Myanmar Villagers Stand United Against Coal Plant

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Myanmar Villagers Stand United Against Coal Plant

After a 10 hour overnight drive from Yangon, we finally arrive in Andin Village. It is starting to rain, turning the red dirt roads into mud, but we can't miss the large "No Coal" sign in Burmese, English, and Mon.

Last May, the now empty football field hosted the latest in a series of protests against a proposed 1,280 MW coal-fired power plant from a Thailand-based Japanese company, Toyo-Thai Corporation (TTCL).

The proposal also includes a massive new deep sea port to bring in coal from Indonesia and Australia to fuel the boilers.

Nearly every house in the village has a "No Coal" sticker in the three languages-distributed as part of a survey of local opinions about the project. Out of 1300 households, we are told only one refused to place a sticker on their home.

The rest display their opposition on their homes, cars and motorbikes.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicole-ghio/myanmar-villagers-stand-u_b_7821096.html