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Strand Title |
101 East |
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Programme Number |
PG016806 |
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Programme Title |
Myanmar’s Cycle of Debt |
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Date |
9th August 2018 |
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Programme Duration |
24.51 |
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Producer |
Katie Arnold |
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Al Jazeera Producer |
Mavourneen Dineen |
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Al Jazeera Bureau |
Kuala Lumpur |
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Commissioning Executive |
Sharon Roobol |
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10.00.00.00 |
OPENER STEVE CHAO |
SC:
WITH ITS GLEAMING NEW SHOPPING MALLS AND HIGH-RISE
APARTMENTS, YANGON’S BECOME THE SYMBOL OF MYANMAR’S ECONOMIC RISE. BUT IN ITS POOREST NEIGHBOURHOODS, FAMILIES TURN TO
LOAN SHARKS JUST TO SURVIVE. I’M STEVE CHAO. ON THIS EPISODE OF 101 EAST, WE MEET THOSE TRAPPED IN A CYCLE OF DEBT AND THE PEOPLE WHO PROFIT FROM THEIR DESPAIR. |
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10.00.36.00 |
Pictures of boats crossing to Yangon from Dalla. A374C763_180524CR_CANON A374C775_180524R7_CANON A374C764_18052481_CANON A374C773_180524H3_CANON A374C777_180524KV_CANON A374C776_180524EH_CANON |
VO In Yangon, living on the wrong side of the tracks
means living on the wrong side of the river. It is here that rural migrants are forced to settle
while they search for jobs in the city. Some cross the river at the break of dawn, knowing
that they will return with some money in their hands. But for most - those with no regular source of income - mornings are just the start of another day of struggle |
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10.01.24.00 |
Market |
VO Everyday Lone Lone comes to the market to buy food for her family. |
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10.01.30.00 |
Lone Lone BUYING CAULIFLOWER: A345C880_180518WT_CANON 00.10 - 00.25 |
- Sister, how
much is the cauliflower? - 30 cents 30 cents… can I
have two? You should
take that one. I will take these two. |
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10.01.41.00 |
Lone Lone A345C880_180518WT_CANON - 00.40 — 00.48 |
60 cents… |
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10.01.44.00 |
Lone Lone buying the vegetables. |
VO Every cent counts… The twenty-year-old is shopping for her husband, two infant children and three members of her extended family. But with just $2.20 to spend, she can’t afford to buy much |
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10.02.00.00 |
LONE LONE A345C891_180518CH_CANON 00.49 — 01.03 |
I don’t think it is enough for my kids. It’s not enough food. But this is all we can afford... so we’ll have to make do. |
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|
Lone Lone going home |
VO Lone Lone earns $4.50 a day in a part time job, cooking and cleaning for
middle class families in the city. This makes Lone Lone the family breadwinner, with her husband working just two days a week as a plumber. |
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10.02.36.00 |
Pictures of Lone Lone cooking the food with her children
nearby Footage from A336C567 to A336C605 |
VO The family have been struggling ever since Lone Lone
gave birth to their twins - Su Pone Chit and Wine Chit last year. With hospital bills of $150, they had to take out a
loan from a local money lender who charges a steep 20% monthly interest. Over the course of 18 months, they managed to pay back almost all of that money - but then the monsoon season struck. |
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10.03.03.00 |
Lone Lone A336C608_180517CF_CANON - 04.06 — 04.28 |
I took out a new loan of $220,
because this house collapsed during a recent storm. We had nowhere to stay… so I asked for help from the
money lender, but she said “No”. I had to ask someone else for
help. They said “Yes”... but the interest rate is 30% So now we owe $66 interest every month. That’s just the interest, not the loan. |
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Every day, as she makes her way to the money lender’s house, Lone Lone carries with her more than half the family’s earnings - it’s a heavy burden. |
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10.03.38.00 |
Lone Lone Quotes: A345C918_180518CH_CANON -
00.18 — 00.30 Cutaway of counting money to fill the gap between quotes: A345C916_180518CL_CANON |
I’ve giving you $2.20 now. How much more do we owe you? The loan was You need to pay that back by the 20th. |
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10.03.53.00 |
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The money lender is a friend of the family, and a
