Next month , U.S. President Barack Obama will become the first sitting American president to visit Myanmar , the strongest endorsement yet of the country 's efforts to tread a path to democracy . Much has changed in a year since U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a historic visit to the country in December 2011 . CNN was also invited to enter Myanmar , also known as Burma , for the first time in years . With an official journalist visa stamped in our passport , we and other media invited for Clinton 's visit , knew this was a big change for a country that has repelled any kind of scrutiny for half a century . Q & A : What 's behind sectarian violence in Myanmar ? Obama 's visit will come at a time when Myanmar is in the news again but not for the right reasons . Violence between Rohingya Muslims and local Buddhists continues in Rakhine state in the west of the country . The United Nations says at least 89 people have been killed in the past two weeks and 110,000 are displaced . Some aid organizations are questioning whether now is the right time for Obama to add legitimacy to the government of President Thein Sein . But there 's no denying a lot has changed in the past year and a half . Read more : Aung San Suu Kyi has `` soft spot '' for the military generals . So far , a quasi-civilian government has been sworn in , although the military still holds great sway . Hundreds of political prisoners have been released , ceasefires have been signed between the government and some but not all ethnic groups . Political and economic reform is well underway . Another change that did n't make headlines but has been clear to us during numerous trips over that 12-month period is the attitude of the Burmese people . Last year , very few people would speak to us on camera or in some cases even off-camera for fear of retribution . Decades of brutal military rule turned freedom of speech into a luxury most could not afford . Aung San Suu Kyi : Peaceful freedom fighter . But just four months later , during a bi-election in which the freed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party won almost all seats , caution was thrown to the wind and celebrations were passionate and unrestrained . Thousands of jubilant Suu Kyi supporters spilled into the street , holding posters of the woman who had spent much of the past two decades under house arrest -- these were scenes which just a couple of years earlier would have ended in arrest and imprisonment . U Myint Maung , a man from Yangon , had a simple explanation of the election . `` The people were living in prison . Aung San Suu Kyi held the key to open the door , '' he said . We , as journalists , were welcomed and thanked on the streets as if the fact we were there documenting these changes meant they could never be reversed . Read more : Myanmar eases restrictions on news organizations . But not one person we spoke to over many months said their lives had physically improved . They were more hopeful and believed democracy was now possible but they were still struggling to survive . Daily life is hard for many Burmese . A country that was one of the richest in Asia 50 years ago is now one of the poorest . Authorities are struggling to shore up institutions and update laws to protect people and resources from hungry international investors snapping at Myanmar 's heels . The ethnic unrest in Rahkine state has tested the efforts of President Thein Sein 's administration to seek reconciliation with Myanmar 's different ethnic groups . There 's no doubt that some changes in Myanmar have been swift and Sein deserves the international praise he is receiving . But the transformation from pariah to ally is not complete and the skeptics among us worry it could yet stumble .
President Obama will become first sitting U.S. president to visit Myanmar . U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited country in April 2011 . Uncertainty remains for Myanmar as ethnic violence continues in the state .