Information on Government:
In 1937 Burma broke away from the province of India. Shortly after breaking away General Ne Win became the first self-appointed president and military ruler. He controlled the government from 1962 to 1988. In 1988 the military overthrow Ne Win and developed a new military ruling called junta (“CIA” 1). When the military junta came into power they attempted to change the name of the country to Myanmar in 1989. However, Burma’s democracy movement still calls it Burma, because they don’t believe the unelected military has the right to change the country’s name (“Country Profile” 1). Junta still rules today despite losing the 1990 election to the National League of Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The military did not recognize the victory because Suu Kyi was under house arrest when her party won the election (“CIA” 1).
Burma’s legal system is similar to that of the United States. They have an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. The executive branch contains the chief of state Senior General Than Shwe, the Prime Minister Lieutenant General Thein Sein, and the cabinet which is controlled by the military junta. The legislative branch contains 485 seats which are elected by popular vote. The winners of the election in 1990 where never allowed to be seated, due to the junta. The judicial branch still follows the British-era legal system, but there is no guarantee that someone will get a fair trial (“CIA” 1).
Information on the Economy:
Burma’s GDP for 2007 was US$16.3 billion, its GDP per head was US$334, and its GDP (PPP) per head was US$436. Its major industries are agriculture, industrial, and services. (“Country Profile” 1). Burma use to be the world’s leading exporter of rice, but now it can barely produce enough for its own population. It is currently the world’s leading supplier of opiates. The money they receive from illegal narcotics plays a major role in the national economy. (“Culture of Burma” 1). Burma’s major exports are natural gas, agricultural products, precious and semi-precious stones, timber and forest products, and marine products. It exports these products to Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, China, and Malaysia. Burma’s major imports are lubricant and oil diesel, textiles and fabrics, machinery parts, steel, iron, and bars. These imports come from Singapore, China, Bahamas, Thailand, and Japan (“Burma” 1).
At one time Burma had the internet available to them, until images were posted of Buddhist monks being beaten and killed. Once this happened the military physically disconnected the primary telecommunication cables. Since that day Burma only has limited access to the internet, as the military attempts to isolate their country from the rest of the world. The military have blocked 85 percent of e-mail service providers and almost all political-opposition and pro-democracy sites. The military must really be paranoid considering that less than one percent of citizens have internet access (Talbot 1). Burma also has a media association. It is mostly journalists reporting on information in Burma. This did not sit well with the military either, has many journalists have been sentenced to prison time. They currently have 21 staff members in prison and have had 41 members released, that’s 62 people that have been imprisoned at one time for reporting the news (“Prison Zone” 1).
Despite all of Burma’s problems with the internet, it is not the main form of communication. They have 829,000 telephone lines and 375,800 cellular phones in use. The phone system can be used for general, domestic, and international calls; however, the cell phones are still undeveloped. They also have radio stations and 4 television stations (“CIA” 1). Most Burmese do not own cell phones or have access to the internet, due to a majority of there social class being poor.
Socio-Cultural Information: (demographics, lifestyles, customs, values, and beliefs)
The majority of Burma’s people fall into the very poor social class. They have a very small middle class and tiny elite (“Culture of Burma” 1). They have a wide range of ethnic groups with the majority of the group being Burmese. The other ethnic groups include Shan, Karen, Rakhine, Chinese, Mon, and Indian (“Burma” 1).
Despite having most of its people fall into the poor social class, Burma had forty-five universities and colleges and one hundred and fifty-four technical and vocational schools. Unfortunately, most of the schools could not stay open and closed down in 1996. Four years later a few were reopened (“Culture of Burma” 1).
Gender plays a major role in what kind of job someone will have. Both sexes do agricultural work but they have different tasks. For example, men prepare the land for planting and women transplant rice seeds. Society used to value women, until the military took over and undermined the status of women (“Culture of Burma” 1), which could be the main reason why parents favor their sons over their daughters (“Myanmar” 1).
Most Burmese are Buddhist of the Theravada stream. Their beliefs revolve around karma. They believe if a person does something good for someone, something good will happen to them. On the other hand if they do something bad to someone, something bad will happen to them. They also believe in reincarnation, but their ultimate goal is to reach Nirvana. They can reach Nirvana by breaking the cycle of reincarnation and following the five precepts which are not to kill, steal, lie, drink alcohol, and commit adultery (“Myanmar” 1).
Besides religious beliefs most Burmese are also superstitious. They rely on astrology, palmistry, and clairvoyance to make important decisions, such as marriage. A form of bad luck would be giving a pregnant woman a gift for her child before the child has been born. If Burmese are struck with a case of bad luck they must perform yadaya (meritorious deeds). Yadaya includes things like setting birds free or mending a road (“Myanmar” 1).
Burma’s major custom is not touching a person on the head, especially a young child. This is seen as improper because Buddhists believe that the head is the highest part of the body. Other etiquette that is considered improper is showing a lot of emotion in public, such as losing one’s temper. It is also proper etiquette to remove footwear when entering a temple or someone’s home (“Culture of Burma” 1).
Burmese eat two meals a day. A morning meal and an evening meal, these meals are served on a low table and the members of the family sit on mats around the table. They eat with their fingers and after finishing the meal they drink water and eat fruit. During the day people eat betel, smoke tobacco, drink tea, and eat pickled tea. Tea is very important in Burma as they have shops in every city and town (“Culture of Burma” 1).
Burmese celebrate many of the same ceremonies as the United States. They consider births, engagements, and marriages as ye while (joyous occasions) and sickness and death as nga ye (sad occasions). After a woman gives birth it is custom to give a gift such as bottles or clothes. When an engagement party is thrown it is not necessary to bring a gift. Marriages are not celebrated with a ceremony; instead the couple registers at a marriage registry. Once the couple is married it is custom to present them with a gift depending on their stage of life. Young couples are usually given cash while older couples are given things like kitchen appliances. Whatever the gift given it should not be black in color because those are seen as taboo along with scissors and knives. If a person becomes ill the family and friends come to visit. They bring gifts that include fresh fruits or cereals. When a person dies it is necessary for friends and relatives to attend the funeral or send a letter in advance indicating that they are unable to attend. If they fail to attend the funeral or give notice it is considered insulting to the family. Donations are usually collected at the funeral to help offset some of the cost (“Myanmar” 1).
SOURCES:
“Burma”. US Department of State. 12-07-2009
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35910.htm
“CIA – The World Factbook — Burma”. Central Intelligence Agency. 12-07-2009
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bm.html#Govt
“Country Profile: Burma”. Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 12-08-2009
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/asia-oceania/burma/?profile=politics
“Culture of Burma”. Countries and Their Cultures. 12-09-2009
http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Burma.html
“Myanmar(burma) Culture & Customs”. Yadanabon. 12-10-2009
http://www.yadanabon.com/culture_custom.htm
“Prison Zone”. Burma Media Association. 12-12-2009
http://www.bma-online.org/Prison_zone.html
Talbot, David. “Technology Review: Burma’s Internet Crackdown”. Technology
Published by MIT. 12-12-2009
http://www.technologyreview.com/web/19474/page1
