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| Sleepy rural Burma takes its first step on the dusty road to democracy | Sleepy rural Burma takes its first step on the dusty road to democracy |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| It was once just a dot on a map that few outside of Burma ever looked at. Now all eyes are on a dusty string of 100-odd villages that comprise Kawhmu, the constituency that may well make or break Burma's transition to democracy in Sunday's byelections, in which Aung San Suu Kyi is running for a parliamentary seat after spending the greater part of 22 years under house arrest. | It was once just a dot on a map that few outside of Burma ever looked at. Now all eyes are on a dusty string of 100-odd villages that comprise Kawhmu, the constituency that may well make or break Burma's transition to democracy in Sunday's byelections, in which Aung San Suu Kyi is running for a parliamentary seat after spending the greater part of 22 years under house arrest. |
| The road south from Rangoon to Kawhmu is new, but the way of life surrounding it is not. Black tarmac cuts a straight line through rice paddies that extend beyond the horizon, where farmers in pastel shirts and traditional loose-fitting longyi robes, bamboo hats protecting them from the baking heat, till emerald stalks. | The road south from Rangoon to Kawhmu is new, but the way of life surrounding it is not. Black tarmac cuts a straight line through rice paddies that extend beyond the horizon, where farmers in pastel shirts and traditional loose-fitting longyi robes, bamboo hats protecting them from the baking heat, till emerald stalks. |
| Thatched huts interrupt the flat greens and browns of the landscape, along with the occasional golden pagoda shining in the afternoon sun. This is a country where oxen plow the grassy lands and pigs snooze under trees. | Thatched huts interrupt the flat greens and browns of the landscape, along with the occasional golden pagoda shining in the afternoon sun. This is a country where oxen plow the grassy lands and pigs snooze under trees. |
| The dusty road was emblazoned red as hundreds of supporters lined the tarmac hoping to catch a glimpse of Aung San Suu Kyi as her convoy wove its slow way to Wa Thin Ka, a village just 40 miles south-west of Rangoon but a four-hour drive along dark and dusty roads after the Tarmac ends, where she and her convoy would be spending the night. The villagers made an eclectic, electrifying bunch, sporting Aung San Suu Kyi-emblazoned T-shirts and hats, and holding babies with stickers from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party on their chubby cheeks. Banners calling for change were waving in the hot wind above their heads. | |
| Some argue that Aung San Suu Kyi chose Kawhmu as her constituency to bring media attention to the way of life of most Burmese: electricity, if any, is provided by generators; unpaved roads wind through dusty terrain; schooling often stops at the age of 10, and villagers break their backs to earn a pittance. | Some argue that Aung San Suu Kyi chose Kawhmu as her constituency to bring media attention to the way of life of most Burmese: electricity, if any, is provided by generators; unpaved roads wind through dusty terrain; schooling often stops at the age of 10, and villagers break their backs to earn a pittance. |
| The government-backed Union Solidarity and Development party (USDP) knows that it has its work cut out here. Even the smallest and most modest of bamboo huts often carries a red banner on its roof – the colour of Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD – and the posters advertising her rival, USDP candidate U Soe Min, do not help. | The government-backed Union Solidarity and Development party (USDP) knows that it has its work cut out here. Even the smallest and most modest of bamboo huts often carries a red banner on its roof – the colour of Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD – and the posters advertising her rival, USDP candidate U Soe Min, do not help. |
| In contrast to the smiling photos of the photogenic and charismatic Nobel peace laureate, the medical doctor U Soe Min poses stoically, a stethoscope around his neck, nary a smile upon his thin lips. | In contrast to the smiling photos of the photogenic and charismatic Nobel peace laureate, the medical doctor U Soe Min poses stoically, a stethoscope around his neck, nary a smile upon his thin lips. |
