5/06/2008

Where is Myanmar?


For some of us, the question begins with what the heck is Myanmar? For others, the question is when did it stop calling itself Burma? Then where the heck is Burma? Having been in Vietnam (1968) I tend to place a lot of countries based on what I know. If you go west from Vietnam you run into Laos and Cambodia. West from there is Thailand and west from there and a little north is Myanmar. For some reason, Myanmar stretches way down to the south and takes a lot of the coast from Thailand. It is because of all this exposure that the recent Cyclone or Hurricane that hit it very hard. The official death toll is 22,000 but there are also well over another 40,000 people unaccounted for. A lot of the coastal area is a flat plain and the information is that the storm surge caused a lot of it to be inundated with a 12 foot storm surge or wall of water, that washed away many villages.

My initial reaction is to want to rush aid in there and help make it better for the citizens of the country. With a Military Regime in charge, I want to stand back and wait until they realize they need help and ask for it. So far they have not chosen to do so and what was rushed into Yangoon (aka Rangoon) is not reaching the reall needy parts of the country.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to live in a country where the Military has taken over. It is hard enough to have the Government over involving its self into the lives of our people. To have a Military guy (Like Me) in charge would be far worse.

Oh well, what this post has to do with the reality of things here at Rabbit Run is a good question. I am wondering what to do today. I mowed three straight days and now I guess I need to work on the mower(s) or the trailer to haul the mowers around to the different sites..

You all have a great day out there.

MUD

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous12:47 PM

    Thanks for the Geography lesson. When did Burma stop being Burma? I hate it when countries change their names. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that there is no longer a Yugoslavia.

    My father-in-law lives in Kuala Lumpur and works in many of the countries you named. He is a fire protection engineer and inspects factories. In fact, one of our daughters may be going there this summer... if we get her passport in time.

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