:'(

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Women in Myanmar not only have to watch out for pickpockets when they're commuting, shopping or walking down the street, but also hair thieves, a weekly journal reported Sunday.

Long-haired women in crowded areas have fallen victim to surreptitious hair snippers who steal their hair to sell, the Burmese-language 24/7 news journal reported.

"My long hair was cut while I was on my way back from the office. I found out only when I got back home," an unidentified female bus commuter was quoted as saying.

The woman said her friend's tresses were cut while she was walking down the street and she only noticed when some remaining strands fell. Another woman's hair was cut while she was shopping at a roadside store, the journal said.

Many women in Myanmar have waist- or knee-length hair which they wear in a ponytail, making it easy for thieves to snip off the hair and sell it as extensions.

Women are also approached by hair traders who ask to buy their long hair, the journal quoted the bus commuter as saying.

The report said the price of hair has increased as demand for hair as an export or raw material rises. A viss (1.6 kilograms; 3.5 pounds) of hair is worth between 400,000 kyats ($320) and 500,000 kyats ($400), it said.  

:'(

The above article was obtained from CNN.

That's a heartbreaking story!  On the one hand, its unbelievable and on the other I can see how this will start becoming more common because is such poor countries people will do anything to make money.

I feel sad.  I hope those women are OK-I can't imagine how tramatizing it would be.

Oh for the love of...what is WRONG with people these days?!   >:(

Trisha wrote on May 17^th, 2007 at 1:40pm:

what is WRONG with people these days?!   >:(

I ask myself that question everyday!  It's so horrible how evil people can become when money is involved.  Don't even get me started on the sale of counterfeit prescription medicine!>:(

The thieves might have had more difficulty if these women had been protecting their long hair in contained updo's, eh?

It is a simple law of nature, though. When resources are scarce, any species will survive by whatever means necessary, whether moral or corrupt.

I have heard of this happening in the United States but luckily not very often :'(


If someone cut my wife's hair and I saw them do it I would end up in jail and they would be spending some time in the hospital >:(

It is amazing what some people will do for money even if they are poor or not :o

Jerry

Eeeek!  That nuts! I'm not going to that place!

Those poor women! I can't imagine how bad they must feel...

I hate to say it, but I agree with Jerry... If somebody cut my hair and I noticed them doing it... Well, my mostly pacifist nature would have to go out the window.  :-/  Of course, down here, I could just bring them down to the bayou... erm. nevermind... *mutters something that sounds suspiciously like "alligators don't leave evidence" *

lol K  ;D

what? me? overprotective of my hair?? NEVER!

LOL, the only thing close to a fight I ever got into, was when I was 6, i think, maybe 5... Anyway, I was in Kindergarten... and had really pretty hair, even though it was sort of short... I'l try to post a picture later. anyway. There was a kid sitting behind me on the bus home one day, and he deliberately snipped about three inches off a lock of hair. I heard the scissors, turned around and saw him holding the hair... got up off my seat went over and punched him right in the face. I mean, it wasn't that impressive, I was something of a scrawny little thing, but it was the thought that counted, and I did give him a nice bruise or two. Then I started crying and didn't stop for about two days.  :-/ I'm not sure what traumatized me worse, the loss of hair or hitting him. I'm a wuss, really.