Meetings with Chiang Mai Groups
These have been rich and busy days, meeting with groups serving the Burmese people. The people we've met are passionate and committed and have either risked their lives--or are risking their lives today--for Burma. A few in our group are so inspired that they are talking of coming back to work here, and we' ve all been brainstorming actions steps to help support these various organizations.
Democratic Voice of Burma
By Jodi and Lauren
Eighty percent of the footage seen from the 2007 uprisings came from this group and were contributed free of charge to be broadcast around the world.
This independent nonprofit has a weekly (soon to be daily) TV show, 24-hour radio station, and a website, all broadcast inside Burma. They also supplied 80 percent of the footage of what happened inside Burma during the recent crackdowns. Those images we saw in September of the shot Japanese reporter and the dead monk floating in the river were theirs. They charge nothing.
Their journalists risk their lives with hidden cameras. An unknown number languish in jail or are in hiding. For those who continue to report, the difficulties of getting informtion out are unbelievable: slow-loading computers, sneaking footage across the border, phone interviews, and limited budget for undercover cameras.
Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB)
by Jodi and Carl
Hello how are you dear friend
I hope you are happy and fine
Let's clap our hands
Turning around
Find a new friend
Our first meeting was with the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma, an organization dedicated to spreading awareness of human rights philosophy and issues in Burma and throughout the region.
The dynamic Aung Myo Min, director of HREIB, and his small staff welcomed us into his office, operating out of a house on the outskirts of Chiang Mai with a heavenly view of the mountains.
After brief introductions and a short multimedia presentation explaining the group's role in Burma, they invited us into the backyard, where we sang the above song, Alt Break students grabbing new partners from the staff with each round. We would clap our hands together paddy-cake style, doing the same with our feet, and meeting, as the song says, new friends.
"Find a New Friend" was followed by "Shake Shake Shake," another interactive song. These weren't just icebreakers. The director explained to us that HREIB uses silly songs and other activities for all their training sessions. When people are having fun and laughing, he told us, "that is when they take in knowledge."
A network of 60 volunteer trainers train trainers, who run local workshops. The sessions they present to the Burmese people--those residing in border refugee camps, migrant workers laboring in the border factories, and people inside Burma--are aimed at children and adults. For the chldren, HREIB raises awareness about the dangers of human trafficking and recruitment of child soldiers by the military and ethnic groups. Recently they've used theater training to promote their messages. Adult sessions address violence against women, prostitution, community organizing, and transition adjustment. This is the first Burma group working on GLBT issues. HREIB has also engaged a series of dialogues with insurgent leaders.
All their work falls under the umbrella of human rights. Aung once asked a refugee: did you know your human rights were violated? The answer was no. Aunt told us, "I want to empower (these people) so they don't see themselves as victims." Aung sees human rights knowledge and advocacy as a prerequisite for a stable, peaceful, and civil society: the sort of society he hopes will emerge in a post-dictatorship Burma.
Inside Burma, human rights education has to take place without using the words "human rights," since being blatant about their work would be against the law. Rather than directly discussing the philosophy of human rights or even directly approaching the issue through right-based dialogue, HREIB uses parallel programs which teach theory and practical application without broaching the specific topic. Despite their caution, in September four trainers were arrested and remain in jail.
Like other activists we've met, Aung was involved in the '88 uprisings and escaped. Twenty years later, he is passionate about his work and committed to his people. When asked why he continued despite the challenges and--worse--risks, his answer was immediate: he wants to go back home.
Action steps at the international level:
- Pressure China to impose economic sanctions.
- Support UN resolutions addressing the rights children (1612) and women (1325).
Free Burma Rangers
by Ryan Pickett
"How do you define dignity?" FBR's Doc Mitch asked a Karen man. The answer: "The ability to give.
After getting lost once, we finally made it to the meeting was I was highly anticipating: with the Free Burma Rangers. I was surprisedto be greeted by a westerner and to learn that these people operating at the Chiang Mai headquarters were all Americans.
They began the meeting by showing a short film that began with a bang--literally--as a Burmese tank fired in the opening clip. The film showed scenes of the Karen people, one of Burma's ethnic minorities, who were run out of their homes and forced to flee to the jungle. The video was graphic, showing the Burma Rangers assisting with these displaced peoples' medical needs, including attending to a Karenni man who had his leg blown off by a landmine. One Ranger described getting to a village that was no longer there. A father described what it was like to see his children die at the hands of the Burmese military. In all these scenes, the most inspring was of Kare npeople sitting around singing uplifting hymns of hope and love to the peaceful strumming of displaced person's--a Burmese Ranger's--guitar.
We found out that the Rangers have more than 40 teams of five or six locals who bring medical treatment and supplies as well as educational supplies and food, to the IDPs in Burma. They go through extensive training and risk their lives in the eastern part of Burma, and this is all volunteer work. Even if a team comes under attack, they will not flee until everyone else has left. Every year, some Rangers lose their lives in order to attend to needs of the Kareni. They are trained by Doc Mitch, who sneaks into Burma to conduct the trainings.
I was so inspired by this meeting that I am considering volunteering for three months at their headquarters in Chiang Mai.
Action steps:
- Wear our Free Burma Rangers shirts to raise awareness.
- Raise money for medical supplies--for instance, for netting, which cost about $6, or testing kits, about $1, to fight malaria, which Doc Mitch thinks kills more people than the military.
- Volunteer for a summer or semester to do administrative work at the Chiang Mai headquarters.
Irawaddy Magazine
By Jodi
"I Want To Go Home."
