Burma's investment rush is leaving the poor majority behind
Fewer than 30% of people in Burma have access to electricity, and investment is vital. But the danger is this will come at the expense of the poor
A typical house in Thilawa with enough space for a small farm and some animals. People in the region are being relocated to make way for a new project. Photograph: Raphael Olschner
Bobbie Sta Maria and Phil Bloomer
Tuesday 13 May 2014
U Mya Hlaing sits on a bamboo floor in his rural home an hour down the river from Yangon, explaining how in a short time, he expects to lose it in the name of development. His fields of paddy rice, along with those of his village and neighbours, have been designated as a special economic zone. They will be bulldozed to make way for the flagship development project of the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) in co-operation with the Myanmar government and Japanese and Myanmar companies. Electronics and garments factories will replace his homestead.
Houses for the families reocated from Thilawa. Photograph: Raphael Olschner
Fewer than 30% of people in Burma have access to electricity, and investment is vital. But the danger is this will come at the expense of the poor
A typical house in Thilawa with enough space for a small farm and some animals. People in the region are being relocated to make way for a new project. Photograph: Raphael Olschner
Bobbie Sta Maria and Phil Bloomer
Tuesday 13 May 2014
U Mya Hlaing sits on a bamboo floor in his rural home an hour down the river from Yangon, explaining how in a short time, he expects to lose it in the name of development. His fields of paddy rice, along with those of his village and neighbours, have been designated as a special economic zone. They will be bulldozed to make way for the flagship development project of the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) in co-operation with the Myanmar government and Japanese and Myanmar companies. Electronics and garments factories will replace his homestead.