Spend a few hours wandering the manicured walkways of the Expo 2020 grounds and the world -- or at least this sanitized version in the Dubai desert -- feels at peace and in harmony. But, for many nations, it's all a façade.
Levi Sap Nei Thang, the pavilion's deputy director, says she was appointed by the previous, democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi."Deputy" was added to Thang's title after Myanmar's military took control of the country in February, arrested Suu Kyi and cracked down on nationwide protests. Technically, they're now in charge of the pavilion too.
"I do this for my people, not for any political parties," she told CNN. Myanmar's military government did not respond to requests for comment from CNN. "Any regime comes to Afghanistan, then five years, four years later, the next regime comes. For me, my people are what's important," he told CNN. "It's totally safe," insisted Alshamaa."Now, we're trying to build our economy back. The war is over in 99% [of Syria]." Airstrikes and terror attacks are still frequent in the country, however, and civilian casualties remain common.
"The news will cover the unsanitized version of Lebanon," explained Nathalie Habchi Harfouche, the pavilion director. Harfouche doesn't work for the Lebanese state.