Chiang Mai University, Friday, January 4, 2008

by Amerita

Lecture 1- Professor Dr. Tanun Anumanrajadhon

“You want to learn about Burma…in 30 minutes…?”

Friday’s meetings started out, albeit in a very colorful way, at Chiang Mai University. Our first lecture was with Dr. Tanun Anunmanrajadhon the Vice President for International Relations and Human Resources Development. He admonished us on how we could possibly learn about Burma….in only 30 minutes…you could have a lecture for 3 hours and you couldn’t learn about Burma in 30 minutes...although he failed to mention to us that he didn’t have 30 minutes to dedicate to us…he had somewhere to be at 10. Did he really think that we thought we could learn all there is about Burma and Thailand’s relationship in 30 minutes? Well…I wasn’t going to question him.

What Dr. Anunmanradjadhon made apparent to us, in case we didn’t already know, was the difficulty Thailand has in creating a fixed foreign policy about Burma. Thailand needs their energy resources, and something people don’t often mention, their man power. Thailand relies heavily on Burmese labor, and while some work here legally, most don’t, something he failed to stress. I think what blew my mind about him talking about the Burmese labor situation was he made it seem so relatively easy for Burmese to come and work in Thailand, or to get the proper documentation required to get a work visa. As Anna pointed out to him, how can they afford to get a work visa…with what money? So what is Thailand's, and essentially ASEAN’s, position on the situation…it is not possible to get the junta to relinquish power although the situation is “more serious than Iraq or North Korea,” because it is not their business to interfere in the political affairs of other countries.

"They don’t give a shit” Well, at least I could partially agree with him on that. I questioned him…when you say ‘they’ do you mean the government or the people? As was with most of his responses…he didn’t really answer the question directly. Nonetheless, American, European, and as Jodi made sure to mention Thai, tourists go to Burma and spend their money; all of which goes directly to the military. And the people in these countries, they don’t know about the situation in Burma and they don’t care. Okay…maybe…the news doesn’t give much coverage to Burma…so the average American citizen has no idea about the situation there. But what about us? This group of 14 people…obviously we care…and that’s why we are here. So we asked him, how can the situation change and what should we do? And the answer…in order to change the situation more information about the situation needs to be covered abroad…and that is the popular answer among the groups…it’s that simple….and with more coverage and knowledge of the situation perhaps there will be more pressure on the government to change.

Dr. Anumanrajadhon also mentioned to us a program at Chiang Mai University that brings Burmese students to the university to study. The program allows 30 students to study at the university, and upon completion of their studies they return home. At the time…we had no idea that we would have the opportunity to meet with these students.

Meeting with the American Studies Club at Chiang Mai University and Co-Director of CDC- Certificate Program in Community Development.

So the first meeting got us fired up… Dr. Anumanrajadhon really doesn’t hold back, he seriously said shit at least 6 times…it still rings in my ear…they don’t give a shit....they don’t give a shit…but anyways, the next meetings calmed us down and gave us some hope.

First, we met with the American Studies Club and their director, Professor Dr. Kosum Saichan. The club focuses on American culture. American culture? What American culture? The club holds an annual Fourth of July barbeque and also celebrates other American holiday’s like Thanksgiving and Christmas okay so I kind of giggled at Christmas being an American holiday. The students were friendly and described to us their experience working in America at Disney World and Busch Gardens in Florida through a summer work program for international students. And apparently Chiang Mai University students are not active in the Burmese movement.

We then had a talk with the co-director of the Certificate in Community Development program. The program trains Burmese students in development and civil liberties. The students are encouraged to start their own initiatives once they return home, hopefully using the knowledge they gained from their three month experience in Thailand. The co-director told us about his experience in Burma - he started out working for an NGO in Burma, but recently left because he was unsure of his safety in the country due to the nature of his work. He led us in a discussion about the role of ASEAN in the Burmese movement. According to ASEAN, member countries cannot interfere with the politics of others, but they can offer “constructive engagement.” And as the speaker said, “We want to do something, but we must change the ASEAN rules first.” ASEAN can get involved…because they are involved…they are partically financing the brutality of the regime. The Burmese people, “feel very sad and hopeless…like it is impossible to change.”

Meeting with the Burmese Students

We then walked in on the Burmese students discussing the problems and possible solutions for the situation in there country. After their discussion we were allowed to break up into groups and talk with the students one on one.

Ellen and I had a group of 5 students. We asked them to tell us about themselves and what work they do back in Burma. One person worked in a monastery school for the deaf, and others were still university students or worked in programs for the different ethnic groups in the country. One student was very excited about the possibility of studying in the United States and told us about the DV 2009- a green card for Burmese that allows them to work in the US. The card is handed out through a lottery system, and the lucky few who are randomly picked are allowed to work in the US and possibly gain citizenship after a number of years. It was the first time I heard about the program. We then asked about the protests in September…where they were, what they saw. “It was like hell” pretty much summed it up. It was the first time we were able to meet with Burmese students and their views about the situation were interesting. They all wanted change…but they knew better than to get too involved but they were all doing something, and they all wanted to return to their country and help. According to them, "civil liberty starts with the parents.” The older generation does not realize what civil liberties and rights that they have, and once they do than they can pass this knowledge on to their children.. So what can we Americans do about the situation? Spread the news…it was the same answer for the second time in the day…spread the news about the situation in Burma…it was that simple…it was never about asking for money, clothes, petition the government…it was always spread the word…Okay that’s what we will do.