Myanmar: Blood Diamonds and Myanmar

The movie Blood Diamond reminds blogger Man Actually of his younger mining days in Myanmar. “And being once a miner myself deep in the jungle far north Myanmar's very own Jade Mines, you guess! how this movie would be so special to me..Along with the Archer and Solomon, the whole week I was thinking and wondering about Dee Rum, Hong Hkong, my dear comrades, the miners and how they are doing? I have always wanted to write about my experience in the jade land but whenever I tried to start the story I felt mentally draining and lost in translation emotionally hence never been able to materialize the story.”

26 comments

  • Nilar

    Hay
    Please do not say a lie for your own benefits. It make lower our country image. There is no such things as in blood daimond in Myanmar. If People do not believe, you can come and see or ask ordinary people , but not exil and the people who say themself political people.
    Most of the news about our country are exaggregated. Find out why Myanmar people are silent to what the ousiders said. People in Myananar knows their situation more than outsiders.
    There are some humanright violation but there is no rude and crual as the movies in Myanmar even the army. We are civilize people and have buddhist culture.
    If you want to know the real situation, come and see Myanmar. You will know who is the lier.

  • Klone

    Yes I agreed with Nilar to some extent. But its not totally true anymore. Not only the exile and political people are saying lies but also the self selected government. They never say the truth. But if you compare the two, the former is saying lies only, but the latter adding lies with propagenda, oppression and jail. So you can imagine which one is worse. Nilar, don’t stay only in the box close yourself. Come out and you will see how other people in the world are living. And you will understand why we are against those Military regime. Don’t sleep in their propangenda.

  • middle path

    I am sure that the situation in the country is not as bad as you think. What we lack here is coorporation. As nilar said we are cilize people. I am sure that the people living in the country know more about the country then the outsiders. Instead of talking about ill of the country, u should first change ur idea and think how to help people here. Many people became jobless because of scantion. Are u happy about that?

  • Nilar

    I am in Japan and not stay under propangenda. I have been Thailand and Philippines. I am also 88 generation and even Phone Maw is my close friend. Sone of my friend went out as political exile and some joined to army. I have no bias for army or political people. But because of exaggregate of the people outside, the foreigner look down on Myanmar as a wild and rude people or uncivilized people. And they also think our country is not safe. I have enough experiences. I did not say that the goverment did not lie. I mean that our country situation is not the same in blood daimond. Most of us are Buddhism and we believe Kamma. Now this blood daimond is showing in Myanmar. So you can call and ask the people in Myanmar. Most people has their relative in army. I have learnt enough to decide right and wrong. I come from northern Shan Stat near past insurgency area. I even worked in Mineshu. I would like to say you(all exile), you can fight government but do not used our country real image. Please.

  • TOE SEIN

    On Blood Diamond,

    It is the right time for us like Ma Nilar to give comments on what other biased guys would say rubbish on Myanmar situation.
    Myanmar is as peaceful as in any place in the world.No hard labour,no child labours or religious persecution.
    In Yangon CBD,one can easily notice Sule Pagoga (Buddist Monument)in front of Sunni Mosque.Across the road There is a Church.No hardfeelings.
    Recently we heard of tourists giving favourable comments on our country.Seeing is beleiving.
    Thanks Nilar for your couragious response.

  • Nilar

    Should we(Myanmar people) follow the lier group (exiles) to fight the other lier (the government) scrifying our self?
    We all want the truth teller and fair government. Not the another lier government. Plese think of it.
    If you really love your country, not stay in a talk, join to the work. We are now working on poverty alliviation of our ingornance and poor.
    Not spend your life in dreaming of the power and being lier.

  • Slave diamonds from Burma is a serious issue, not too long ago Tiffany’s received seriously bad PR when word starting getting around that they were buying their diamonds from Burma, which were mined from forced labor or labor with very little pay. They stopped buying from Burma and put out a press release that they would no longer purchase from Burma, but if memory serves me correct, once the media faded away they continued to buy from Burma. I am glad to see more attention on this matter.

  • normanwu

    I’m a myanmar business man. I’m live in S’pore now. If someone said
    BLOOD DIAMOND= MYANMAR, this is NONSENSE!

    I accept the Military gov is not good. But for now, they are the best for myanmar.

  • toe sein

    I’m a retiree from Myanmar.Having spent more than 35 years of service ,I had opportunity to travel almost all places inside Myanmar even to remote border areas on assignment.

    There must be a wrong idendity between Burma and Burundi.

    Myanmar is only famous in Ruby ,Jades and Pearl and we do not have diamond mines.

    Mining Industry is run not by the govt,but local enterprenuers.
    As is usual in all mines in the world., there are lots of jobs opportunity and the pay is highest for labourers working in these mines.

    We never heard or came across slaves as mentioned.If there is Diamonds available for Sales at Tiffany in New York then Myanmar will be one the resource rich countries in the world.

    Please check the geography before you say something on Geology.

  • I was wrong, it wasn’t diamonds, it was gems.

    In Feb. of 2005 Tiffany’s began, again, to purchase “blood gems” from Burma but after an international uproar they ceased the following month.

    The export of jewels–specifically rubies and jade–is a major money-maker for Than Shwe’s ruling military dictatorship. The brutal and unforgiving conditions in Burma’s mines have also created an HIV/AIDS epidemic in Burma. Dr. Chris Beyrer, head of the prestigious Johns Hopkins University Fogarty AIDS International Training & Research Program states that the relationship between gem mining and HIV/AIDS in Burma couldn’t be more direct: “Gem mining, overseen by Burma’s regime and its cronies, has created a cauldron of HIV/AIDS in Burma. The two are completely intertwined, and that is why I would never buy a gem from Burma.”

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