Orphanage Tourism Spreads to Myanmar

In another case of the detriments of globalization, “orphanage tourism” has been spreading throughout Myanmar, following established practices in Cambodia and Indonesia. Essentially, this deeply disturbing practice allows foreign tourists to visit an orphanage for a day--like some sort of sightseeing attraction--and then the orphanage solicits donations from tourists. These donations are often pocketed by the directors. In this way, orphanages become businesses.

“Orphanage tourism” speaks to a lot of obvious issues of Western presence in Southeast Asia: voluntourism, exploitation of culture, and increased opportunities for corruption. The article says, “Many of Myanmar’s visitors are socially minded backpackers or retirees wanting to help the developing country, donating their dollars or euros to a worthy cause.” The main issue in this line of thought is that it implicitly implies Southeast Asians need saving from Westerners, that they are somehow inferior. Practices like how orphan directors dress kids poorly to increase donations only perpetuate this problematic power dynamic. On the flipside, while orphanage tourism obviously has a detrimental effect on many, I wonder who are the orphanage directors who benefit from this practice: are they mostly Burmese who have adapted to modernity to suit their own needs? Or foreigners like the Koreans mentioned at the end of this article? How does globalization and tourism ultimately affect the power structure within countries like Myanmar and Laos?

Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/29/orphanage-tourism-fears-of...

Other articles relating to orphanage tourism in SE Asia:
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/lifestyle/13222-when-children-become-to...
http://theindependent.sg/cambodias-orphanage-tourism/
http://theconversation.com/orphanage-trips-by-aussie-schools-are-doing-m...
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16067405