Beth Adam Letters From Afar - Asia

11/5/07 

An early morning wake-up and breakfast at 5am? Not real hungry at that time of day but a coffee to get started and off we go to mild early morning traffic to the airport. Our guide takes our tickets and passports and all we have to do is linger around and all is arranged and we are at the gate and on the plane for the short flight to Phnom Penh

Cambodia. We arrive on time and are met by our Cambodian guide who gets us through the airport and outside to the hustle and bustle of this busy city of 2 million. I’ve been to

Cambodia a number of times previously and each time the energy of this city increases. The airport has been upgraded and you certainly get the idea that this is an emerging economy. We are shuttled to the Raffles Hotel which is our home for the next few days. It is a beautiful building from the French colonial period.

There are many books written about the history of

Cambodia and especially of the history during the period 1975-1979. This was the time of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot when 25% of the total population of

Cambodia was eliminated…2 Million people. Our first speaker was Mu Sochua, Secretary General of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, Nobel Prize candidate and leader of Civil Society in

Cambodia. She lived through the Khmer Rouge times and related how not 1 family went unaffected by this genocide. After 1979, the population distribution was 85% female and 15% male so the family and societal structure was completely destroyed. The symbol of the Sam Rainsy Party is the candle…a light in the darkness and one strong message of the party is “Never Forget”…sound familiar? A large percentage of the population was born after the Khmer Rouge and the story must be told. One charge of the party is to promote women’s involvement in political change and civil society. The effect of the genocide is ongoing since the nature of it killed trust and respect in the Cambodian society. Without political power, it is very difficult to effect change and social justice. In this historically patriarchal society, domestic violence is a problem. After the war, women were the majority and now have major roles in the workforce. The party teaches conflict resolution skills and tools to help modernize the “code” of women’s behavior. Amazingly, in this military run government, many of the top officials are former Khmer Rouge leaders. Corruption is a huge problem as are land rights, abuse of the poor, and heritage preservation. Vote buying is common. Fifty percent of children are registered in schools and $500,000,000.00 is lost to corruption instead of social services. A farmer (80% of the population) makes $0.75/day, a teacher $1/day, a civil servant $75/month and the minimum wage (factory workers) is $50/month. Only 15% of high school graduates find employment. What the Sam Rainsy party professes is transformative leadership that is transparent and non corrupt. For me, I take anything that a politician says with several salt grains but if she and her party are true to their word, I wish them all the luck in the world because the Cambodian people are certainly deserving of peace, security, and justice.

We then met with Arun Sothea, a holocaust survivor of the Cambodian genocide and an activist with CVCD, Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development. This soft spoken young man related to us his life as a young boy during the Khmer Rouge. I had read several true accounts of these times and the consistency of his story to those I had read was powerful, but the way in which he is giving back is inspirational. Arun’s childhood was broken in many ways and he wanted to do something that would help today’s youth to help assure that the genocide of the 70’s never happens again. CVCD was formed by street youth in 1992 and at that time there were 500 volunteers. Their activities included:

1. Urban clean-up
2. Tree planting
3. Computer training
4. Community development

CVCD now has 60,000 volunteers!

After lunch, we went to the S21 Museum. This museum is a memorial to the genocide of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Cambodia has a very sad history that has major impact to today. The museum highlights “man’s inhumanity to man” through torture, killing, and any and every kind of horrendous means, many beyond one’s imagination. This is a very haunting yet necessary place…a reminder that just 30 years ago, brutality of this scale went pretty much unabated…

These meetings lasted till late afternoon and we were able to walk to the central market and have a quick look-see prior to our evening program.

Ruth Messenger, President of AJWS spoke to us in the evening about

Darfur. The conflict in

Darfur began in 1993 between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. The Darfur region is in western Sudan and is the size of

Texas. AJWS was a first responder and took 11 months to respond. Eighty percent of AJWS activities center on humanitarian relief and 20% on advocacy. The relief is in the form of clean water, medical clinics, educational resources in the camps and generally filling holes that the international relief agencies have trouble filling.

A terrible statistic of

Darfur is that EVERY woman in the refugee camps has been raped. AJWS fulfills rape training and counseling services through its partner agencies.

