I want to begin this article with a note that I am not a political writer. The purpose of this op-ed is to help confused tourists coming from Bangladesh work out what to call the golden land when they visit, not to take any sides in a political debate.
It’s been almost three months for me in Myanmar, and I have had the chance to travel through the hustling and bustling Yangon, as well as had glimpses of the rural Myanmar.
I’ve witnessed the remarkable election of November 8, celebrated Eid, and the famous Thadingyut Festival or Festival of Lights. Things that I was surprised by are the large number of expats working here, the pouring backpackers coming to the mystic land, and how much there is still to know about this country.
So, I will start with the most basic piece of information which tourists and expats here get confused with. The name of the country!
In the last few months, whenever I had the chance to interact with tourists, expats working here, or the locals, I got confused about what to call this country -- Myanmar or Burma.
Top Gear fans must have noticed that in the episode of Top Gear’s “Burma” special, Jeremy Clarkson proclaimed that he was in “what the BBC refers to as The Republic of the Union of Myanmar, but everyone else calls Burma.” Try saying that to the people of Myanmar.
The name Republic of the Union of Myanmar (referred to as Myanmar) was, of course, given to the country during the military dictatorship.
This is part of the reason some refuse to use the name. However, if you’re not going to say Myanmar on ethical grounds, surely the same logic must be applied to the name Burma -- given to the country by Britain in its colonial days.
This gets even more confusing as the media vary which name they use depending on that particular publication’s bias. Daw (used for elderly and respectable women) Aung San Suu Kyi famously still calls the country Burma. But everyone loves Daw Aung San Suu Kyi right? If she calls it Burma, they must all want to be called Burma right?
Not so. Myanmar is immensely complicated, and in my last three months I have only just scratched the surface -- but enough to know that the love for “The Lady” is not universal. Myanmar is conflicted with internal ethnic conflicts over land, religion, culture, and most importantly, its enormous natural resources.
A huge percentage of the population currently works for the government. A change in leadership in any country creates uncertainty and instability for government workers.
Many of this particular group have not experienced change in their entire careers, don’t know what an Daw Aung San Suu Kyi led NLD government would mean for their futures, and are understandably apprehensive.
Then there are the ethnic minorities. The NLD seeks to bring democracy to Myanmar as a whole, but not everyone wants to be Myanmar.
There are ethnic factions of the country who would prefer to be left to their own devices. While there are ceasefires in place, ethnic armies are still armed -- I have seen them!!
And who knows how the Karen, Mon, or Shan (the most important or largest ethnic groups) armies will react should the change from the historic election not be all they are hoping for.
And then of course comes the one thing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is being criticised in the West for, her questionable representation of Muslim minorities. No one can be sure that she will do anything to defend this group against growing discrimination, so why should they love her?
The point of all this rambling is that if you use the word “Burma” in conversation with locals, it may be perceived that you are:
1. Supportive of British colonialism
2. Just a confused tourist
3. Aligned with the NLD and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi -- which brings a whole load of connotations
One problem in the vocabulary is that it’s easier to call the people in “Burma” as “Burmese,” but what should I call the people when using “Myanmar.”
For the sake of staying out of political debates, particularly when off the beaten track, it’s better to use the official term Myanmar.
This worked well for me so far, and I have never been corrected like others I saw who said “Burma.”
Best to stick to Myanmar.