Burma Paper

Period 3 Burma

Ryan Schlipf # 22

Burma was first formed in the 11 th century, during the golden age of pagan. In 1 !!, "ing #nawratha united Burma under his monarchy. $he temples and pagodas for which the city of Pagan is %nown were &uilt &ecause of his Buddhist &eliefs. '(entually, Pagan &ecame the first Burmese capital. $he age of Pagan reached its clima) under the rule of "yan*itta, #nawratha+s successor, another Buddhist. ,ater on the British

go(ernment too% control of Burma and made it into a colony, and then right away it was anne)ed as a pro(ince of British India. -hen the Second -orld -ar &ro%e out, #ung San decided to free Burma. .e and 2/ others under went military training and fought with the 0apanese who in(aded Burma in return for Burma+s independence. -hen the 0apanese did not come through with their promise, the thirty men 1uic%ly signed an agreement with the British to help defeat the 0apanese. In 0anuary, 1/!2, #ung San negotiated with the British to get Burma total independence from Britain. Since then there ha(e &een many trou&les for the Burmese &ecause of military rule and other oppositions. 3emocracy, peace, and most &asic human rights don+t e(en e)ist there now. Burma is a struggling third4world country with a (ariety of people and religions. $heir economy and go(ernment ha(e &een a ma5or pro&lem for the people for the last many years. Burma is a country located in South 'ast #sia, &ordering the #ndaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal 67acts 28. $his is a strategic location &ecause Burma is located right &y ma5or Indian 9cean Shipping lanes 6Information 18. -ith an area of :2;,< s1. "m,

it+s 5ust lightly larger than $e)as 67acts 28. Some of the -- II (eterans %now Burma as =$he .ump> &ecause around the edge Burma there are steep, rugged mountains

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Period 3

Ryan Schlipf # 22

surrounding the central lowlands. $he mountains reach up to the heights of .%a%a&o Ra*i at <,;;1 m a&o(e sea le(el and down to m at the #ndaman Sea 67acts 38. Burma

has resource4rich land with productions of petroleum, tim&er, tin, antimony, *inc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, mar&le, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower and many others. $hese resources are not all good though, Burma is the world+s second largest producer of illicit opium, producing <? of the total production 67acts 128. Burma suffers flooding, cyclones, destructi(e earth1ua%es, and periodic droughts 67acts 38. Some of the destructi(e weather is caused &y Burma+s climate. -ith cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers during the summer and less cloudy, less rainfall, mild temperatures, and less humidity during the winter, you can e)pect some &ad storms 67acts 28. Burma is a rather poor country with a @3P of A1/ compared to the B.S.+s

A1!.: trillion. 7ifty4three point nine percent of the @3P is from agriculture 1 .:? from industry, and 3<.<? from ser(ices 67acts ;8. $he @3P per capita is a (ery low A!31 6Burma 28. $heir current account &alance is A1.:2: &illion, only in %yats, their form of currency. $he num&er wouldn+t &e the same since one dollar e1uals 1,2/: %yats 67acts /, 1 8. $hey ha(e 2/.2: million people in the wor%ing force, composed of agriculture 62 ?8, industry 62?8, and ser(ices 623?8. It is surprising that industries ma%eup so little of the wor% force, since they ha(e many different industries. $here is agriculture,

agriculture processing, wood and wood products, copper, tin, tungsten, iron, cement, construction materials, fertili*ers, pharmaceuticals, natural gas, garments, and gems and precious stones. In agriculture they produce rice, pulses, &eans, sesame, ground nuts, sugarcane, hardwood, and fish. $hey ma%e A:.: &illion in e)ports, yet 32.2? of the population is &elow the po(erty line with a <.2? employment rate 67acts ;8.

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Period 3

Ryan Schlipf # 22

$here are !2,2<;,1;1 people in Burma, not much for a country. $wenty4fi(e point se(en percent of the population is &etween 41!, and <.!? in the :<C di(ision. $his lea(es :;./? in the 1<4:! age range, a&out normal for a country li%e Burma 67acts 38. $here 12.23 &a&ies &orn for e(ery 1 people and !/.12 of 1 of &a&ies dies.

