would probably be the most awesome thing I saw during my stay in Burma. On the way home from the grocery store, I ran into a group of about 500 marching monks near Shwedagon Pagoda, which was considered the holiest temple in all of Burma. I was inside a taxi, and it took quite some time until I saw the end of that line. And I thought that was huge.

Massive rally

It was only the next day that I found out about a gathering of about 100,000 civilians in downtown Rangoon, calling for an end to the 45-year military dictatorship. On that day, too, I saw soldiers blocking the road to the house of the National League of Democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Shwedagon Pagoda, which was about a 25-minute walk from where I stayed, was the one place I had hoped to see while I was in Rangoon. Sadly, I was never able to do so. When the weather allowed me a trip to the place, the authorities didn’t. They closed it down because it was where protesters gathered before marching downtown.

Later that week, all hell broke loose. Soldiers opened fire on protesters, killing 10, according to the state media, but dissidents put the number of deaths in the hundreds. Witnesses of the violent dispersal said the bodies were immediately dragged off so it was impossible to come up with an exact number of casualties. Later, it was found out that the bodies were burned (some were said to be still alive) so as to leave no trace of the protesters.

Another Burmese I talked to said that a relative of hers saw yet another abhorrent act by the authorities in Shwedagon Pagoda the day before soldiers shot at protesters. She said security forces at the pagoda told the monks there that they may sit down and express their grievances peacefully. When the monks did, the soldiers started beating them up.

Arrests

Also during that week, the military ransacked monasteries under cover of darkness and arrested hundreds of monks. Public Internet access was cut off due to numerous photos of the dispersals leaking out.

Finally, I decided to cut my stay short. All these events prevented me from doing what I came for, anyway. Most of my stay in Burma was spent inside my house, watching DVDs and reading copies of the New Light of Myanmar, a government mouthpiece which contains mostly propaganda and a few items from the Internet. I remember a headline in that paper that said the recent protests were instigated by Westerners who were “jealous of national development and stability.” Since then, I have taken to calling it the New Lie of Myanmar.

At least, I told myself before leaving, I can take action when I’m already outside the country. I can tell others of the plight of the Burmese people, who have been largely ignored since the last major uprising 19 years ago.

Burma is a country abundant in natural resources, from oil to timber to precious stones. Yet some have dubbed it “the Africa of Asia” because of widespread poverty. Thirty percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Most people live on less than $1 a day. This continues to happen while neighboring countries like China benefit from the country’s natural resources.

The video of the wedding of Senior General Than Shwe’s daughter, which can be viewed on the Internet, shows the bride lavishly decorated in diamonds and gemstones and receiving gifts that reportedly amounted to a whopping $50 million. Yet the government spends nearly nothing on health care and social services. They spend less than $3 on health care per person per year, when according to experts, the ideal amount is $40. One out of every 10 children living in Burma will never live to see his or her fifth birthday.

Forced labor

Forced labor is rampant in Burma. Men are forced to work on roads and infrastructure for more than 10 hours a day for nothing more than meal money. Child trafficking and prostitution are also a big problem in the country.

Press freedom is nonexistent in Burma. All the newspapers and radio and television stations are controlled by the government. To add to that, public Internet access is screened. Users are prevented from accessing free e-mail services as well as international news agency websites like CNN and BBC. It is true that you can find out more about events in Burma when you are outside the country.

And, of course, human rights abuse is nothing new in Burma. People, including monks, have been either beaten up or killed for peacefully fighting for their rights.

The situation may have calmed down in Rangoon, and Burma isn’t the news anymore these past few days. But now is not the time to forget about the atrocities of the military junta against its own people. Now is the time to continue to apply pressure on them. Their actions are unnecessary and unacceptable. The protesters were only armed with banners; the monks didn’t even have footwear.

This is also a time to pressure countries like China who continue to rely on Burma for access to valuable natural resources. All this time, China has turned a blind eye to the violent acts of the junta because it benefits while the junta stays in power. If a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics is what is needed for China to start caring about the situation, then by all means do it.

It is really frustrating to think that a country as rich as Burma has to suffer like this from a handful of greedy despots. Had their natural resources been handled better, they could have easily been more developed than their neighbors. The Burmese people have gone through enough hardships. And they do not deserve the treatment they are getting. This has to end now.