Burma
In your front-page article (Dec. 23), Burma is portrayed as an isolated, decaying and disorganized socialist autocracy, which, although “picturesque,” has a “backward economy.”
People in Burma may use ox carts, 40-year old jeeps, and patronize the black market, but Rangoon is remarkably free of urban problems that make most growing Third World cities virtually unlivable. Such rustic items may also be a small price to pay for avoiding foreign debt.
The article admits that neutrality and political stability have prevented Burma from making any new enemies since World War II. How many other countries can boast this?
On the whole, Burma doesn’t seem like such a bad place after all.
JONATHAN FREEDMAN
South Pasadena
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