The New Myanmar

Myanmar rushed to its date with democratic destiny on November 8th, with Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party’s landslide victory in the country’s first truly free election in 25 years. After 50 years of isolation, President Thein Sein’s reform programme, launched in 2011, opened trade barriers and saw foreign investment flooding in. This once pariah state, which is now running full-steam ahead towards economic and democratic prosperity, will face the challenge of balancing development whilst maintaining its character and traditions. Its expanding middle-class, who once kept their money under their beds, are now spending freely at new shopping malls and tuning their tastes to Western consumer goods. Myanmar’s tourism sector continues to grow faster than the infrastructure that supports it; from 300,000 tourists in 2010, it’s expected to reach 7 million tourists by 2020. The road ahead may seem fruitful, but many challenges are yet to be tackled. It’s still one of Asia’s poorest countries, with religious tensions that have been simmering for too long and armed conflict continuing amongst ethnic groups. The country’s development and nonstop construction has come at a cost, Myanmar has the third-highest rate of deforestation in the world, which could offset extreme weather patterns brought about by climate change. For better or worse, time will tell if the newly democratic Myanmar will find the prosperity and freedoms she so desires; but one thing is for sure, a new Myanmar has emerged. By Photojournalist Asanka Brendon Ratnayake