AJWS has been very active in the divestment campaign in Darfur/Sudan. Two and one half million people are displaced and 4 million people need outside support. In Ruth’s words,

Darfur is “A Problem from Hell”.

Overall, this was a very emotional, depressing, yet hopeful day. As a Jew, I have always felt it is important to “Never Forget”. Today reinforced that in that genocide keeps occurring, the places change but the cruelty of humankind persists. Greed, corruption and power fuel hideous behavior and it cannot go on without active and forceful resistance. I again count my blessings that I have not had to endure what so many in the world endure every day of their lives and I feel the responsibility to do my small part to insure that my children live in a fair and peaceful world.

11/4/07 

We start the day by visiting the THAI AIDS TREATMENT ACTION GROUP (TTAG) and Karen and Ott who we had met at our Shabbat dinner. AJWS was the first funder of this organization in 2002. We learned a brief history of AIDS in

Thailand. The epicenter of AIDS in 1988 was in the north of

Thailand and there was little awareness of AIDS at that time. The epidemic started with injecting drug users and up to 40% of this group was infected in the 1^st year. Currently, 50% of injecting drug users are infected with HIV/AIDS and this group is the only one experiencing no reduction in new infections. The epidemic spread to trafficked sex workers who were made up of impoverished girls and women from very large families. Burmese girls were then brought in because the Thai were thought to be infected. They were duped into prostitution. After a long period of decline in HIV/AIDS cases, there is an increase in occurrences due primarily to a repressive abstinence based approach to dealing with HIV/AIDS. Ott is the founder of TTAG and is a former drug user and is HIV positive. (I have attached his Opening Plenary Speech at the International AIDS Conference for his full background). Today, TTAG is the leader in treatment access. TTAG advocates for ARV (anti retroviral) drug availability and to reduce the expense of these drugs. ARV drugs are brought in from

India illegally due to lack of local supply and excessive cost of the local drugs. Asked why this was done…”to save the lives of my friends”. TTAG also advocates for better policies, develops, builds and trains leaders and works to develop and train health education and harm prevention projects. These are accomplished by working with underserved areas, working more effectively with hospitals and increasing awareness of options and services available. One of the primary goals of TTAG is to assure that the group is self sufficient and working and functioning as a group, i.e. activity planning. They believe that given proper resources and opportunity, people can and will implement their own vision and develop. One of the biggest problems is the lack of involvement in service and program development. They receive no support or help from the government and therefore, change must come from the movement. The Pharma lobby in the

US keeps ARV generic drugs from being readily accessible and affordable. It’s the same story…money and corruption as is found around the world. Self determination is the most sustainable response to this situation where in

Thailand alone, 660,000 are living with HIV/AIDS and 550,000 have already died. This is a David and Goliath battle with the drug companies.

Former Thai Senator John Umphakorn then spoke to us from the governmental/political/social perspective. His current work deals primarily with advancing the concerns of marginalized citizens. He also spoke about the traditions of philanthropy in

Thailand which he stated were strong as relates to donations to the temples. Interestingly, but not surprising is that there is a great deal of corruption in the temples and by the monks. There is a religious hierarchy …political Buddhism as state nationalism. The local system is one of patronage and corruption and there is little political ideology. Vote buying is a common occurrence.

Once again I was very impressed by the empowerment, dedication and energy of this grassroots organization. The determination with which this group works against all odds is inspirational.

 

http://blog-mh.bethadam.org/__oneclick_uploads/2007/12/ott.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/3/07

Shabbat…a day of rest and relaxation and taking care of some business. I went with several of the ladies from the study tour to some clothing shops and tailors and after purchasing several silk kimonos for my wife and daughter had to make my exit…I’m still convinced that as far as shopping goes, a guy takes care of business and is ready for flight while women can spend days…. I hailed a Tuk-Tuk and explored the city and relied on my driver to take me to the appropriate places for me to acquire gifts and souvenirs for friends and family. I must say that the drivers have a definite agenda and want to take you to specific shopping venues where they apparently get some kind of kickback for bringing their customers. I found that I had to be friendly but firm to keep the driver on my agenda and not his agenda and go to the places that I and not he wanted to go. Driving around in the Tuk-Tuk is a great way to see Bangkok and to experience all the sights, sounds and smells of the city. After this exploration, I only hoped that I had made the right selections…confirmation for which would only be known upon my return home. The group got together again in the evening for Havdallah and then off to dinner.

