The average Burmese worker once spent half their meagre daily wages just getting to and from work. The other half went on food. But fuel price rises that doubled petrol and diesel prices led to dramatic bus fare increases. Now commuting swallows 70% of the daily income, leaving little for sustenance. School fees or a medical bill can tip many over the edge. Those working in Rangoon's industrial zone can be seen trudging for an hour back and forth to work because they can no longer afford the fares. That explains why so many have taken to the streets in a country where inflation had already hit 40% this year before the latest price hikes. Electricity in Rangoon regularly goes off without warning for five or six hours, compounding the sense of misery.
So the shops and markets are empty?
Not exactly. The markets are well stocked with food. But more and more people find it a struggle to pay for basic supplies. Beyond food the shops are drab and stocked with little anyone might want, had they money to pay for it. It is especially true outside the former capital, Rangoon. The government has ordered all shops to close by 10pm and Rangoon is mostly a ghost town by then, with stragglers waiting for the last buses home.
How has the clampdown affected life?
In the week after the first protests kicked off on August 19 roadblocks popped up all over Rangoon. Police checked identity cards to track down the ringleaders not arrested in the swoops that netted about 150 figures from the 88 Generation of Students. But in the following weeks movement around the city eased and the checkpoints virtually disappeared as the monks began their protests a week ago. By contrast travel between cities such as Mandalay and Rangoon remains tricky. Roadblocks pop up every few miles, with the occupants and their destinations noted.
Can people find out what's going on?
News in the official state media is scant. But international radio broadcasts keep Burmese glued to their receivers. The old faithful Burmese services of the BBC and Voice of America remain important sources of information. But now the Democratic Voice of Burma, broadcast from New York, and Radio Free Asia, from Oslo - both run by exiles - are proving popular. None of the services has yet been blocked by the junta.
Are people elated or frightened by the developments?
Both. Many are euphoric about the prospect of change in their grinding daily lives. But equally they are fearful of what could happen, ever mindful of the 3,000 students and monks killed in the 1988 pro-democracy protests. The tentacles of the feared MI military intelligence reach deep into the society that has 1,158 political prisoners, many of whom have been tortured by the ruthless regime.
