By Amanda Wells
Visiting Myanmar for the second time meant seeing beyond the superficial and gaining a deeper understanding of the constraints its Christians face, according to the Rev Andrew Norton.
Andrew, who is senior minister of St Columba @ Botany in Auckland, spent 12 days in Myanmar in February, accompanied by his daughter Angela, Carol Connor, who is an elder at St Columba, and the Rev Phil King, minister of St Margaret’s Bishopdale and moderator of Christchurch Presbytery.
Building our Church’s ongoing partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar, which is being facilitated by the Global Mission Office, was a key goal of the trip, as was providing some practical help in the form of money and laptops.
While travelling as a “pure tourist” in Myanmar presents no problems, Andrew says, difficulties arise as you seek to engage with the locals.
It’s important to show utmost respect for your hosts and do exactly what they tell you, he says. “You have to be very careful that you’re not placing them in a compromising position.”
While the group visited the capital Yangon (called Rangoon by British colonisers) and Mandalay, they spent most of their time in Kalaymyo (or Kalemyo), where the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar is based. This small town is in the Chin hills, not far from the Indian border.
“When we arrived, we were told that we had compete freedom within the town but ‘you’re not allowed to go outside the town’.”
As was the case during Andrew’s first visit, a government-appointed chaperon was physically present most of the time, and each day produced a report on their activities.
The main difference on this trip was the chance to build greater trust, Andrew says, as well as being able to better understand the conditions under which people live.
“Now I know more about the actual costs to our hosts.”
Because Myanmese culture is based on hospitality, “they are going to feed you whether they can afford it or not”. Offers to pay for meals were rejected, to the discomfort of the visitors. “Putting on a feast for visitors is a cultural imperative.”
Paying for official permissions was also expensive. “There were a whole lot of times when the authorities collected money from [our hosts] for having us there,” Andrew says.
One night, there was a surprise spot check. “The locals were saying ‘this is no problem, everything’s fine’ but it cost 20,000 kyat” – which is a month’s wages.
When the group was invited into a church member’s home for a meal, the host had to pay for permission for an extra two hours of electricity.
Phil describes this dinner as an interesting cultural experience; eating with their right hands rather than using cutlery. While their hosts served meat at the meal, this was in honour of the occasion and rarely forms part of their normal diet. “We felt worried about how much it cost them.”
Carol says one of the lunches they attended had avocadoes and eggs; again foods that are far from everyday for the Myanmese. Their host would not start till they had all finished eating; a humbling and almost unsettling experience, she says.
The Presbyterian Church of Myanmar is very keen for Andrew to bring more people over and develop the partnership. “This is what they want. Despite the cost”
Andrew says for future visits, he will adopt a koha approach to cover visitors’ expenses and ensure that locals are not left out of pocket.
The visitors were very aware of Myanmar’s political situation.
“It’s illegal for foreigners to engage in political conversations,” Andrew says, and they were careful not to put their hosts in danger.
“You ask them about life, and you find that they look over their shoulder.”
Phil says: “We didn’t feel that shadow of sinister authority but it was obviously there.”
They drove from Kalaymyo to Mandalay; a 320 km trip that took 13 hours. The roads were very rough, Carol says, and they were unexpectedly detained at a second military checkpoint. They had to wait in a village where no one spoke English. “It was quite scary when we realised [the checkpoint officer] wouldn’t let us go on.” But after an hour, they were allowed to continue their journey. Later on, when everyone except Carol was asleep, the driver started to drift off. “For me, it was a lesson in trusting God,” she says.
Andrew says Myanmar has got under his skin.
“Myanmar has a residual impact on your life. You just can’t go and come back like you’ve been to Europe. You can’t be unmoved or untouched.
“You have to undergo a major critique of all your values and your value judgements.”
It was hard to see the level of disease and illness among children, Carol says, just because families could not afford the US$10 a year for five years that vaccinations cost.
She wanted to respond by giving money, but was also aware of the tension between giving hand-outs and encouraging self-sufficient development.
“The money that we can provide is a drop in the bucket compared to funds from donors like the Presbyterian Church of Korea and the Council for World Mission,” Phil says.
“What we have to offer is encouragement and that the world hasn’t forgotten them.”
He says he was struck by Myanmar’s thriving street life. “Everybody is trying to sell something. But there always seem to be far more sellers than buyers.”
Most people don’t have a bank account but just keep any money they have at home.
The Church’s synods are ethnically based, and with noticeable material inequality between the groups. “One of the synods we spent time with was much poorer than the dominant ethnic group. They didn’t even have telephones in their headquarters, or plumbing. They felt inferior.”
Like the society, Church is strongly patriarchal. Men and women eat at separate tables, and enter church through different entrances to separate seating areas.
Angela and Carol were “treated like the men” during the visit, eating at the same table and sitting in the men’s area of the church.
Sometimes when Carol was introduced as an elder at St Columba, there was “an audible gasp”, she says, Carol and Angela met with about 10 women from the Zo synod for a morning of discussion. The women talked about “the old way” of life, which generally prevails, where women stay in the home and are not allowed to work. The men are responsible for putting food on the table, with one man feeding 12 members of his extended family, who were dependent solely on him.Carol says they didn’t see any beggars in Kalaymo, unlike Rangoon and Mandalay, because people in the Christian-majority area would not let their extended family resort to living in the street.
Some microfinance projects are changing the patriarchal culture, with women able to do some sewing and tailoring to help support their family.
“They really want their children to be educated, although many of them are illiterate themselves,” Carol says.
The women were keen to talk about how they could improve their lives, though the Kiwi visitors found it difficult to know what to say, given the huge cultural, political and economic differences.
“They’re living in a way that’s very foreign to women in New Zealand.
“We talked about education, and how if children know from when they are young that they will go to university, they grow up with that expectation.”
One challenge university graduates face is finding employment in their field. For example, someone who trained as a zoologist manages a medical clinic.
Some of the men they met were keen to see women’s lot improved, Carol says, saying they want them to “step up”.
Carol says she is keen to get some educational resources to the women she met.
“I want our church to hear more and see what is happening over there, and to be encouraged to be involved.”
Andrew plans to take another team over there later this year or early next year.
“The people of that country have no voice. Who speaks for those who have no voice?”