Monday, March 24, 2008

Myanmar or Burma?

The regime calls it Myanmar. Opponents of the regime outside the country call it Burma, the British colonial name. (They also call Yangon Rangoon.) The local people we've met, even though they may hate the regime, say Myanma (without the R at the end) is historically correct. It's more inclusive of the many tribal groupings of the land---Bamar, Shan, Mon, Kachin, Kayin, Chin, etc. But the two names, Myanmar and Burma, are emotionally charged raised banners now, so neither is going away. I go back and forth, depending on who I am addressing.

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