Dear MEL Topic Readers,
‘We do this to survive’: Harvesting opium poppies in Myanmar’s Shan State
Myanmar, also referred to as Burma, is a country in northwest Southeast
Asia with a population of around 55 million. The country has been under a civil
war since 2021 between the Myanmar military, ethnic armed organizations,
pro-democracy forces, and civilian-led militia groups. Bordered by China to the
north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, the Shan State of Myanmar
is home to several armed ethnic groups, and recently, it has come under Chinese
economic influence. The region has become the epicenter of synthetic drug
production, opium, and is part of the Golden Triangle, the area around the Ruak
and Mekong rivers bordered by Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. After Afghanistan’s Taliban prohibited opium
production in 2022, Myanmar became the world’s largest producer of opium again because the demand surged and so did
the price. More farmers in the region are now engaged in opium poppy farming
and gum production, which brings them decent money quickly. Those farmers now
work like factory workers for illegal produce.
Read the article and learn about the life of the “farmers” in Shan State of Myanmar
nowadays.
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