11/2/2007 

We have an early morning start for the airport…no straggling allowed since our flight leaves when it leaves and we are headed for the sprawling city of

Bangkok. While I am not much of a group traveler and am partial to loose schedules and playing it by ear when it comes to my travels, I do appreciate that everything is done for us from the time our bags are loaded on the bus until we arrive in

Bangkok. We just walk onto the plane and have no worries about anything. It is a short 1 hour flight and we are in

Bangkok.

Bangkok is big, congested, busy and full of energy. The traffic is intense and you have many cars, busses, taxis, tuk-tuks, motorbikes, and people on the streets. It takes time to travel even short distances. For Americans, the Asian cities offer quite a contrast to those at home. (My

New York friends may disagree since NYC and a few other large American cities are an exception). There are people, lots of people outside and on the streets. There is energy and the cities are alive. My wife Richie, when she first arrived in

America, made this observation. “Where are all the people?”

America looks like a lonely place. Without a car, it’s difficult to get around in America, but here, you have only to step out your door and you have numerous options of getting around…ride on the back of a motorcycle, take a tuk-tuk, mass transit, taxi, and my favorite…walking. At the airport, we have a bus waiting and we board and travel to today’s partner visit. We meet with AJWS grantee BURMA ISSUES (BI).

BURMA ISSUES was founded in 1990 and although it is based in Thailand, BI concentrates its work on the empowerment of marginalized ethnic communities living in

Burma’s war zones. BI’s philosophy is that by engaging these communities in peacemaking and conflict transformation they can better build a lasting and just peace. BI is a grassroots organization that works directly to develop and work with and develop grassroots efforts and organizations inside of

Burma on economic, social, and political issues.

BI also works with the international community to advocate using 3 strategies:

1. Grassroots education – deals with human rights education and teaching people to document events and their own stories from inside Burma. This documentation is used in publications and media.
2. Literacy and education – teaching the teachers who will go back into Burma. The subjects are Burmese, Karen, social studies, geography, ethics and self confidence. They are also coached in making impromptu speeches and how to make spot computations and generally how to develop new schools, village education, evaluation methods and progress reports.
3. Children’s education project – deals with building and developing good community members, cultural pride and awareness through collection of stories and folk tales. They have published a children’s storybook. They are also building school libraries with books brought in from the outside.

IDP’s generally do not have schooling and educational opportunities. The number 1 priority is FOOD so schooling is discouraged by parents who need their children’s help in the fields. Even if they go to school, it is a necessity to help in the fields after school. There is a general shortage of educational materials and teaching skills and BI provides these to the IDP’s.

There are 10 ethnic groups in

Burma. The Central military junta discourages ethnic identity. BI produces materials and encourages ethnic pride. The Karen ethnic group which comprises about 7% of the population lives both in the lowlands and in the hill areas. They are either Buddhist or Christian. There is a difference between the lowland and hill people ethnic people in how they look at education. The hill tribes generally are concerned with survival while the lowland people have been more integrated into Burmese society. The NGO’s such as BI are creating greater awareness of the importance of education. The Karen’s have been relocated since 1975 because of the military junta’s policy of divide and conquer. There was another mass relocation after the 1988 uprisings and with the building of the UNOCAL gas pipelines. These and other events have created IDP’s who flee to the jungles looking for freedom…they hide, they live, and are in a constant search for FOOD. They have little or no access to healthcare and education as books and materials are unavailable and expensive. I keep coming back to the meaning of happiness…

Burma Issues was yet another example of the drive, motivation and commitment of these grassroots leaders. The problems here have been ongoing for decades and generations and change is soooo slow, yet these leaders continue and expand their work building a long sought after society through non-violent change. ALL people have dreams and desires…

We check into our hotel that afternoon and have lunch to rejuvenate ourselves for the rest of the afternoon off. Short initial explorations of

Bangkok and readying for Shabbat dinner. Our Shabbat dinner was lovely. We used a thoughtful service developed by AJWS and which helped bring focus to what we had experienced thus far. We were provided with great tasting challah courtesy of the Bangkok Chabad. The Jewish population of

Thailand is 300 so it seems they get everywhere. We were joined for dinner by Karen and Ott, 2 leaders of the Thai AIDS treatment Action Group (TTAG), with who we would meet with after our Shabbat day off on Sunday.

