My wife and I were in Burma in March. We travelled the length of the country, often going days without seeing another tourist. Wherever we went, we were told two things: the government is vile and terrifying, and our presence was a comfort. Why the latter should be so isn’t entirely clear, but perhaps it was just the human desire to feel remembered.
The boycott, by tourists and businesses, simply leaves the field to the Chinese, who are busy acquiring Burma as a wholly-owned sub. They prop up the generals, and the absence of an alternative presence does nothing for the Burmese people.
I say go. Listen–you won’t have to wait long to be told how welcome you are. Then come home and demand that western businesses be encouraged by their governments to go into Burma, with the understanding that they are expected to be disruptive elements in Burma, and will suffer in the west if they become agents or beneficiaries of the generals’ brutality.
