Mainland Southeast Asia: Turmoil and Peace - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 421

lane by a stream was a thatched, wooden structure with
a cellar carved out of the earth. The cellar was filled
with the stream' s murky water. Floating on the water
was a platform, and on the platform squatted four
women. The only light was that which crept past a tar-
paulin shielding the pit' s doorway from the sun' s inten-
sity . It was 87

C). Both heat and humidity were
tortuous. Each woman had a substantial piece of wood
in each hand with which she rhythmically beat the
small stack of gold sheets at her feet (Figure 15-6). The
pounding resonated in the enclosure; the noise was
deafening. These women work in this manner for eight
hours a day , seven days a week. Think about it. This
could be your life!
Unfortunately , Myanmar has been shoved so far into
life' s cellar that even a change in government will take
years to drag the country out of its current state of op-
pression, corruption, and impoverishment.

F (30

Drugs and the Golden Triangle

In 1987, the United Nations gave Myanmar “Least Devel-
oped Nation” status. However, there are two economies:
one legal and the other illegal. The illegal economy fo-
cuses on opium, of which Myanmar is one of the world' is
major producers.
The production of illicit narcotics has more than
doubled over the past few years in the Burmese section
of the Golden T Triangle, a place where the borders of
Burma, Laos, and Thailand intersect. The area under
opium poppy cultivation increased from 228,000 acres
(92,300 ha) in 1987 to 380,542 acres (154,000 ha) in
1995 (Figure 15-7). As of 2003, poppy acreage had
been reduced by half, but more intensive efforts on the
remaining land means that opium production has not
declined. Heroin is derived from opium. The potential
heroin output rose from 54 tons in 1987 to 166 tons
in 1995 and to 825 tons in 2002. Close to 400,000
householdearn

Figure 15-6
This woman is pounding little sheets of gold. These are used in
Buddhist temples where they are plastered onto statues of the
Buddha as offerings. Photography courtesy of B. A. Weightman.

The Chinese are anxious to gain connections to the
Indian Ocean. It is surmised that China already has access
to Andaman Sea islands for spy operations. Fishing boats
with sophisticated monitoring equipment have been de-
tected in the area as well. India has protested to Naypyi-
daw , and Indonesia has expressed concerns over potential
Chinese threats to commerce in the Strait of Malacca.

the bulk of their income from opium

production.
For years the drug trade was controlled by the infa-
mous Khun Sa, but in the 1980s he lost ground to better
equipped heroin barons near the Y unnan frontier. Khun
Sa surrendered to the Burmese government in 1996 and
moved with his heroin-generated fortune to Yangon,
where he lives in luxury . Much of his money was in-
vested in perfectly legal businesses such as hotels, real es-
tate, supermarkets, and construction, generating a
mini-boom in Myanmar' s economy .

LANDSCAPE OF REPRESSION
For decades a tyrannical military regime has kept Burma
in political and economic turmoil. Infrastructure is pa-
thetic at best, and thousands of Burmans and minorities
are unemployed, engaged in forced labor, or working un-
der oppressive conditions.
I have a vivid memory of Mandalay . I went to a
place where they make gold paper to be used for Bud-
dhist temple offerings. Perched at the edge of a muddy