'(ery woman has appro)imately 1./2 &a&iesD if it+s a male it should li(e to :1.2 years old, if it+s a female, :3.! years old. In this predominantly female country, where there are ./; males for e(ery female, /.23 people out of 1 will die each year. 3iarrhea,

hepatitis #, typhoid fe(er, dengue, malaria, leptospirosis, ra&ies, and .IEF#I3S are all pro&lems in Burma. $here are 33 , &een 2 , people with .IEF#I3S right now, and there ha(e

deaths from .IEF#I3S 67acts 3, !8. Gany different religions are in Burma,

the largest percentage &eing Buddhist 6;/?8, then Hhristian 6!?8, and on down the line, Guslim 6!?8, #nimist 61?8, other 62?8. $here is e1ual di(ersity in ethnic groups in the Burmese people, :;? are Burmese, /? Shan, "aren 2?, Ra%hine !?, Hhinese 3?, Indian 2?, Gon 2?, and other <?. $here is a Burmese language and minority ethnic groups mostly ha(e their own language. $here is an ;/./? literacy rate in Burma 67acts 3, !8. $here are 1< , Burmese in / different refugee camps in $hailand along the

Burmese &order. Gany more refugees nationally dispersed around the world see%ing are refuge from the military go(ernment 6Burma 38. If you were to as% a Burmese what country they li(ed in, they would pro&a&ly reply with Gyanma Iaingnandaw. If they replied Pyidaung*u Gyanma Iaingnandaw, they would also &e correct. $he first form roughly translates into Burma and the second translates into Bnion of Burma. $he Burmese go(ernment is a military 5unta. $his means that certain military officials ha(e control of the go(ernment 67acts !, <8. $he

Burma Paper

Period 3

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current leaders call themsel(es the State Peace and 3e(elopment Houncil 6SP3H8 6Burma 28. $he Burmese flag is a red rectangle with a &lue rectangle in the upper, hoist4 side corner with, all in white, 1! fi(e4pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stal% of rice 67lag 18. $he 1! stars are for the 1! su&di(isions, 2 administrati(e and 2 religious. $he administrati(e su&di(isions are Irrawaddy, Gagway, Bago 6Pegu8, Jangon, or

Gandalay, Jangon6Rangoon8, Sagaing, and $anintharyi 6Burma 28.

Rangoon, is the capital of Burma. Rangoon is 11.< hours ahead of -ashington 3.H. Burma was li&erated from the B.". on 0anuary !, 1/!;. $hey cele&rate Independence 3ay on 0anuary !, and Bnion 3ay on 7e&ruary 12. $here is a uni(ersal 1; years old suffrage, which is the right to (ote 67acts <8. $here are only 22, %m of roadways in Burma, hardly anything compared to %m of waterways, ;: airports,

the Bnited States. $here are 3,/<< %m of railways, 12,;

and ! heliports. Burma owns 33 ships with < of them &eing passenger ships 67acts 118. $he ma5or ports are Burmaare, Rangoon, Goulmine, and Bassein 6Information 28. If you were to go to Burma you would pro&a&ly thin% it primiti(e since they only ha(e ! $E &roadcast stations, and 32 , $E+s. $here are only 31, < internet users, &ut the

internet is usually reser(ed for go(ernment and wealthy indi(iduals. $here are < 3, / main telephone lines and 21!, 2 cell phones used in Burma. $hough most other

num&ers are small, there are still !.2 million radios in Burma, pro&a&ly since they are afforda&le and easy to &roadcast 67acts 1 8. If you+re going to (olunteer for the military you must at least 1; years old. Burma already has /, 31, !: males fit for military and /,3/:,<!2 females fit for military ser(ice 67acts 118. #fter the 1/;; military coup and (iolent suppression of pro4democracy demonstrations, the BurmaFB.S. relations

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Period 3

Ryan Schlipf # 22

worsened 6Burma /8. $he military go(ernment and other pro&lems ha(e forced < 3, to &ecome refuges and internationally displaced persons 67acts 128. $he go(ernment won+t let other ideas of how the country should &e led &e tolerated. Burma has an interesting landscape with &eautiful mountains and lowlands. Burma is no larger than $e)as, with a smaller population. $here are pagodas all o(er the place, which resulted from the early leaders+ &eliefs. $heir economy is strugglingD their go(ernment has raised ta)es, and used money foolishly. $here ha(e &een many refugees sent to other countries around the world. People want to get away from the oppression of their go(ernment. Burma is a struggling third4world country with a (ariety of people and religions. $heir economy and go(ernment ha(e &een a ma5or pro&lem for the people for the last many years.

Burma Paper

Period 3

Ryan Schlipf # 22

Burma

Ryan Schlipf #22 0une 2, 2 1 Period 3