What up, guys? It's Kristin here with "Be My Travel Muse" and today, we're talking about
something that is, frankly, very controversial, uncomfortable, but I think that it's something
that we have to address before we get into all of the Myanmar videos that I'm going to
have on this channel.
For those of you who don't know right now, Myanmar, after quite a colorful history, is
being tried in the UN and has been found guilty and ordered to stop the genocide of the Rohingya
people who live near the Bangladesh border. They are a Muslim minority and they have been
subjected to an ethnic cleansing by the Burmese Military. So the question is, as a tourist,
should that stop you from going to Myanmar right now? So, for a very long time, I decided
that, yeah, that should actually stop me from being a tourist in Myanmar until I realized
something really important. And that's what I want to get into in this video. But I think
before we get into that, let's talk about a very, very quick Burmese history.
Since independence in 1948, the country has been in one of the largest running civil wars
involving insurgent groups representing political and ethnic minority groups, and successive
central governments. The country is under military rule under various guises from 1962
to 2010 and, in the process, has become one of the least developed nations in the world.
In 2011, the military junta ended and included the release of pro-democracy leader, Aung
San Suu Kyi, from house arrest after 20 years of on and off house arrest under military
rule. She then became the de facto leader of Myanmar and was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize. Known for spending her time under house arrest studying Buddhism, she's come under
fire for turning a blind eye and even defending the actions of the military who once imprisoned
her over the genocide of the Rohingya Muslim minority.
So, obviously, this is some really intense stuff and there are some innocent people who
are being horribly treated, who don't deserve it, of course. And it's really hard, I think,
as a tourist, to decide whether that means you should or should not visit a place. I
think, on paper, it seems like, of course, this isn't a place you should visit, right?
Because all of this is going on and does it mean by going there that you are in some way
supporting what's happening or that you're somehow okay with it? And I ended up deciding
after years of feeling that, no, it wasn't okay to go and absolutely not, should you
ever try to support something like that. I realized going to a country doesn't have anything
to do with supporting their military. Just like I don't agree with a lot of things that
my government does, I am sure that plenty of people in Myanmar find it abhorrent what's
going on to the Rohingya minority there and are scared to speak out about it. Unfortunately,
journalists who broke the news of what was there were imprisoned for over 500 days.
Another really interesting thing to bring up here is, as an American, I can travel to
Myanmar. But there was a recent travel ban enacted that prevents Burmese people from
coming to the U.S. So it's crazy that I'm even in a position where I can discuss this
kind of thing because I have the free will to go there if I want to whereas Burmese people
don't have that same right to come to my country. I also take into account that people are not
their government. And that's what I ended up ultimately deciding when I chose to go
to Myanmar, even though this is going on because I do not have anything to do with what my
government decides to do. All I can do is vote and hope for the best, which in Myanmar
is not exactly even a given. So, it's such a new democracy and there are questions over
whether it even is a true democracy.
And so it's really hard to say that the people who are trying to run businesses there, who
have come to depend on tourism, should be punished for the actions of their military.
And that is what I really, ultimately, decided. And one of the biggest reasons I decided that
is because I realized I already have been to places where this is going on. I had no
idea, when I went to Raja Ampat in Indonesia a couple of years ago, that there was a genocide
going on there too in West Papua. And looking back on it, it's, kind of, crazy to think
about. Should people not go to Bali then? Should the 7 million people who visited Bali
that same year that I went to Raja Ampat not go to Indonesia because of what's going on?
And when you really think about it that way, I think we have to back up a little bit and
think about who we really hurt when we decide to boycott a place.
And in the case of Myanmar as well as Raja Ampat, who I'm really hurting are the people
who don't have a safety net who I'm spending my money with directly. You can't really fault
small hotel owners or the people who sell fruit at the stands or people who have restaurants
that I was eating in. Or a really good example was my driver in Mandalay who told me that,
when he was growing up, he couldn't go to school because his family didn't have enough
money. And so he had to drop out and work from third grade on. However, he has kids
that he's now sending to university and he's supporting them all through this business
where he drives people around Mandalay. So, it's quite amazing that by being there I could
help support him in doing that by hiring him for the day. And if tourism stopped there,
which it has really fallen since 2015 when all of this started, then people like him
are the one who get the short end of the stick.
And I don't think the military really cares whether I decide to go to Myanmar or not,
considering that great social change like the end of apartheid or the decision for women
to vote, like these things don't have to do with tourism. It's really hard in this globalized
world to make the decision to not support certain people and places. And so, my ultimate
goal is when I travel, to put money back into the hands of local people. I think, rather
than another vacation to Paris, staying in a Hilton, helping someone buy their third
vacation home, it's more important to go somewhere like Myanmar and stay in a locally-owned hotel,
hire local people to take you and show you around their beautiful country, buy food from
them and souvenirs and all that good stuff that makes the trip an amazing experience.
And I can tell you from firsthand experience that Burmese people are some of the kindest,
most welcoming people I've ever met, super warm, always saying hello, wanting to take
pictures together. And so, I can't help but feel, after finishing up my trip there, like
not going would be really a disservice to everyday people.
And so, I hope that this video at least shines some light on why I decided to go to Myanmar
despite what's going on, because I feel that my decisions to go, the people I interacted
with, and the things that I was mostly spending my money on really have nothing to do with
what's going on over there and, hopefully, did more good than harm. So, that's what I
ultimately think. But I'm curious what you think. So, feel free to leave it in the comments.
Keep it constructive if you could. And I look forward to seeing you next week when I take
you round beautiful Myanmar. I'm sure you will come to love it as much as I did. Make
sure that you subscribe. And I will see you then. Bye.