Mogok: gems and problems

The land of rubies has seen brighter days.

Mogok produces rubies each worth a nation”. That is what a French trader had reportedly admitted to a Burmese merchant during the time of the ancient Myanmar kings. For centuries, the Royal rubies as they are called, have been the main stream of revenue of Mogok, a town nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains in the Pyin Oo Lwin district. But today, Mogok is losing its spark. 
The town is shrouded in mystery. The legend has it that in 579, three Shan hunters lost their way in the vicinity of what is today Mogok. As it was getting dark, they decided to spend the night under a tree. The next morning the hunters saw a flurry of crows flying around a nearby valley. Intrigued, they came closer and realised that the place was full of deep-red rubies that the rapacious birds were mistaking for meat cuts. Mogok was built there to guard the trove.

Beyond the myth, historians have a more probable account of how Mogok came about. They argue that Shan traders who use to go down into the plains had the habit of stopping there before night. They called the place “Moe choke”, which means “getting dark” in Burmese.
Dark days loom once more. The uncertainties surrounding the reform of the Gemstone law has proven particularly harmful for the town and its 200,000 inhabitants. The current framework is far from perfect: lack of transparency, poor consideration to the local communities, abundance of licenses often delivered in an obscure fashion. The legislation needs some cleaning up. But last July, the new NLD government abruptly suspended licensing until the completion of the reform. The move created instability among the local traders and pushed many to trade illegally.
The outlook wasn’t always that grim. Back in the days rains used to carry stones from the hillside. Residents just had to bend over to pick up treasures, it is said. During the time of King Mindon (1853-1878), the business expanded with the creation of offices where appraisers were assigned to directly deal with foreign traders. Mindon, known as an administrator and a moderniser, regulated the sector and opened it up at the same time.
Under British rule, the business boomed but few locals benefited from it. Foreign companies began applying for extracting permits directly to the British government in London or to the British authorities in India. Extraction intensified. Some mines turned out to be immensely profitable; others suffered flooding and huge losses. Some licensed companies relocated people away from their original places in search of new lodes – the villages of Padamya and Si Pin, for instance, emerged at that time.

The golden era, locals recall, were the Ne Win years. The founder of the Burmese Way to Socialism revoked foreign-owned licenses and let anyone mine for a modest entry fee. The number of miners increased to thousands.
In 1990, when the socialist period ended, Mogok’s gemstone business continued as a joint-venture between the government and a nascent private sector making it easier for private businesses to flourish. More people came to Mogok, increasing the town’s population and changing its landscape.
In 1995, the State Law and Order Restoration Council adopted the Myanmar Gemstone Law  and the state-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited, a conglomerate ran by the military, took control – today, it acts as a regulator. But under the junta, the trade only benefited a handful of business and political elite.
With the slowing down of the activity the devil found work for idle hands. Most workers go to Kachin state to deal amber and return home with bags full of drugs, says a resident. Min Thuya, a social worker, says that theft and drug related cases have surged. “We find many drug needles in public places and toilets,” he sighs.
Mogok has also been emptied of its resources. Plenty of its youth is now gone to Malaysia and Thailand. Discovery of good quality gems have also become less frequent.

But this could force a reinvention of Mogok, optimists say. Taking advantage of Mogok’s natural landscapes and scenic beauties, residents are celebration the town’s 800th Anniversary in an attempt to attract more visitors to Mogok. They want Mogok to become a destination for tourists interested in gemstones and history.
Getting out of a resources-based economy might prove challenging, but if successful it could hold lessons for the rest of Myanmar.