young mother herself - but all feelings of empathy |
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10.04.03.00 |
Lone Lone A336C608_180517CF_CANON - 05.31 — 05.38 |
If I can pay back $66 for this month, there will be no
compound interest. But if I can’t there will be compound interest next month. |
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10.04.11.00 |
Katie A378C958_180525SO_CANON - 01.01 — 01.07 |
K :With such high interest rates how long do you think its going to take for you to pay back these loans? |
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10.04.15.00 |
Lone Lone A339C609_180517CF_CANON - 09.44 — 09.50 |
I am worried that I will never be
able to pay it all back… because I don’t have a regular job.. |
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10.04.21.00 |
Lone Lone A339C612_180517CF_CANON - 10.45 — 11.01 cooking the food with her family. |
Sometimes, I think we’ll never be free from this because we are always struggling
to pay the money back. Our lives can not improve because
of these |
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10.04.36.00 |
Lone Lone A339C612_180517CF_CANON - 07.51 — -7.55 (02:40:47:09
- 02:40:51:05) Close up of the children. |
It is really difficult to feed the kids when we don’t have money. |
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10.04.41.00 |
village shots from Dalla |
VO Lone Lone is not the only one crippled by high
interest rates. In neighbourhoods like this 85% of households have borrowed
money The loans usually rescue the borrower from an immediate financial emergency, but with monthly interest rates as high as 50 percent - they come at a crushing cost |
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10.05.20.00 |
Aung and Sann being silly together at home Close up of Aung (red T shirt) - then Aung |
Mornings for 13 year old Aung Thet Paing and his 10 year old brother Sann Lynn Aung start with breakfast and a play fight. |
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10.05.22.00 |
and Sann leaving the house to go to work Aung and Sann weaving through the traffic Aung and Sann picking up cans. A348C988_1805195B_CANON (play fight) A348C992 DJI_0269 DJI_0273 |
In the past, they would head off to play football
with their friends Now the only game that the two boys can play involves weaving in between the traffic, desperately searching the sides of the road for plastic bottles and tin cans. |
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10.05.44.00 |
Aung and Sann weaving in-between the traffic and
picking up cans. Walking down the streets in the sun. DJI_0272 |
It’s a relentless task, particularly in the summer
months when temperatures can soar to 40 degrees celsius and shade is
difficult to find. But with a family of six to feed, the boys have little choice. |
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10.05.58.00 |
AUNG THET PAING A348D012_180519TU_CANON 01.06 — 01.12 A348D012_180519TU_CANON 03.48 — 04.00 |
Today has been tiring for us, we
walked far... but we haven’t found enough bottles. We have to work because we feel
sorry for our mum. She’s not feeling well, and she’s alone now, after my dad passed
away. We only have food to eat if we work. |
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10.06.15.00 |
SANN LYNN AUNG A348D013_180519TU_CANON - 00.20 — 00.45 |
I also know that mum has to pay
some debts. Aunty Htway Ngel sympathises with
us, so she is only asking for $1.80 a day. Actually, we should pay her back
$2.20. That’s why we’re working. Our eldest brother’s income only covers our food. So we only have enough money to
pay the interest if we work too… and we also have to pay for the electricity |
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10.06.40.00 |
Aung and Sann picking up trash. |
VO The boys’
mother first
took out a loan of just $3.50 with 20% monthly interest. 8 months later, she owes $60. With their debts spiralling out of control, their mother decided to take her sons out of school and put them to work as rubbish collectors. |
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10.07.00.00 |
Aung Thet Paing A348D014_180519TU_CANON - 00.54 — 00.58 A348D014_180519TU_CANON - 01.09 — 01.30 A348D014_180519TU_CANON - 01.42 — 01.50 A348D014_180519TU_CANON - 02.15 — 02.24 Sann Lynn Aung A348D014_180519TU_CANON - 03.28 — 03.30 A348D014_180519TU_CANON - 03.33 — -3.35 Aung Thet Paing A348D014_180519TU_CANON - 03.40 — 03.47 Sann Lynn Aung A348D014_180519TU_CANON - 03.52 — 03.54 |
I want to go back to school. I often think about school... because
I want to go back. When I meet my friends… when I send my younger sister to
school, I always look inside. When I see my friends, I feel
sad. I cry because I can’t go to school. Now I have chosen to work,
because there is no one to help mum. She is getting older. I don’t want to keep working this job… because I can’t play games. All you think about is games.
