Human Interest

Burma is a country that is facing a situation that seems to be pretty unique.  The government is in a constant battle to maintain their reputation in the international community and attempt to paint an image of themselves that doesn’t accurately represent what is occurring domestically.  Aside from the unrecognized genocide that the Rhohingan population is facing that the government barely acknowledges, the country is suffering from extreme poverty and a government that is only concerned with maintaining power.  The move of the capital city exemplifies this problem quite well.  The biggest city in Burma is Rangoon which was previously its capital.  The government decided to move the capital city to Naypyidaw that was built to be a modern, world class city in 2005 and cost about $4 billion to build.  It contains well-maintained infrastructure and landscaping and contains many of the things nice cities have like golf courses and zoos.  The government thought that moving the capital city would draw people out of Rangoon and the city would expand.  However, their thought was very wrong.  Many people couldn’t afford to make the move, didn’t like the jobs they were being offered, and the commute between the two cities is less than ideal.  In fact the highway between the Rangoon and Naypyidaw has been nicknamed the “Death Highway” because so many fatal accidents occur on it, not to mention it takes five hours to make the drive.  Plane tickets are too expensive for most Burmese people as well. This has created a strange emptiness in the capital city that many describe as a ghost town.  The government’s public reasoning for moving the city was to help alleviate the overcrowded conditions of Rangoon and build a more appealing city.  But documents have revealed the government’s real reason for moving was to protect themselves from opposition, which is evidenced by the fact that the parliament building is surrounded by a moat.  Although the government is no longer considered a dictatorship, the old power dynamics are in place.  More than ten years after Naypyidaw was established, it is still virtually empty.  Visitors to the city also have noted that many of the structures in the city are good looking on the outside, but falling apart on the inside.  Residents that work in the city usually do not make enough money to enjoy the luxuries of Naypyidaw either.