Over the past few years, Burma has undertaken dramatic reforms and is now in a critical time of transition.
During the rule of the junta, dissent was suppressed with brute force. Now, however, journalists, human rights activists and their defendants are policed by elastic laws, and inequality among the people follows along economic, educational, and ethnic divides.
The opening of the country has brought about new issues, like the impact of mass tourism, but also fresh chances to tackle old problems, such as fighting against HIV/AIDS, improving the capacity of self-support groups, and promoting religious tolerance.