Games all the time. Game, game, game! Bully. |
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10.07.55.00 |
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Aung Thet Paing and Sann Lynn Aung may argue, but their loyalty to their family is unwavering. |
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10.08.01.00 |
Aung Thet Paing A348D015_180519FU_CANON - 00.51 — 01.11 |
My mum told me that she will send
me to the factory when I grow up. The factory in front of our
house... Kunwa Myanmar Factory. I will follow my mum’s wishes. I will do whatever she asks. |
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10.08.19.00 |
Children arriving at the recyling point and the cans
being counted A351D024_180519KD_CANON Kids getting handed the money A351D025_180519DF_CANON Aung and Sann crossing the road on their way home A351D027_180519VJ_CANON |
VO After three hours the boys arrrive at the recycling
centre with two bags full of cans and bottles. They earn the equivalent of
0.60 cents for their work. (see them take the money) It’s not enough to pay off their mother’s daily interest payment - so they will have to return to the streets again in the afternoon. |
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10.08.45.00 |
Children working in the tea shop |
VO they are not the only children who have to work here
to survive The government estimates that there are 1.3 million child labourers in Myanmar - one of the worst rates of underage employment in the world. |
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10.09.00.00 |
Children working in the tea shops |
Poverty has always been the driving force behind this phenomenon. But could the dependence of Myanmar’s poor on these high interest loans be making it even worse? |
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10.09.12.00 |
A332C502_180516CQ_CANON |
PTC WE’VE MANAGED TO TRACK DOWN A BROKER WHO SPECIALISES IN RECRUITING CHILDREN INTO JOBS AS WAITERS, CLEANERS AND HOUSEMAIDS. NOW THE MINIMUM WORKING AGE IN MYANMAR IS 14, BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS LADY SOURCES CHILDREN A LOT YOUNGER THAN THAT. |
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10.09.29.00 |
Katie walking through the neighborhood, and then greeting Daw Lwin. |
VO She may live in a squatter camp, but Daw Lwin earns a respectable $400 per month as a broker - recruiting children for jobs in towns and cities across the country. She says that almost all of her clients come from families crippled by debt. |
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10.09.48.00 |
DAW LWIN A332C482_180516VV_CANON - 13.13 — 13.16 |
8 out of 10 people I recruit are stuck in the loan cycle |
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10.09.51.00 |
Daw
Lwin A332C482_180516VV_CANON - 11.37 — 12.04 |
They have interest rates that
they have to pay back every day… so they need to send their
children to work. If the brokers can act as
guarantor then they will get some of their salary in advance… so then they will be ok. With their kids’ salary, they can stop the interest rates from getting higher and higher. |
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10.10.18.00 |
Kati
A332C489_180516HD_CANON - 00.42 — 00.47 |
What are the living and working conditions like for these children. |
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10.10.22.00 |
Daw
Lwin A332C481_180516VV_CANON - 11.25 — 11.48 |
I think they work 12 hours per
day, as they start early in the morning. Let me calculate... the day starts at 5am, so it’s like... 12 or 13 hours. Ok... so it’s about 14 hours. |
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10.10.43.00 |
Daw
Lwin A332C481_180516VV_CANON - 14.08 — 14.18 |
They get $45-$50 a month. No
more. If they’re bad workers they’ll only get $35… but if they’re good they’ll get $45. |
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10.10.53.00 |
Kati eA332C490_180516S7_CANON 02.31 — 02.41 |
K : Some people would say that taking children who are below the legal working age and placing them in job in different towns and cities is human trafficking, would you agree with that? |
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10.11.02.00 |
Daw
Lwin A332C482_180516VV_CANON - 22.20 — 22.31 |
I am not sending these people to
other countries… so I don’t think that you can say that I am selling them I am just an agent who is helping people. |
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10.11.14.00 |
Daw Lwin out side in her community / Children from Daw Lwin community |
VO The irony is that Daw Lwin believes she’s helping the families around her. But even after she sends their underage and underpaid children off to work, the burden of debt remains. |
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10.11.29.00 |
Daw Htay walking down the street towards the house of her borrowers |
VO And it’s the community’s money lenders who gain the most. |
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10.11.34.00 |
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So who are these shrewd individuals, profiting from their friends and neighbours? |
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10.11.39.00 |
Daw Htay A362C481_180522SY_CANON - 00.23 — 00.30 Daw Aye Nwe Soe A362C481_180522SY_CANON - 00.29 — 00.30 Daw Htay A362C481_180522SY_CANON - 00.31 — 00.36 Ma
Aye Sandar A362C481_180522SY_CANON - 00.35 — 00.37 |
Daw Aye Nwe Soe, are you there? How much are you going to pay me
today? I will take any amount. I can pay you $1.45. Ok. Pay $1.45 back regularly for
the rest of the debt. - Is your neighbour in? - Yes. Come on out! |
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10.11.56.00 |
