GlobalPost popped up on my Twitter feed the other day, so I took a look. It has a feature entitled “Myanmar Emerges” that collects together quite a wide array of news videos, articles and slideshows grouped under three headings: opium war, oppression economics, and the people versus the power. Some of the topics are fascinating and even quirky – “mock stars”, for instance, on Myanmar’s pop plagiarists.

The main display is a half-hour video, Promise & Peril, compiled by videographer Jonah M Kessel and correspondent Patrick Winn. It covers three standard Myanmar tragedies relating to the major issues on the webpage: poverty and especially child labour, protest notably at Letpadaung, and ethnic conflict leading to drug abuse in Kachin State. At the same time, there are balancing positives, and the footage is uniformly terrific. The coverage of Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to Letpadaung following the release of her report advocating renewed mining is also very strong. Sandar, a merchant from A Lay Daw village who was present that day, had this to say: “She acted like a know-it-all. She said we are illiterate farmers and that’s why we were protesting… I think she’s not pursuing democracy. She’s madly pursuing power.”

This is an excellent online resource – great for teaching, and useful for anyone interested in learning more about the country. I’ll certainly be checking the site from time to time.