In Burma

By Jacques Gauchey Photo © John McDermottLast February, two friends of mine went to Burma.

John McDermott, photographer, accompanied Claudia Brose, his wife, for a research project on the effects of tourism on the country's cultural heritage. After last Saturday's cyclone, with its appalling consequences, tens of thousands of victims and a shaken economy, protecting Burma from crass tourism is less of a priority for Claudia. What is real is the suffering and the destruction in a country already heavily taxed by a psychotic military junta.

Several photos and postings from Claudia and John's trip were published in 250Words (see Burma). Claudia, John and I hope most of the people on the photos, including Burmese boys playing soccer barefoot on a Rangoon boulevard or young nuns collecting food in Mandalay, are safe. "It was our first trip to Burma but we both felt that more trips should follow," says Claudia. "It felt very soul-calming and relaxing. People are so devoted to Buddhism that you feel that balanced, calm energy all around you, even though their political situation is awful." Adds John: "I hope our guide, Rosie, and all the wonderful people we met in the monasteries and on the streets, are OK."