Capital Blues

Many students see the government decree as a move to limit the number of politically radical young people living in Naypyidaw.

“The authorities are afraid of an uprising occurring one day if there are too many students on the university campus,” said one student. “They know we hate them.”

Naypyidaw also has its homeless—hundreds of families left without a roof over their heads after their villages were commandeered by the army. They received compensation equivalent to between $1,000 and $2,000, less than half the cost of constructing a new house. Many farmers lost their means of making a living when the army ordered them to leave their land.

“The name Naypyidaw leaves a bitter taste in my mouth,” said one woman, contemplating her half-completed house.

Lower-ranking civil servants are as unhappy as most locals about life in Naypyidaw. “I miss my family, but I don’t want to bring them here,” said one woman civil servant, gazing sadly at a water fountain playing in the evening twilight.

“This place can’t afford my family any warmth as long as it’s the capital of the country’s rulers. I want my children to grow up in a capital of the people.”