Rumors

It was 910 Kyats a dollar yesterday. I was thinking about spending around $500 for a desktop computer

There is a rumor around town that a few cases of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) have been reported at a private clinic in Burma. I don't know how reliable the source of the rumor is. It's the cost we have to pay for the lack of freedom of press. Nothing is mentioned in the newspaper about any bad things. The mentality of Burmese people is that only good things are reported. It's even true among Christian ministers and church leaders. Only good news is news in the papers. Rumors can't be ignored here in Burma because they have proved to be true in the past. One thing we need to learn in our society is failures and mistakes don't mean bad. We will need to acknowledge our failures and mistakes, and need to learn from those experiences.

One of the examples is our newspaper. Newspapers reported many good projects that the government is doing. It has been glorifying the bridge projects and road repairing projects for the past few years. There are also many bad things going on around the country such as high inflation rate, terrible living conditions, and reduced job opportunities for the educated youths.