11/1/07 

Up early and 4 hours back to Chaing Mai. I didn’t mention before but the scenery along this route, as everywhere we have traveled is breathtaking. Lush, rugged and mountainous jungle everywhere.

We arrive at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chaing Mai and eat while looking out at this beauty. We are also fortunate to have a guest speaker, Dr. Voravit Suwanvanichkij, MPH, MD, Dr. Vit to us. Dr. Vit spoke eloquently and with great knowledge and insight about the state of public health in Burma and

Thailand. The below article covers some of the highlights of our discussion:

Cho Cho Win, a Burmese migrant worker suffering from AIDS, shortly before her death in a clinic on the Thailand border. (Nic Dunlop photo)

Burma junta faulted for rampant diseases

By Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations | 28 June 2007BERKELEY – As Congress debates extending political and economic sanctions against Burma’s military regime, a new report from the University of California, Berkeley, and Johns Hopkins University documents how decades of repressive rule, civil war and poor governance in the Southeast Asian country have contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other infectious diseases there.Extreme travel restrictions imposed by the Burmese government have forced Médecins San Frontières (Doctors without Borders) in France and the multinational Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria to pull out of the country, and have severely curtailed the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to the report co-authored by researchers from UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center and The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The report was released today (Thursday, June 28), and can be viewed online. U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) introduced a bill on June 15 that would extend the U.S. sanctions, set to expire July 26, against

Burma because of continued human rights violations. The sanctions include a ban on imports from

Burma and visa restrictions for members of the government.While 40 percent of

Burma’s annual spending goes to the military, only 3 percent goes to health care, according to the report. The Burmese military junta spends 40 cents per citizen each year on health care, compared to the government of neighboring

Thailand, which spends $61 per citizen a year, the report says.“Military expenditures should be reallocated to support health care delivery,” said Eric Stover, faculty director of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center. ”

Burma is not at war with its neighbors, and its security is more profoundly threatened by the rise of drug-resistant malaria and tuberculosis, and by emerging infectious diseases such as avian influenza, than from external military threats.”Stover and fellow researchers from the Human Rights Center and Johns Hopkins launched the project last year to discover the roots of

Burma’s dire disease epidemics and to determine whether international aid could be delivered in a way that is responsible and effective.For the report, researchers traveled to the large Burmese city of Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon, and to Burma’s borders with China, Thailand, Bangladesh and

India. From health clinics in those regions, they gathered data on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and lymphatic filariasis, and interviewed aid officials and health care workers.The researchers found that the widespread distribution of counterfeit antimalarial drugs, coupled with the rise of drug-resistant malaria and tuberculosis, pose a major health threat to the Burmese people, especially those living in border areas where health care is scarce, if available at all.Burma has one of the world’s highest tuberculosis rates and is home to more than half of

Asia’s malaria deaths. Those most vulnerable to disease epidemics there are ethnic and religious minorities, displaced farmers, commercial sex workers and intravenous drug users.Drug trafficking has also played a major role in the spread of HIV/AIDS among intravenous drug users and commercial sex workers, the report says. In addition, aggressive campaigns by the Burmese government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to eradicate poppy cultivation and heroin production have led to the displacement of tens of thousands of families who have no alternative source of livelihood. Many have relocated to the

Thailand border, where communicable diseases are thriving. Meanwhile, methamphetamine production in

Burma’s border regions is rising.“Decades of neglect by

Burma’s military government have turned the country into an incubator of infectious diseases,” said Chris Beyrer, a co-author of the report and professor of epidemiology at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “While the health situation deteriorates, the junta continues to limit the ability of international relief organizations to reach those most in need.”In 1990, Burmese voters elected Aung San Suu Kyi, 62, as their democratic leader. But the military rejected the election results and placed her under house arrest, where she has remained for most of the last 17 years. During the 1990s, international relief organizations began responding to