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Daw Htay is the village seamstress - but she doesn’t spend much time behind the sewing machine. |
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10.12.01.00 |
Daw Htay A362C482_180522SY_CANON - 00.02 — 00.08 Ma
Aye Sandar A362C482_180522SY_CANON - 00.08 — 00.10 Daw Htay A362C482_180522SY_CANON - 00.10 — 00.12 |
Ma Aye Sandar… How much can you pay me today? I can pay 75 cents. You can get
more next time. Ok, give me more next time. |
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10.12.10.00 |
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If you pay me regularly, you can
get more money after you finish this loan. I couldn't sell any groceries
today. I’ll pay So you are giving me just 75
cents?Your neighbour gave me $1.45. I will pay you the rest tomorrow |
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10.12.29.00 |
DAW HTAY A362C484_180522SY_CANON - 00.05 — 00.18 |
I had to come to collect my money… because they didn’t pay me anything over the last few days But they went to market to sell
yesterday, so they’re paying me back today. They said they will pay me back regularly now |
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10.12.45.00 |
Daw Htay sewing |
VO With no shortage of people looking for some quick cash, money lending takes up more and more of Daw Htay’s time. |
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10.12.53.00 |
A368C552_180522ZA_CANON - 00.21 — 00.24 A368C552_180522ZA_CANON - 00.24 — 00.26 A368C552_180522ZA_CANON - 00.26 — 00.29 A368C552_180522ZA_CANON - 00.29 — 00.30 A368C552_180522ZA_CANON - 00.31 — 00.37 A368C552_180522ZA_CANON - 00.30 — 00.41 A368C552_180522ZA_CANON - 00.41 — 00.43 |
Come in… what do you need? Can you lend me $15 please? What about the previous loan? Is
that finished? No. I can make a new loan… but you must pay the old one back later. Will you reopen the shop at the
school? Yes, I am repairing my shop. Count it. How much is that? So I will note $15 in your
account. Let me take my ledger book. Today is 22nd, Moth 5 and
2-0-1-8. $15 ok? |
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10.13.55.00 |
KATIE ARNOLD Daw Htay making notes in her ledger OR Collecting more money off clients in the market |
She has around 20 clients who pay monthly interest
rates of either 20 or 30%. Technically this makes her work illegal. Individual money lenders can not charge more than
18% per annum - and they require an official license. But the antiquated law is rarely policed, and Daw Htay says other money lenders get away with charging a lot more. |
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10.14.19.00 |
Daw Htay A368C528_180522ZA_CANON - 04.12 — 04.19 |
My interest rate is not high. Some ask for $15 back from a $10 loan. |
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10.14.24.00 |
Daw Htay A368C529_180522ZA_CANON - 5.00 — 5.13 5.13 - 5.17 |
I call it “unfair interest” because they’re charging the interest rate unfairly. I never charge anyone like this… and they can always get a new
loan once they finish the old one. I never charge unfairly... I charge only 20% for a whole month. |
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10.14.40.00 |
A368C539_18052232_CANON - 00.07 - 00.13 |
Would you say that your money lending operation is more of a business or a service? |
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10.14.44.00 |
Daw Htay A368C528_180522ZA_CANON - 02.32 — 02.46 |
Some people come to me because
they want to invest in their business… or because they have personal
family problems. Some invest the money and then
pay me back every day. When they finish the first loan, they take another one… and so it continues. |
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10.14.59.00 |
Daw Htay A368C528_180522ZA_CANON - 08.10 — 08.12 |
I am the one helping them. |
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10.15.01.00 |
Katie Arnold reverse A368C539_18052232_CANON - 02.07 - 02.19 |
KA: We've met families that have been so crippled by their interest payments that they struggle to feed their children, do you think that it can still be classified as a service when these are the consequences? |
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10.15.12.00 |
Daw Htay A368C528_180522ZA_CANON - 10.49 — 11.08 |
People who borrow money from me
would not be in any trouble like this… because I am helping them. I only ask for a little
interest... and they can pay me back whenever they can. I ask them first how they intend
to pay me back, and tell me how No one has been in trouble because of me. |
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10.15.32.00 |
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In fact - according to Daw Htay - the risks fall solely upon the money lenders, with clients regularly disappearing in the middle of the night without paying off their debts. |
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10.15.42.00 |
Daw Htay A368C528_180522ZA_CANON - 13.31 — 13.53 |
First they pay me back regularly
to build trust. Then they borrow a large amount,
saying they have to invest in something… and the next morning, the whole
family has ran away, no one left, all gone. It’s easy for them to leave because they don’t own their house. They never come back. |
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10.16.06.00 |
NEW VO |
It is rare here for money lenders to get violent when their clients refuse to pay, but social shaming is a common tactic and one that is often employed by Daw Htay as she patrols the neighborhood |
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10.16.19.00 |
New Grabs A362C492_180522F0_CANON |
So your shop is not closing yet?
