A war-torn Myanmar: “We wish we could go back”

War has completely collapsed the tourism side of Myanmar along with its economy. The serene beauty of this place is being highly impacted by the Military Coup in 2021.

From the crystal-clear waters of Inle Lake to the blue and hazy aired Shan Hills, war has torn down the beautiful land where tourists would take a ride with the heavenly view of the mountain. Boats would fiddle back and forth with tourist riding on them witnessing the tranquil beauty. But after the pandemic, the world was already quite shaken, and everyone was sceptical about visiting any new place. But, after the second wave in 2021 world opened up for tourism with the changed and elevated measures but not Myanmar.

After the military coup in February 2021, tourists from around the world were quite uninterested in visiting Myanmar for its political situation. The acts of violence committed by the military were extremely shameful. This was not just violence to humanity and basic human rights, but it also broke the backbone of Myanmar’s economy, tourism.

A common boatman who is also a member of the local Intha ethnic group has mentioned that now he hardly has any foreign customers as people are afraid to visit the country while they have to face the consequences of the war the military coup has started. After the war, it is very hard to feed his own family as there is hardly any income. And many people are suffering from the same so they are all vouching for the fish in the lake. As too many people are catching fish, now the catches are quite small to feed his entire family.

The civil war was initiated by the military in 2021 after they chose to overthrow the democratically elected government. Civilians along with various entertainment artists were also being part of the on-road protests. But the military chose to be extremely violent to silence every person to open their mouth to speak against the military rule.

The world media also have kept their mum during these two years until now when several stories are coming out in the open. Only military officers think that it is the safest place on earth as anyone can see troops on the streets of Myanmar, and military officials are holding onto their automated firearms. So that they could take sudden actions when they sense a slight insurgency. There are plenty of sandbags fortifications road journeys are now completely monitored by the militaries. There are no guarantees that you every time waved by them. Drivers are warned by the military not to bring foreigners into their territories.

It is a very tormenting situation in Myanmar as barricades are all over the place. The hotels are nearly empty and talking about their pollical situation is a complete hush-hush matter now. Yet, despite all their problems and past disappointments, people are still keeping their loyalty to “The Lady” Aung San Suu Kyi. A silver shop owner said, “We still love her,” adding more, “We are all so sorry about what happened to her.”