Our plan was to go to Myanmar for 10 weeks, but unfortunately after only 2.5 weeks we had to cancel our trip due to the global Covid19 pandemic.
The plan was to be in Yangon for one week for some appointments and then to leave for Chin State. Our primary objective was to ask the Minister of Tourism in Chin State to sign our approval request document for the little houses and Community Based Tourism activities.
We visited the Dutch embassy the day after our arrival in Myanmar and we were told that it was still safe to travel within Myanmar and that there were no obstacles to travel to Chin State. However, it was warned that things could change quickly and, if so, that Myanmar's health system would crash immediately in the case of a breakout.
Except for some guards taking temperatures of visitors in the shopping centers and giving some disinfectant hand gel, life went on as usual with full streets, teeming crowds, and crowded supermarkets in Yangon. Not really in sync with reality in the Netherlands and most countries in the world!
The world is changing fast, extremely fast... More and more outbreaks are reported worldwide and a few days after we arrived in Myanmar, Europe closed its external borders. A few days later the first corona infection was detected in Myanmar. A second case appeared in Chin State, the very region we wanted to go to, and the whole region was immediately locked down by government making it impossible for us to go there. In addition, we received comments that even though we are not sick, the locals might see us, because we’re foreigners, as carriers of the disease. As there was an infection in the region now, they might blame us for a breakout, which would have long-lasting effects on us and future work.
Meanwhile, we received very urgent advice from the embassy to return to the Netherlands. However, there were no direct flights and countries that we would normally have been able to pass through closed their airports. After a lot of searching and fruitless bookings we finally got tickets for Sunday March 29 via Doha, Qatar. It appeared to be the last regular flight out of the country.
We heard from several people that unemployment has increased enormously in recent weeks. The clothing industry is down as fabric factories in China have been closed for many weeks due to Covid19. At the same time, European stores have stopped ordering clothes due to store closures in Europe. As global tourism has come to a halt, hotels and all related businesses in Myanmar are very quiet. Taxi drivers were clearly happy with every passenger they could get, with the drivers all competing for their business. We also saw more children than we had seen previously working until late at night.
At the same time, medical care leaves much to be desired. There are simply no masks, disinfectants, or protective clothing available for medical personnel, and don’t even think about the availability of emergency rooms or existence of respirators. They simply do not have them, and we're talking about the capital city of Yangon. We read about a hospital in a larger city in Chin State, run by only 2 doctors and 4 nurses, where they have an urgent request for more masks, disinfectants, personal protective equipment for the medical staff, etcetera. They have virtually nothing and this is where the second case of corona in the country is located.
If there will really be a major outbreak, which is very likely, it will have major consequences in Myanmar. With many casualties due to lack of medical support, huge unemployment rates without any social safety net (potentially leading to hunger), and children without parents to take care of them, many will struggle to survive.
Last Friday, restaurants and some large open-air markets closed down. On the other hand, life in the city continued as usual. The 1.5-meter distance rule was introduced but not understood and therefore not followed seriously.
In the district of Yangon where we were staying a third corona infection surfaced, and we heard that the government would most likely seal off the whole area. We decided to leave before the district was closed and headed to a hotel close to the airport. On March 21st, we managed to book a flight for March 29th, this is the very first flight available and we didn’t want to miss it– it turned out to be the last commercial flight departing from Yangon for a very long time. Meanwhile, restaurants closed, and the hotel informed us that they would no longer be able to serve us breakfast in the dining room.
We were happy to board our flight and after a long trip with a 20-hour layover in Qatar we landed safely on Dutch soil last Monday.
What a contrast of experiences, in Myanmar people were still crowding in front of the check-in desks and at the gate. In contrast, the airports in Doha and at Schiphol were completely abandoned and those who were there kept great distance. It shows the difference in government guidance and difference in culture.
How to proceed from here? Like everyone else, we don't know how long this virus will hold the world. When will we be able to return? Can we still go back? Unfortunately, we have been unable to do anything in Myanmar in recent weeks. No next steps have been taken and we still do not have the required licenses. This is a disappointment for us, but even more so for the people there! They definitely suffer more than we do.
It’s clear that the villagers are not able to oversee the impact this virus has in the world, or that it will have in their country, for themselves, and for their families. We hope and pray that now that the virus has reached Myanmar, that they will carefully observe hygiene practices and will follow guidelines to keep social distance. This is the only thing they can do to save lives.
Meanwhile, we will remain at home in quarantine until after Easter to make sure we are not spreading any virus we might have brought back with us from our travels.
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