Let me ask for my money now then. Give me it now if you are not
closing. Or will you give it to me this
evening? Not now? - Pwint Phyu...? - I’ll give it to you this evening. You’re not giving me now then?Ok, I’ll go. |
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10.16.46.00 |
Moved this section up
|
VO But, for Daw Htay, the benefits outweigh the risks. With interest rates of up to 30% - she has decided that money lending makes good business sense. |
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10.16.58.00 |
Dae
Htay A368C532_180522ZA_CANON 3.17 — 3.31 |
I’ve finally recovered So from now on, I’ll be making a profit. Now I’ve got back my capital back, the future is about making profit. |
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10.17.16.00 |
KATIE ARNOLD Daw Htay reading the newspaper outside her house |
VO And with a steady stream of clients, that future - and her profits - are looking rosy. |
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10.17.22.00 |
KATIE ARNOLD PTC A368C612_180522PA_CANON There are other PTCs with better delivery but the focus is not sharp - feel free to have a look and select the best. |
PTC SPENDING TIME WITH DAW HTAY HAS SHOWN THAT THE ETHICS OF MONEY LENDING ARE NOT BLACK AND WHITE. THE LOAN SHARKS ARE PROFITING FROM THE VULNERABILITY OF THEIR NEIGHBOURS, BUT THEY ARE SUCH A VITAL COMPONENT OF THEIR LOCAL ECONOMY THAT INTEREST RATES OF 20 - 30% ARE CONSIDERED NORMAL |
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10.17.38.00 |
Footage of people handling money and footage of the banks. |
VO The problem is that cash is still king in Myanmar, with less than 20% of the population owning bank accounts. |
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10.17.46.00 |
Katie Arnold walking up the street in North Okkalapa |
VO However, there is one place where neither the banks, nor money lenders operate. |
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10.17.52.00 |
KATIE ARNOLD PTC A352C152_180520BT_CANON |
PTC I'VE COME TO THIS SUBURB OF YANGON TO MEET A GROUP
OF WOMEN THAT HAVE MANAGED TO ESCAPE THE CLUTCHES OF LOANS SHARKS THROUGH A
COLLECTIVE SAVINGS SCHEME. The results have been life changing |
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10.18.04.00 |
|
For the last nine years, these 34 women have been meeting every week to invest their money in a group savings account. |
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10.18.12.00 |
Weekly meeting |
They deposit $2.50 into this green box and after three months of weekly investment, they are eligible for a loan. |
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10.18.21.00 |
A355C173_18052053_CANON 00.25 - 00.35 KHINE KHINE WIN |
Today I am borrowing $1100. This |
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10.18.30.00 |
Weekly meeting |
VO For the system to work, everything must be fair and accountable so the women have set up strict rules which they must all adhere to |
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10.18.38.00 |
A355C161_18052027_CANON |
We have set $30 as the amount we
must pay every month. But what should we do if someone
doesn’t pay as agreed We shouldn’t just sit and do nothing, but we can’t kick them out either. We need to think about what to do
if someone doesn’t pay We need to take responsibility
for ourselves. If someone doesn’t make their payments… they should not be allowed to take any more money from the box. |
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10.19.04.00 |
|
VO They do pay monthly interest, but just 2% and at the
end of the year that money is shared among the group. Since the initiative began, they have used the profits from their savings account to buy a plot of land, build themselves new housing and create a community of entrepreneurs who are financially self sufficient |
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10.19.26.00 10.19.30.00 10.19.58.00 |
Khin Ya Maw at work KHINE
YA MAW A361C401_180521MY_CANON 13.11 - 13.37 |
Before joining the collective, Khin
Ya Maw could barely afford her rent We couldn’t afford the rent It was $22 per month... but we
were not allowed to pay monthly. We had to pay in advance for 10
months, so $220. I couldn’t afford it, because my income was only enough for food and school
fees So we had to borrow money from a
money lender for the rent. She is one of the few artisans who can make traditional percussion mallets in Yangon, yet before she could only produce around 50 a week. |
|
