Myanmar

Myanmar, formerly Burma, is a poor Asian country dominated by Theraveda Buddhism but ruled by a military junta. Conflict and poverty characterize Myanmar's networks, traditional and online. Buddhism is the sole traditional cultural institution to survive the Anglo-Burmese War of 1885.

In rural Myanmar, poverty arises from lack of assets, corruption rather than strong local leadership, and large or polygamous families. Seasonal or health crises force the poor to sell assets or use them as collateral for usurious loans. Mortgaging a future crop, tools, land, or livestock commonly pulls the margins into poverty that traditional networks cannot counter.

The United Nations Development Programme's Community Development for Remote Townships intervened in 423 villages with 40,046 households to provide credit to self-help groups. The groups are 99 percent female and based on existing social groups. The poor meet weekly, pool their resources, and lend what they have for such things as emergency medicine or treatment, school fees, or food. Group members set their own rules and decisions and learn bookkeeping, meeting management, and group skills. As they grow, they invest in livestock and other conservative assets and learn the value of safeguarding assets through vaccination, health education, and improved agricultural methods. As an alternative to the moneylenders, these groups are better able to withstand adversity, are more likely to have food security, and are enhancing the confidence and status of women in both the household and the community.

[Page 563]Burmese traditional medicine is a relatively new addition to the state healthcare system. The network includes 14 hospitals, 237 clinics and subcenters, and 10,000 practitioners. The Internet provides an avenue for gaining information about traditional remedies, which are cheaper than the modern medicines. Traditional medicine is also a major source of help, with over 85 percent of the 57.2 million citizens using it either as an alternative or as a supplement to Western medicine. The 70 percent who live in rural areas rely on it more than the 30 percent in cities because it is easier to find and 10–20 times cheaper—important when a third of the people are poor.

The British attempted to reduce Theravada Buddhist political power in the 19th century by introducing secular government and politics, but even today, between 65 and 80 percent of the people in Myanmar are Buddhist and, including ethnic minorities, Buddhism networks 90 percent of the people. It is more important in mobilizing protests than national identity, military power, political alliance, or ethnicity. In the sangha, the community of monks, seniority is critical, as is rank within the monastery. Different lineages in the tradition have different standards of conduct, with stricter standards more esteemed. Highly revered monks mobilize Myanmar's people and resources and led the protests against colonialism in 1886 as well as in the 1920s and 1930s.

Government has attempted to centralize administration, tying local chapters to regional, then national leadership. All governments since 1948, save the British colonial administration, have attempted to gain sangha support as a means of providing religious and political legitimacy. Although Buddhism is a means of unifying the people in times of crisis, it also distracts from government failure to deal with antigovernment demonstrations.

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