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Rising fuel prices increase burden on Myanmar's poor

When U Moe's brother developed a serious lung infection, he immediately went to buy bus tickets to take his younger sibling to Myanmar's main city Yangon for medical treatment.

But at the bus station, U Moe was shocked to discover that the 480km trip would cost more than US$12 dollars per person -- a price he could not afford on his monthly salary of US$60.

"I was so confused by the fares," he said.

Since Myanmar's military government ordered a massive hike of fuel prices on Aug. 15, bus fares around the country have doubled, imposing a crippling burden on the people living in one of Asia's poorest countries.

Anger about the hardships caused by the price increases has sparked more than one month of peaceful street protests, with thousands of Buddhist monks taking to the streets in Yangon and other cities last week.

U Moe, who declined to give his full name, had to wait until payday to come up with the money for the bus tickets.

That left his brother waiting for days in agony, struggling just to breathe.

"It was a really stressful situation before we finally bought the tickets to travel here," U Moe said, adding that once in Yangon, the stress mounted, as food and local transportation were much more expensive than in his rural hometown.

Travel of any sort is now a major difficulty for people in Myanmar. The price hikes have left many in Yangon unable to afford even bus fare to get to work. Prices for food and other basic commodities are also rising.

One retired man in Yangon said: "I told my wife that staying at home is more profitable than going to work."

The UN ranks Myanmar among the world's 20 poorest countries and the World Food Program said last year that food security was a year-round problem, with one-third of the nation's children malnourished.

The junta has signed a string of lucrative contracts for international firms to explore for natural gas, while increasingly selling off Myanmar's mineral wealth in gems and timber to neighbors like China and Thailand.

None of that money trickles down to the public, while the generals have built themselves mansions in the new capital of Naypyidaw, which was carved out of the mountains in central Myanmar.

The increased fuel prices have only worsened the difficult plight of most people, driving up costs for buses, taxis and planes.

Airfares have risen by about 30 percent and tickets for flights to Naypyidaw have doubled.

State-run railways have not raised their prices and still offer deeply subsidized fares.

That has many Yangon commuters scrambling to squeeze onto trains to get to work -- if they're lucky enough to live near a rail line.

For U Moe, saving the money to get his brother to a doctor in the city was only half the battle. Now he wonders if he will have enough money left to get home.

He called the bus terminal to ask if he could get a discounted fare on the cheapest bus.

The response?

"They said they have no choice but to raise the ticket prices because the cost of diesel has doubled," U Moe said.
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