PowerPoint-Prsentation

WatersellersWasserverkufer

Coca Cola und Kreditkarten sind angekommen. Selbst US-Prsident Barack Obama war zu einem Besuch dort.

Es liegt mehr als Vernderung in der Luft in Myanmar. Man erkennt sie in den Banken, auf Plakatwnden und in Geschften. Aber zum grten Teil haben sie noch nicht die Huser der einfachen Burmesen, besonders auch in den Auenbezirken der grten Stadt, Yangon, erreicht.

Die wirtschaftlichen und politischen Reformen seit der Wahl der zivilen Regierung von Prsident Thein Sein Mrz 2011 waren manchmal dramatisch und haben sogar Burma Beobachter berrascht.

Das Leben der einfachen Familien, wie das des Wasserverkufers Chit Min Oo, 18, bleibt aber wie bisher, und wird vielleicht noch eine Weile so bleiben.

In Chit Min Oos Slum im Hlaing Thar Yar Township, etwa eine Stunde auerhalb der Innenstadt Yangon, stehen zwei Dutzend Bambushtten ber matschig Boden mit Moskitos die ber Wasserpftzen summen, wenn die Nacht hereinbricht. Chit Min Oo lebt in einer Einzelraum-Htte mit seiner Mutter zwei Brdern und einer Schwester, mit denen er oft um den Made-in-China MP4-Player ringt, der das einzige Luxusgut der Familie ist. Es ist auch das einzige Gert, das in der stromlosen Htte leuchtet. Nur 26 Prozent der Myanmars Bevlkerung Myanmars hatten im Jahr 2011 Zugang zu Elektrizitt, sagte der ADB-Bericht.

Coca Cola and credit cards have arrived. Even American President Barack Obama has dropped by for a visit. Change is more than in the air in Myanmar. It is in the banks, on billboards and in shops. But for the most part, it hasnt yet reached the homes of ordinary Burmese, even the outskirts of its largest city, Yangon.The economic and political reforms since the election of the civilian government of President Thein Sein in March 2011 have at times been dramatic and taken even Burma-watchers by surprise.Life for families at the grassroots, like that of water-seller Chit Min Oo, 18, however, remains threadbare, and might stay that way for a time yet.In Chit Min Oos slum in Hlaing Thar Yar township, about an hour outside of downtown Yangon, two dozen or so bamboo huts stand over mushy ground with mosquitoes buzzing over pools of water as night falls. Chit Min Oo lives in a single-room hut with his mother two brothers and a sister, whom he often wrestles with for the Made-in-China MP4 player that is the familys sole luxury item. It is also the only appliance that lights up in the electricity-less hut. Just 26 percent of Myanmars population had access to electricity in 2011, said the ADB report.

Power outages are common in Myanmar, but many of those living in rural areas or in urban slums like Chit Min Oo, 18 at right, and his family, do not even have electricity wired up. After dinner in their bamboo hut about an hour outside of downtown Yangon, he is playing with the MP4 player that is the family's sole luxury item.

After dinner in their bamboo hut about an hour outside of downtown Yangon, Chit Min Oo, 18 at left, and his brother Pyay Sone Aung, 17, play with the MP4 player that is the family's sole luxury item and also their only form of night-time entertainment.

Chit Min Oo, 18, horses around with his mother Thazin Tun, 36, at Danyingon train station in Yangon, where she has a makeshift stall selling flavored drinks. They have a very close relationship. Thazin Tun relies on her own work and that of the older two of her four children to support the family, especially since her husband died last year.

Chit Min Oo, 18, horses around with his mother Thazin Tun, 36, at Danyingon train station in Yangon, where she has a makeshift stall selling flavored drinks.

Chit Min Oo, 18, sells water on Yangon's Circle Line train, to make a living, but in providing water to others, he is gaining merit, as Burmese Buddhists believe. He fills his bucket with ice blocks and water from this water tank at a train station before hopping on the train again.

Chit Min Oo gets ready to hop on a train that has just pulled in and is unloading its passengers.

Chit Min Oo hops on a train that is moving off. He sells water on Yangon's Circle Line train, to make a living, but in providing water to others, he is gaining merit, as Burmese Buddhists believe.

Chit Min Oo, 18, sells water on Yangon's Circle Line train to make a living.

Chit Min Oo steps off a moving train to get to the next carriage to sell more water. Yangon's Circle Line trains are very old - and known for their bed bugs - but are the cheapest form of public transport and encircle the city.

Chit Min Oo holds out a cup of water for a customer. He charges about 30 kyats, about 34 cents, per cup.

A young girl on Yangon's Circle Line train drinks a cup of water.

In between selling water, Chit Min Oo, smoke cigarettes and hangs out with sellers of other goods on the train. They are all familiar with one another and often band together in small groups to look out for one another.

Chit Min Oo, right, hangs out with another water seller on the train. He often seems tired and bored by his job, but he and his family live off this trade.

On the way home later one afternoon, Chit Min Oo sits in an empty carriage and seems contemplative. His father died last year and he, barely 18, is the oldest of three boys in the family.

Chit Min Oo counts how much money he has made so far that day. Two of his friends, fellow water sellers, were concerned when he did not keep up with them and also hopped on their trains to check on him.

Chit Min Oo is set to jump onto another train for another round of selling.

Taking an afternoon break, Chit Min Oo, middle, sits at his mother's makeshift drinks stall at Danyingon station, which is about an hour's train ride from downtown Yangon.

When he's not working, Chit Min Oo can be often be found either smoking cigarettes or doodling. He has a reputation for being good at doodling and on the train, other water-sellers often ask him to tattoo them with his ballpoint pen.

Chit Min Oo pulls on a singlet after a midday shower at home, while his mother Thazin Tun, 36, fans herself to keep the humid heat at bay. The single room bamboo hut is home to this family of five.

Still a teenager conscious of his looks, Chit Min Oo, checks himself out in a handheld mirror outside the family home, while his youngest brother Pan Su Aung, 11, first from left, sister, Su War Shein, 14, and Lin Kyaw, 7, a wandering boy the family has taken in, hang out.

Chit Min Oo fetches water from a pump near his bamboo hut while a neighbor bathes her grandchild.

Chit Min Oo chats with his mother Thazin Tun, 36, while his youngest brother Pan Su Aung, 11, plays with a handheld mirror in their home.

Chit Min Oo smokes way too much for his mother's liking. His father, a heavy drinker, died last year.

Chit Min Oo, second from right, and his sister, Su War Shein, 14, vie for their mother's attention, while Lin Kyaw, 7, right, a wandering boy the family has taken in, looks on.

Photos: Sim Chi YinThe CallDABCafe Del Mar - Sun Delight, track 2/32005Dub, Downtempo, Ambient324621.4