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In January 2006, Dr. Malkemus began writing dental health articles for The Community
Voice newspaper. He wanted to give back to the community and share his passion for
health, as well as his observations of the remarkable planet around us. Current
and past articles are provided here. To view his articles as they appear, see the
Health, Beauty, and Fitness Section at www.thecommunityvoice.com.
Other Resources
Myanmar Travels
MYANMAR
Memorial Day just passed on Monday. I returned from Myanmar (formerly called Burma) 2 weeks before the devastating cyclone hit that poor country. The combination of those two events has me thinking of how lucky I am to live here, how precious and fleeting life is, and how wonderful it is to live in a land of freedom, choice, travel, education and health; a land where we are actually encouraged to question, criticize, and even make fun of our government.
Myanmar’s government is the complete antithesis of what we accept as normal. A military totalitarian regime has ruled since 1962 with an iron fist with the second largest military in Asia after China. The regime is raping the natural resources of the country for their own financial gain and not doing anything to help the plight of the people or improve the infrastructure of the country. The regime exploits the country's rich mining resources: gold, silver and gems of rubies and sapphires. Myanmar's old growth teak forests are being clear-cut for the profit of the ruling few.
All policies are aimed at protecting the regime's iron hold. The media is used for propaganda. Outside influence is eliminated. The Universities were closed for many years to prevent student protests. There are smaller colleges open now but scattered throughout the country and severely under funded. A huge military academy receives most of the funding. Health care is minimal to non-existent. Travel abroad is not allowed. Twice the government has enforced a demonetization policy, eliminating the value of certain bills to prevent any civilian from getting ahead. It would be like our government saying all 20 and 100-dollar bills are worthless. In Myanmar people keep all their money in cash; checks, credit cards and banks are not used. Demonetization wipes out their only savings. .
Over the years, all protests have been squelched with massive killings and imprisonments. In May1990, the military leaders allowed a democratic election. In October 1990, the military raided the new government, retook control and over 100 elected parliamentarians were imprisoned, exiled or killed. Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratic opposition leader has been under house arrest ever since; she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. (We were staying near her house in Yangon, formally Rangoon. Her street was barricaded off with soldiers blocking the way.)
The most recent protest was last fall, lead by Buddhist monks. The regime had quadrupled the cost of gasoline over night, sending the country into even deeper economic straits, while exporting gas and oil to India and China and placing the profits in their own pockets. Myanmar has vast off shore oil fields, but they are not used for their own country’s benefit. The monks are revered for their non-materialistic, frugal, spiritual lives. They were eliminated in their sleep. Another protested squelched.
My wife Mary Alice and I traveled to Myanmar because of an invitation from good friends who are teachers in Yangon. They teach mostly embassy children in English with small class sizes. They took us on a wonderful tour of the country over 10-day period.
The local people we met were friendly, helpful and seemed happy. They are mostly Buddhist. Buddhists are taught to persevere, and endure discomfort with a serene smile. The country is very 3rd world, being held back by the government. Men and women all wear longyi, a Burmese sarong or wrap instead of pants. Outside Yangon, we traveled by bicycle, trishaw, horse pulled carriage, oxen cart and canoe style boats. We took a ferry from Yangon to a small village across the Yangon River. Though living in squalor, the people all smiled and waved.
Most men chew beetle nut and are continually spitting out red juice, staining the streets and sidewalks. If not already missing, their teeth are decayed and broken down with heavy blackish red staining. Beetle nut is placed in a beetle nut leaf, mixed with lye to release the active alkaloid, and then chewed. The drug is somewhat similar to nicotine or cocaine, addictive and having a numbing, euphoric effect. The lye is corrosive to teeth causing tooth destruction. I took some great photos of beetle nut smiles.
In Yangon, we saw beautiful Shwedagon Paya, a huge, glimmering, gold plated stupa, a bell-shaped dome that rises over 300 ft. We saw the impressive Gem Museum, which has the world’s largest sapphire weighing 26 pounds and world’s largest jade boulder, the size of a VW bug. We traveled to Inle Lake, which is a 3rd world version of Venice, with all the building on bamboo stilts and travel by narrow boats. Bagan was amazing with thousands of religious buildings, temples, stupas and pagodas, in a 30 sq. mile area, dating from 1044 to 1287.
Soon after our return, I experienced a terrible shock with the news of the destructive cyclone striking Myanmar at 3am on May 2. No advanced warning was given to the locals, even though the weather front was observed for several days. Winds were over 100 mph with gusts up to 200 mph. Most village huts were flattened and roofs of more substantial buildings were torn off. Most trees in Yangon were uprooted. My friends’ school was closed after the cyclone. The school was without electricity and water and had structural damage. A large 100-year-old tree fell through the roof. My friends are safe and just returned to California last week. I met them at their son’s college graduation from U.O.P. in Stockton.
The cyclone caused a wave surge of over 12 feet, which swamped all the low-lying delta villages. Official estimates put the death toll at about 78,000 with another 56,000 missing, probably dead. Actual numbers could be much higher. An estimated 2.5 million people remain in severe need, threatened by disease, hunger, lack of clean water, and exposure because of loss of their homes. The ruling junta has been slow to response and resistant to foreign aid help. The U.S., Britain and France all have Navy ships off Myanmar’s coast ready to help, but the military regime has continually refused help, because it fears political interference with its totalitarian hold on the country. After stubbornly refusing assistance for over 3 weeks, the military regime has just begun to accept outside assistance. Hopefully a combined relief effort can be allowed to help before it is too late.
I am thankful to live in a Sonoma County with freedom and choice. And I am so thankful for access to quality health care. I want to thank everyone who has sacrificed for freedom!
ENJOY LIFE AND KEEP SMILING!
George Malkemus has had a Family and Cosmetic Dental Practice in Rohnert Park for over 23 years at 2 Padre Parkway, Suite 200. Call 585-8595, or email info@ malkemusdds.com. Visit Dr. Malkemus’ Web site at http://www.malkemusdds.com for past articles.
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