First day "Rumors and excitement"

August 19 2007, I am not 88 student uprising generation and to be totally honest I am not interested a bit about 88 uprising. I don't know how peoples started about then but on August 19, it all started with rumors, fear and excitement. Long before SPDC government had raised fuel price by cutting down the subsidized , there were many rumors and peoples are actually hoping for something to came. Change or no change , peoples were hoping for a showdown or mass demonstration of some kind to display their discontent. As in every August to September, the rumors of small or limited demonstration all happened in Burma. On the anniversary of 88 uprising and bloody crackdown that followed later on. I or any body that I knew in my age didn't care about it nor had any attachment to it and life went as usual for us. Happy to rid of Yangon heat but working soaking wet in murderous torrent of rain in Yangon. But lately by every year, rain just pour down but heat doesn't seem to goes away anymore. Must be global warming and we were in forefront of it. Life in Yangon was hard before government raised the fuel price and I guess it harder after they raised it.
Before they raised the fuel price , the fare were pretty cheap even for lowest income in Yangon. Every fare was usually 50 Kyats. From outskirt of Yangon to downtown and 20 kyats for short distance bus stops. Every fares was pretty standardize and only fares that travel outside state of Yangon was 100 kyats. Average income of low level workers in Yangon at that time was 1000 kyats. That include, clerk in supermarket , door man , labor worker and many young and old store workers who lived in outskirt of the city and commuted everyday for 2 to 3 days on crowed bus for 100 to 200 kyats a day. That leaved them with 800 kyats to spend every day. Many of them have families and most that 800 kyats went to grocery and in kitchen for tomorrow. Single and young worker were the winner because that whole 800 kyats was for their pocket money. Young men usually spend on cigarette, in tea shop and sometimes a little bit on liquor. After the fuel price raised, the short distance fare became 50 kyats and average fare between outskirt of city to downtown was 150 kyats. That make 300 kyats a day on return ticket and it was the shortest distance from downtown to outskirt of the city. So some fare cost a lot more than 300 kyats and I just travel that far from downtown using the bus. So lower income worker didn't leaved much to spend on and silent a week before the monks march on.
Many workers stop showing up for work, bus were empty in most of the regular time and even in rush hour you could get a seat which never did happen before the fuel price raised. Both the employer and employee were in the trouble because many employer didn't want to raise the wage because they are afraid inflation. Employee simply can't survived on 1000 kyats a day wages. I seem some came on compromised , Employee didn't raised the wages but agreed to gave free lunch. But the tension were so high that many people expected something to came up even without the monks marching on.
Two or three days before the monk actually show up in Su Lay pagoda (that like Burma medicine square or Kremlin square),we heard so much rumors that we thought monks would had caught by government spy before they could even reach Yangon. Some said that 3000 monks were matching straight from pogoku on foot just as oil workers did in colony time. But a day before the monks set foot on Su Lay pagoda, we got the corrected numbers that show up, 300 monks had arrived to Yangon and would start marching on August 19.

First hand account of Saffron revolution

I thought I was gonna recorded each day as the monks march by my street and recapture and record the people's feeling and options through out the whole affair as they called it in Yangon now. But between government shooting at the protester , cutting down internet connection and my life affair I never get to post this blog more than one pages. Now that I have some free time on my hand I decided to wrote it all down before I get too old and forgot all about it.
I am really obsessed with what on peoples mind on time like that and what drove them on to walk straight into gun arm nothing but empty water bottles and a couple of bricks. Everyone in the west must have thought that all the average Burmese naturally hate military dictators of Burma long before this saffron revolution. That just what BBC and CNN want to cash it in and exile Burmese oppositions lobby for their lack of life and real actual purpose. Until now I can't still figure out what exile oppositions are doing in their respected exile countries but I am sure all their effort are fruitless judging by their work which bear no fruit for more than 20 years of opposing the SPDC. Burmese are poorly disorganized and ill disciplinary race in my options, I am a 100% Burmese by the way, not to mention the fact that most Burmese have very short memory. One minute, the solider were shooting against us and another minutes , you can see some peoples are making casual conversation with them. They are not even trying to flatter them for more special privilege and opportunity which I would have understand if they did.
But this saffron revolution change all that, peoples view and life were change forever I guess. Before all this, majority of the peoples weren't pro or anti junta. We were all just people who want what rest of the world have. 24 hours electricity, running tap water , secure job , car and a house and wireless cell phone which is a rare luxurious commodity that show the high social status. To get all that we are not afraid work with the junta or suck it up to them after all west having taken granted to all the thing we ever wanted and asked us to run straight into the guns man by the child solider on drug. After we had done all that all they every did was shout as loud as they can and they could not even pressure china to do the right thing. I remembers some peoples actually though that American were coming to drop a bomb into Nay Pyi Daw.
These 9 days that took place between august 19 to September 28 were the second most darkest time in my life. It was moment that all hell broke lose, Nargis was hopeless and uncertainty But the last day of fail uprising was pure chaos. I always like Hell riser movie sequel and those days I felt like demons were in control of Yangon city.And I actually understand what would be like to open the puzzle box and hell raisers went straight at you. The whole city of 5.5 millions peoples were empty and I felt as a City die suddenly as civilization vanish in thin air over the night. I lived with such fear in that time , I was prepared when Nargis came.

Fun now and fight later!!

It had been very long time since I decided to post the blog, in fact , I had only post once during the September to recorded about the people attitude and I just like to put in words for me to read back later. After that with government shutting down internet and blocking this site , I didn't get another chanced to post again. Plus , I got a lot on my plate now. I still got too much to do right now but seem like I got back in the the mood.
With economic going down the hill , I think it not going down the hill anymore but digging deeper into the bottom. And of course people gearing up to have fun in Thingyan, The weather here is too hot to go around and visit places, so I haven't see much of Mandthets. But I seem a few spring up around downtown. Some fun it gonna be with a deserting street in the middle of the day, it got me thinking are people saving up their energy and money for just 4 day to play around in the sun or they just don't came out because it too hot to do so.What ever the reason , Yangon is preparing for two thing for sure.
First thingyan and second referendum , the first would be same as last year, first two three day soaked yourself wet and drunk but if you are luck you would hit jack pot in last day and get laid.