To have only just heard of Myanmar?

[staceybeaker]

Watching the news about the coup there and I thought it must be quite a small country but now I've looked it up it's really not. Obviously I am embarrassed about my own lack of geography knowledge. Has everyone else heard of it or known much about this country before?

I knew it as Burma, think it's only fairly recently it's changed to Myanmar.

It changed from Burma to Myanmar in the 80's! And whoever said it used to be Swaziland, ummm No. Swaziland is in Africa. Totally different part of the world.

I went to Myanmar in 2016 just as Suu Kyi came to power. It is the most wonderful country, the people are so warm, friendly and welcoming. We went to Yangon, Mandalay and I will never forget my trip. I want to go back but can't see that happening any time now.

My friend from Yangon who works for Marie Stopes International has just posted this on her FB page.
We as a citizen of Myanmar not agree with the current move and would like to request the world leaders. UN and the world medias help our country- our leaders- our people - from this bitter acts. We want democracy and want our country to develop as our neighboring countries

@exLtEveDallas

*22:15exLtEveDallas You are a veiled racist Thinking that former colonies can't have been that hard done by because of infrastructure that is still in place*

What on Earth are you talking about?

You said earlier that the former colonies kept the infrastructure from the awful colonists - suggesting that the interfering wasn't so bad - that is a veiled racist remark. Africa, India, native Americans and Australian aboriginals should be thankful for rails and roads and not accuse the English for interfering?! Interfering, I mean stealing, lying, deception, genocide.

Umm. No I didn’t.

I think you owe me an apology.

I often stayed in a particular hotel in London and most of the staff were from Myanmar/Burma. They were lovely gentle people. The country has wild elephants! They are like Indian elephants (smaller though) and sadly endangered, due to habitat destruction.

Guy Fawkes night is a disgrace - they don't even attempt to see it from the Irishman's point of view

Are you calling Guy Fawkes an Irishman? Guy Fawkes wasn’t Irish
Born in York, radicalised and converted to Catholicism as a teen. Pro-Spain and anti-Protestant, no obvious links to Ireland.

Guy Fawkes night is offensive to many Catholics, but not specifically to the Irish ones. Though I’m sure Orangemen will have found a way to make it so.

Irish Famine was not covered at my school either, I was dimly aware a harvest had failed and there had been a disastrous famine, had no idea the British government had any involvement until I was an adult. I studied that period of history at GCSE (1750-1900), we spent a long time on spinning jennies and Corn Laws. I got an A*, did a lot of extra reading, and I can tell you it was nowhere in the textbook or in the written syllabus, which I was using to revise from. That was 1994-6, I think EdExcel board.

Highland clearances I only found out about as an adult when I visited a museum in Scotland. The whole area is horrendously badly taught, and rarely discussed. As the whole Edward Colston episode demonstrated - people genuinely are not aware of what he did.

Pretty shocked some people haven’t heard of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi and the Rohingya genocide

And yes, what has been happening over there is absolutely shocking. 740,000 forced out the country. Myanmar has been under military rule before, this may last again.

It changed from Burma to Myanmar in the 80's!

Think it was me who said that
Knew it had changed name from Burma to Myanmar but clearly not the year!
Thought it was more recently.
Thanks, every day's a school day lol

@exLtEveDallas

Umm. No I didn’t.

I think you owe me an apology.

21:55hansgrueber

TrappedAndDepressed

21:39exLtEveDallas

When British people don't know British history and the countries they influenced with their interference and lies then that isn't anything to be proud of. If you can't learn your own history what have you learned?!

They interfered so badly that many of them have kept the infrastructure that was developed by the dreadful colonials.

Apologies, 21:55hansgrueber is the apologetic racist not you. Very sorry about directing this to the wrong person.

And whoever said it used to be Swaziland, ummm No. Swaziland is in Africa.

The person who mentioned Swaziland was referring to Eswatini, (eSwatini) not Myanmar.

@Quaagars
No problem! I only know this sort of thing because I've been there, otherwise I wouldn't!

When British people don't know British history and the countries they influenced with their interference and lies then that isn't anything to be proud of

Has anyone said they're proud of it?
Nobody's disagreeing there I don't think?

22:27Changechangychange
I'm not calling him an Irishman
However, Guy Fawkes night is offensive to the Irish Catholics, his view on the English parliament is similar to those of the Irish that were persecuted

Burma never universally changed to Myanmar in the 80s. That’s part of the confusion. The name Myanmar arrived in the 80s but many countries including the USA still refer to it as Burma. The BBC were using the names interchangeably up until about 2014. The countries leader recognises both names.

22:33Quaagars

Hans Berger or whatever was disagreeing

Hello, I lived there with family from
2011 until a couple of years ago. So happy to a bit of an AMA about this wonderful yet troubled country.

Suffice to say the politics are very complicated and ASSK was in many ways stuck between a rock and a hard place with her relationship with the Tatmadaw (military) once her party had won the elections.

Her efforts to reform the constitution through parliament ground to a halt when her lawyer (incidentally Muslim) U Ko Nee was shot dead after arriving at Yangon airport in 2016 whilst holding his two year old grandchild. Many saw this as a warning from the military to back off.

The people, culture, climate and history are amazing and it's hard for us to watch as we consider many of the friends (Karen tribe in the main) to be family.

I'm not surprised that we are back to this but hugely saddened. Thailand and China's rulers are likely to be somewhere in the mix. Follow the money.

@MirandaGoshawk would you mind sharing the name of the hotel please?

If I grew up as Sharon then decided I liked Tracey better but half my mates called me one or the other and some called me both, it would get pretty confusing if you didn’t see me regularly.

@Tellmetruth4

Burma never universally changed to Myanmar in the 80s. That’s part of the confusion. The name Myanmar arrived in the 80s but many countries including the USA still refer to it as Burma. The BBC were using the names interchangeably up until about 2014. The countries leader recognises both names.

It's always been called Myanma, they didn't want the English name so went back to what it was.

Just like Madras was always Chennai

If India had any sense and / or self respect it would call itself Bharat

@TrappedAndDepressed, since you value knowledge, please either learn to use the quote function, or bold the sentences that you're quoting, or put @ before the handle so we know who you're talking to.

Your posts are barely comprehensible in their present form.

I've heard of Burma but have no idea of any of the rest.
I don't watch the news, it's too bloody depressing.
So shoot me, I haven't a clue.

Ooh, simulpost! You quoted!

True story @Tellmetruth4 my DH thought I had two uncles for many years because my grandma always called him by his middle name and everyone else by his first name.

[quote saraclara]@TrappedAndDepressed, since you value knowledge, please either learn to use the quote function, or bold the sentences that you're quoting, or put @ before the handle so we know who you're talking to.

Your posts are barely comprehensible in their present form.[/quote]
MN isn't CV worthy, if I don't want to quote I won't, if I remember I will.

@Mingalabar
Thank you for your insight on the country you spent time in. I just loved my all too short time there on holiday. I would love to go back.
My most enduring memory is Shwedagon at dusk.
And now there is all this turmoil and uncertainty. So sad.

@TrappedAndDepressed
In response to the Burma/ Myanmar question the predominant ethnic group (of which ASSK IS ONE) are the Bama. This was taken up as a catch all term by the British to cover the entire area of modern day Myanmar.

There are many other groups, mostly Buddhist but also a fair sprinkling of post colonial Christianity, moderate Islam and Hinduism that all for the most part, rub along quite well. Until that is, they don't - there are right wing Buddhists in various factions (The Ma-Ba Tha) that would scare the shit out of The Proud Boys who do a lot of the divisive rabble rousing.