10.20.07.00 |
A361C401_180521MY_CANON 16.34 - 16.57 |
Even if I received an order from
someone, I didn’t dare accept it… because I would have to borrow
money to buy the materials. So I just invested what little I
had. I would borrow money if I had to,
but my profits would be less than the interest… so there was no improvement in my life. |
|
10.20.30.00 |
|
With help from the group, Khine Yaw Maw was able to buy the additional materials that she needed in order to meet the demand from her clients. She now produces anything from 100 to 1000 pieces a week. |
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10.20.44.00 |
A361C401_180521MY_CANON 23:25 - 23.57 |
If I hadn’t met this group, then I’d have had to borrow the money
from outside. If I couldn’t pay the money back, then I would be trapped paying their interest
rates. My business and my family would
not be able to prosper… because I would be making It would be very stressful. I rely on this group... there’s no other organisation in the country as good as ours. |
|
10.21.11.00 |
A361C406_180521MO_CANON 2.30 |
KA: The impact of this group is quite localised yet the issue with money lenders is quite widespread, do you think this model could be replicated more broadly to help other families in Yangon? |
|
10.21.21.00 |
A361C401_180521MY_CANON 26.05 - 26.29 |
Different people have different
mindsets. It can only succeed if all the
members are united. Some people don’t want to be united. But it won’t work if they borrow money and then don’t pay it back. We made a rule before we set up this collective that we have to be united. |
|
10.21.47.00 |
Footage of people sewing from their homes. Footage of the men playing game |
That unity has paid off. With the sound of sewing
machines drifting from almost every house, you can literally hear the
entrepreneurial energy created by these low interest loans And with the women taking care of family finances, their husbands have plenty of time for a game of Burmese billiards. |
|
10.22.07.00 |
A361C401_180521MY_CANON 27.09 - 27.20 |
If there were more groups like
this in different places… then I think money lenders would disappear |
|
10.22.23.00 |
|
But until then, Yangon’s urban poor will continue to be trapped by their
predatory lending practices - reliant on this quick, easy but expensive form
of credit. I am hoping however, that Lone Lone and her family
won’t be among them. It’s been a week since I met the young mother-of-two , By now, she should have finished paying back this months interest |
|
10.22.47.00 |
Katie A376C901_1805242Q_CANON |
So how have you been since we last saw you, are you any closer towards paying off your interest rates? |
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10.22.52.00 |
A376C896_180524SU_CANON 00.29
- TBC A376C896_180524SU_CANON 1.00 - 1.25 |
I was paying the interest. But I couldn’t pay it back regularly because we didn’t have enough money. I paid back only $36 but I still had $30 left to pay… plus They counted the remaining
interest as compound interest… so I now have to pay $100 interest… by the 20th of next month. |
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10.23.37.00 |
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It was not the news I was hoping for. Lone Lone and her family have gone even deeper into debt... |
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10.23.34.00 |
A376C898_180524SU_CANON 1.57
- 2.12 A376C901_180524SU_CANON 00.07
- 00.20 Footage of her looking out as the ferrys cross to
the other side of Yangon. Or on the ferry to work |
I can’t pay these debts. I don’t think I’ll be able to pay them back now. I’m trapped by these debts and my life won’t I can’t buy food after work now, as all the money goes towards the debts. We eat whatever I can bring home
from work. Sometimes I haven’t enough money to get to work…
so I’ve had to borrow money from someone else. |
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10.24.06.00 |
Lone Lone looking out over the river. Then footage of boats crossing to Yangon from
Lanmadaw jetty |
So now, rather than focussing on the one loan repayment, the
family have had to borrow money from multiple lenders. It is a complicated web of debt that’s even harder for Lone Lone to escape, especially if
the family endures another financial emergency in the coming months. But this is the reality for anyone struggling on a low income in Myanmar - because when illegal money lenders rule the streets, few can avoid the crippling cycle of debt. |