| Villagers along the roads in Kawhmu speak of past government oppression and intimidation to vote for the USDP in former elections. | Villagers along the roads in Kawhmu speak of past government oppression and intimidation to vote for the USDP in former elections. |
| "They offered us 3,000 kyat, roadworks and better electricity if we voted USDP in 2010," said U Tin Phe, a betel-nut farmer who stands waiting for Aung San Suu Kyi, clutching flags and flowers. "They gave us clothes too. 'Your life will be better if you vote for us,' they said. But then they never fulfilled their promises." | "They offered us 3,000 kyat, roadworks and better electricity if we voted USDP in 2010," said U Tin Phe, a betel-nut farmer who stands waiting for Aung San Suu Kyi, clutching flags and flowers. "They gave us clothes too. 'Your life will be better if you vote for us,' they said. But then they never fulfilled their promises." |
| She waves to the bumpy dirt road and generators to explain. | She waves to the bumpy dirt road and generators to explain. |
| Beyond U Tin Phe, the road was choked with supporters, many of them freshly shaven, with coconut-oil slicked-back hair and wearing the requisite uniform: a white T-shirt emblazoned with the face of Aung San Suu Kyi and a red longyi. | Beyond U Tin Phe, the road was choked with supporters, many of them freshly shaven, with coconut-oil slicked-back hair and wearing the requisite uniform: a white T-shirt emblazoned with the face of Aung San Suu Kyi and a red longyi. |
| A busy convoy of motorbikes, bicycles, taxis, sedans, minibuses, tractors and people on foot followed Aung San Suu Kyi's vans as they eased their way through the crowds. NLD trucks carrying 50 supporters at a time blared out an infectious hip-hop song calling for Burma to "Wake up! Wake up! This is democracy!" while supporters tossed bread and flowers at passersby. | A busy convoy of motorbikes, bicycles, taxis, sedans, minibuses, tractors and people on foot followed Aung San Suu Kyi's vans as they eased their way through the crowds. NLD trucks carrying 50 supporters at a time blared out an infectious hip-hop song calling for Burma to "Wake up! Wake up! This is democracy!" while supporters tossed bread and flowers at passersby. |
| Then the tarmac turned into a bumpy dirt road edged by rubber plantations; this is the way to Wa Thin Ka. The village itself has concrete paths and electricity poles – this Karen settlement is said to be wealthier than others due to its position in the rice-growing delta. | |
| "I'm so happy she's here," said Ney Za Win, 24, selling drinks to a mixture of local residents as well as Burmese and foreign reporters, and election observers in the village. | "I'm so happy she's here," said Ney Za Win, 24, selling drinks to a mixture of local residents as well as Burmese and foreign reporters, and election observers in the village. |
| "Mother Suu has Karen blood, that's why we love her." She blushes shyly when asked about the transformation of her village into an overnight Hollywood sensation. "I'd never seen foreigners before Daw [Madam] Suu came. Now that I've seen some, I'm happy." | "Mother Suu has Karen blood, that's why we love her." She blushes shyly when asked about the transformation of her village into an overnight Hollywood sensation. "I'd never seen foreigners before Daw [Madam] Suu came. Now that I've seen some, I'm happy." |
| Aung Aung, the village chief of Wa Thin Ka, said he hoped that Aung San Suu Kyi, if elected, would finally link Burma to the rest of the world. | Aung Aung, the village chief of Wa Thin Ka, said he hoped that Aung San Suu Kyi, if elected, would finally link Burma to the rest of the world. |
| "Education for villagers is very low here. We have only one primary school and it ends at the age of 10," he said from his two-storey house in the middle of the village. | "Education for villagers is very low here. We have only one primary school and it ends at the age of 10," he said from his two-storey house in the middle of the village. |
| "I want English-speaking teachers so that we can compete with the world, and be a real part of the world." | "I want English-speaking teachers so that we can compete with the world, and be a real part of the world." |
| So who will he be voting for? He smiled and looked away; a government policeman was sitting just yards away. "The choice is in the heart of the people," he said, before adding, in English: "All people want change." | So who will he be voting for? He smiled and looked away; a government policeman was sitting just yards away. "The choice is in the heart of the people," he said, before adding, in English: "All people want change." |