When asked his long-term goals for Irawaddy, the founder/editor replied: to go back to Rangoon--not to be in prison again but to operate his magazine.
Before 1988 Irawaddy's editor, Aung Zaw, was in the student activist movement. He had founded an underground cell, spent a few days in jail--although nothing compared to his brother, who was locked behind bars for 8 years. "We tried to move the mountain," he told us. "I was silly, naïve, young."
In 88 he fled, spending two months in hiding. To avoid being caught, he became a monk and hid in a small village. Like in the 2007 uprising, he told us, lots of students in 88 became monks to seek refuge. Then by car, train, and foot, he went through the jungle. He landed in Thailand.
Aung Zo started the magazine because when he got to Thailand, he saw other publications about Burma, all written by foreigners. He felt Burma's people could do it better.
The monthly English-language magazine, the only one of its kind, is a well written, beautiful, high-quality four-color publication with investigative reporting, distributed worldwide to 3,00. The website is updated daily. The goal is to educate international readers. They have a handful of stringers in Burma and editors, including native English speakers for quality control most important, they are independent. Within Burma, all media is state-owned.
"1988 gave me courage and pride to keep going," he says. Many others who left, he says, are resigned. Some are living in other countries. "We lost them," he says.
But many, he says, are still going strong. As is he. "I look out the window and see Burma," he says. "Every week I dream about my friends and my country." He dreams of going home. More: he's doing everything he can, through Irawaddy, to get there.
Action steps:
- Ask AU library to subscribe to Irawaddy.
- Pitch stories to Irawaddy for publication.
While a combination of a language barrier and the noisy outdoor setting (cars, music, jingling bells on dogs…) made comprehension tough at times, our meeting with the Shwe Gas Movement was a powerful lesson in what the junta will do for money and the complete disregard it harbors for the people it supposedly serves.
The movement’s representative, aided by a PowerPoint presentation, explained to us the Burmese government’s proposal for a new natural gas pipeline that would run through the
1. The Exploitation of the Voiceless – The government has not consulted the people during planning and revenue will go straight to military coffers, by-passing the local population.
2. Human Rights Abuses and Militarization – The project has given the government reason to expand the number of troops in the Arakan region to more than ever before. With the construction of similar projects – the Yadana and Yetagun pipelines – villagers were asked to leave their homes without compensation, agricultural lands were forcibly reallocated to feed the troops, and many locals were conscripted as porters and forced laborers to build military infrastructure and roads. The people of
3. Environmental and Cultural Destruction – Proper social and environmental impact assessments have not been carried out, but risks include the destruction of rainforests and endangered species, environmental contamination, and the loss of local fishing industries which are so integral to their economy.
4. The Entrenchment of the Burmese Military Regime – The regime used the Yadana and Yetagun projects as an excuse to extend its control into minority and opposition areas. Likewise, the Shwe project will allow the government to further militarize and exploit the Arakan and Chin state.
The Shwe Gas Movement, a grassroots organization begun in 2002, secretly collects and distributes information inside
“Shwe” is the Burmese word meaning gold, referring to the SPDC’s hopes of glorious profits. The tremendous human price, however, pales in comparison with the regime’s greed and it must be stopped. Our group feels strongly that we must help them in their mission and we encourage you to do the same.
Action Steps:
- Endorse their position paper and sign their petition
- Join in the Global Days of Action
- Research firms that are investing (and their insurance companies) and pressure them to stop
- Raise awareness
- For more information, please go to http://www.shwe.org/
EarthRights International
By Ryan D.
Rachel, the EarthRights representative who spoke to us, gave a very revealing presentation. The organization has two schools in Chiang Mai, where students study English, human rights, public speaking, government, and, perhaps most importantly, critical thinking. One of the two schools is comprised predominantly of Burmese students. The multi-ethnic dynamic present there provides an atmosphere that helps the students (and, hopefully, subsequently their communities) overcome the military junta's divide-and-conquer-style rule. Rachel was also very accutely aware of the atrocities in Burma, including the military's use of human land mines, the slaughtering of monks with machetes, and the pummelling of protestors with trucks. She also illustrated the pros and cons of the Thai government turning a blind eye to some activities on the border. Though EarthRights is not registered to operate in Thailand, the government ignores its presence -- it also ignores the Burmese military's cross-border attacks on refugees.
The most personally significant aspect of the presentation was that of corporate social responsibility. On top of its actions on behalf of Burma, EarthRights is involved in lawsuits against corporations in countries ranging from Nigeria to Colombia. Rachel introduced ATCA, a U.S. act previously unknown to me, which allows non-U.S. citizens to sue American corporations. As a political activist who holds western corporations responsible for having helped establish and perpetuate in an unjust, exploitative world economy and in many cases sacrificing democracy and human rights for industrial success, discovering the ATCA was monumental.
Action Steps:
- Boycott goods drawn from/produced in Burma, or sold by corporations in business with the junta.
- Intern with EarthRights. They have internships available in Washington, D.C.
Meeting with SWAN
By Aneta and Lauren
We learned a lot about the organization through the crunching of banana chips and shuffling of plates. They run several programs in areas of health, education, promoting funds for health care, and running three small clinics. Transportation to hospitals is free. They have support services for women suffering crises and empowerment programs for rape victims to change the perception that rape is the victim’s fault. Over 5,000 people ask for help each year. Many of the women are not only faced with domestic violence, but also violence from the military. The SPDC uses rape as a strategic weapon of war. Based on SWAN’s 2002 report, “License to Rape,” there were a reported 625 cases of rape.
Action Steps:
- Purchase SWAN paper doll books which help to explain in pictures the various ethnic groups within
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