Myanmar Spring Chronicle – May 07 Scenes
MoeMaKa, May 08 2023
Lives of people in a country under a failed state
The people of Myanmar are suffering from the heat of the summer in a situation where there is almost no electricity. So, they are even wanting the coming storm in the Bay of Bengal or a stronger storm to come quickly.
If we say how bad the living conditions of the people in Myanmar are, even natural disasters are sometimes welcomed.
People are unable to sleep because of the hot weather. Under already severe power outages, there is no electricity to cook, to pump up water to use, or to even turn on the fan, let alone an air conditioner. They are living under such conditions that are bad enough to affect their health and mental health. For the residents of the city, who have not experienced a severe power outage for more than a decade, they are even wanting the storm, a natural disaster, to come quickly, as the storm rain will relieve the heat a little.
This summer, the power grids that have been in operation for a decade are not being used properly because they are not enough to distribute electricity. Rural electrification projects, which include self-help and part of the country’s development funds, are now useless. I have heard that the industrial zones, where people can get employment opportunities, have almost no electricity this summer, and civilians are in a situation to buy and import their own fuel and try to get electricity. We have also heard that if we pay a rate that is 2 times higher than the current electricity rate, the military council will purchase and produce more natural gas for the industrial zones.
Not all people living in urban areas can afford to work with an electric generator. Most of them are not the ones who are able to purchase the solar system that people are talking about, which costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to use. Electricity is used to cook rice and pump water to high-rise buildings, and for an intellectual worker, electricity is needed to use the Internet, computers, etc. Residential apartments are also designed to be able to use air conditioners, fans, etc., so if there is no electricity, it will be difficult to cook, pump water, work, and sleep well, which will immediately affect our daily lives.
As for the military council, it can be concluded that reducing the expenditure to meet the significantly large demand for foreign currency to fight the war and saving the foreign currency used in other fields to be used for war expenses will be the main factors in this electricity shortage. Blowing up power line towers and natural gas lines by some PDFs can make the power outage worse to some extent, but it is not the main issue. The management of the military council, which sacrificed everything else for the sake of wanting to win the war that emerged due to the military coup, the problem of the economic blockade, the suspension of international aid to the military council, etc., are believed to be the main reasons for the power outage.
Some people say that Myanmar may end up as a failed state, and some say that Myanmar is already a failed state.
Now, looking at the current power outage situation, it seems to support the second conclusion.
Even though Myanmar has not reached a situation where the economy, education, and health sectors have come to a standstill, as happened in Sri Lanka in recent years, when fuel is almost completely cut off, the gradual deterioration of the economy, the loss of life due to armed conflicts in many rural areas, the life of people who cannot sleep in their homes after the loss of food and shelter in the forest for months, the life of people in the cities without electricity, and the worsening crime are already parts of a failed state.