Detroit and Yangon

February 15th, 2015

Yangon, Myanmar

Song of the Day: Call on Me by Eric Prydz

Mood: Grooving

Detroit and Yangon

(Source: http://detroitontap.blogspot.com/)

For all their differences, Yangon and Detroit have a lot in common:

Some of the streets have the same name:

 

Source (wikipedia)

People like similar things

On my block in Detroit, people used to huddle behind a car and shoot craps. I feel right at home here:

Yangon even has a waffle house

The best rapper is named 'Ye and he likes shoes:

 

(Source: MTV, kanyetothe.com)

Perception that light = beautiful:

One time in Detroit, I was playing Frisbee with kids from the community. One African-American kid asked me for sunscreen, and when I said I didn't have any, he wanted to stay in the shade. He said that he didn't want to get darker and that he was going to bleach his skin when he was old enough so he could look more light-skinned.

In Yangon, nearly all of the billboards and music videos show people with skin much whiter than any citizen I've met here. Many of the other places I've visited in Asia associate beauty and health with paler skin.

Many people here have told me I'm handsome. Some even go so far as to say I look like a particular celebrity. The week before I left Detroit, strangers at Panera said the same thing. You decide:

(source: teaser-trailer.com)

We ate at a restaurant in the shape of a giant duck.
I borrowed part of one worker's traditional outfit

Perception that white = rich:

In America, the average black household has a net worth of $4,995 (CNN June '12), which is probably higher than black households in our neighborhood. The 8% of my zip code that isn't African American usually lives in the nicest area of the zip code and owns the most expensive houses. Some of the few white people in the poorer areas are from my church and are resourced (e.g., doctors). They live there as a choice and not out of necessity. There are exceptions, including some of my friends, but the general rule that white people in the neighborhood are relatively "rich" covers the majority of cases.

In Yangon, the situation is similar. If you are white, you are probably a foreigner. If you are a foreigner, you could afford a plane ticket to get here. This makes you "rich" because any international travel is beyond the means of the vast majority of locals.

Street merchants informally charge a "white premium" when negotiating with foreigners. Oftentimes, especially tourist sites, the price discrimination for foreigners is formal and the fees have to be paid in US dollars. Even at tennis courts, we have had to pay five times the amount of locals.

Local currency. About 855 kyet = $1 USD.
(Note how bills for the same denomination can be different sizes)

Children struggling to thrive

In Detroit, family sizes are often large, and mothers often raise children without the support of the fathers. If the parent(s) can find a job, the pay is often low so they need to work long hours to care for the basic needs of their family. For many reasons, many children are often neglected and unsupervised.

In one extreme example, I knew a mother who drove to a party 800 miles away and left her 8, 11, and 16 year old sons home alone. During the trip, she ran into trouble with the police and will be jailed for the next couple years due to outstanding arrest warrants for past felonies. When her boys heard she was in jail, the oldest son took the family's welfare card and fended for himself. People from our church cared for the younger boys until a more permanent solution was found. Although concerned people can make a difference, there is nothing like having two loving, involved parents. When that doesn't happen, children suffer.

Our work here deals with kids in similar situations. One boy is an orphan. Another boy's family has been in jail for a couple years for suspected human trafficking and he has been living on the street. A third boy's father ran off with a woman and abandoned his family. At 14, the boy is the breadwinner for his mother and sisters. Although the Professor  buys food, secures housing, gets the boys into school, and helps them find jobs, progress seems difficult to sustain. A kid can learn the multiplication table one day and sniff glue the next. A boy can shows us he has learned to read one day, and play poker and telling us he is adamant about quitting school the next.

Looking at pictures from previous visits

He is the hardest worker and the best student

Talking about long-term thinking and job opportunities with the help of a translator

Why do we work with kids that lie, omit information, steal, and consistently make bad decisions? It's a question we often ask ourselves.

One reason is mercy. God loves humans unconditionally, and that includes the most righteous saint to the children we work with or the crackhead that peed on my house in Detroit. Even though people can be poor and make bad decisions, they still deserve dignity and respect.

Another reason is justice. Not everyone has the same opportunity, and what we are trying to stand in the gap to give these at-risk kids a chance. It may be the best chance they have.

Yet, even though we have resources, we're fully aware we can never be these kids' saviors. Unless the kids have a vision for their future and want to have a better life, there is only so much that can be done. In the same way, God needs to work in the kids' hearts for them to become Christians and experience the full and abundant lives we want for them.

The odds are against us and our success rate will be below 100%. In each case, we don't know if they will capitalize on their opportunities or become just another victim of the streets, but we are trying to do what we can to develop character and boost the odds as much as possible. 

Good people trying to make a difference

In both places, there are a lot of good people helping improve the lives of those around them. In my previous post,  I talked about the Liberator's work with World Vision. We've also met people from UNOPS and the Burnet Institute who are working to improve public health. In Detroit, our church runs a literary clinic and a sports program among many outreaches.

   

One of the good organizations here is Helping Hands. It is organized by the wife of an Australian diplomat and helps teenage boys get a basic education and develop practical skills by repairing furniture and selling to westerners. The daily operations are run by the Foreman and he also helps us help the boys. You can read more about him on the Professor's blog.

Talking with the Foreman about how to best help the kids

Creating a game plan on how to help the kids when we're away

Detroit and Yangon are very different in many ways. But, there is also a surprising amount of cultural similarities as well as a basic humanity (both the good and the bad) that unites us.