Burma’s neglect of its citizens’ health. By 2004, 41 aid organizations were operating in

Burma with a combined budget of about $30 million, and tens of millions of dollars more aimed at fighting infectious diseases, according to the report.But that changed in 2005 when Burmese government authorities imposed travel restrictions on international organizations. In October 2006, the European Union, along with Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, launched the “Three Diseases Fund” to fight infectious diseases in

Burma. Yet the fund, now worth $99.5 million, faces formidable challenges, including the critical task of ensuring that aid reaches

Burma’s border regions and other areas where infectious diseases are rampant and severe.The report recommends that:·   The Burmese government develop a national health care system in which care is distributed effectively, equitably and transparently·   The Burmese government increase its spending on health and education to confront the country’s long-standing health problems, especially the rise of drug-resistant malaria and tuberculosis·   The Burmese government rescind guidelines issued last year by the country’s Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development because these guidelines have restricted organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from providing relief in

Burma·   The Burmese government allow the ICRC to resume visits to political prisoners without the requirement that ICRC doctors be accompanied by members of

Burma’s Union Solidarity and Development Association or by other junta representatives·   The Burmese government take immediate steps to halt in eastern

Burma the conflicts and human rights violations that are displacing an unprecedented number of people and facilitating the spread of infectious diseases in the region·   Foreign aid organizations and donors monitor and evaluate how aid to combat infectious diseases in

Burma is affecting domestic expenditures on health and education·   Relevant national and local government agencies, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations establish a regional narcotics working group that would assess drug trends in the region and monitor the impact of poppy eradication programs on farming communities·   These agencies also collaborate more closely, sharing information, to lessen the burden of infectious diseases in

Burma and its border regions, and to develop a regional response to the growing problem of counterfeit antimalarial drugsMedia Contacts:

David Scott Mathieson; Human Rights Watch:  mathied@hrw.org, 087-176-2205

Voravit Suwanvanichkij, MPH, MD; Center for Public Health & Human Rights, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: vsuwanva@jhsph.edu, 081-240-5720  

After our informative lunch, we visited another impressive AJWS grantee THAI YOUTH ACTION PROGRAMS (TYAP). TYAP began as university based initiative that trained Thai youth to serve as HIV/AIDS peer educators. The program has expanded to include teaching students to take action on a number of other social issues such as drug prevention and minority rights. The school and community based programs help young people develop critical decision making skills, build support networks, and challenge discrimination against minorities and people living with HIV/AIDS. These kids were a true pleasure to witness. They are enthusiastic, well informed and motivated about their schooling. They were eager to share their stories with us and confident in asking us about our lives and our thoughts. This visit was very uplifting.  After our visit with TYAP, we had our first “break” of the tour. We actually had the rest of the afternoon and evening free to do as we pleased. For many of us, including yours truly, this included a 2 hour massage. All of the knots, aches, and pains of the long flights and drives of the trip thus far were erased.  Chaing Mai hosts a night market every night. The night market is quite large and consists of souvenirs, handicraft, Thai silk items, apparel and a great food court of local delicacies. Uh Oh…is it time soon to buy an extra suitcase? 

October 31, 2007Given the current events in Burma, we were fortunate to have AJWS make a quick change in schedule that allowed us to visit the town of Mae Sot and several AJWS grantees to hear firsthand the situation inside of

Burma and along the border areas. Mae Sot is about 4 hours southwest of Chiang Mai on the Thai Burma border and has become a hub for support organizations and humanitarian activities serving Burmese refugees. These activities cover 2 distinct groups, internally displaced persons (inside of Burma) (IDP’S) and refugees (Burmese in countries outside of

Burma). Many of these people are tribal and represent the Karen, Shan, Akka, and Mon ethnic peoples. There are several long established refugee camps located in the vicinity and by and large these serve as relative safe havens for the refugees. Services being provided include human rights training, education, humanitarian assistance, and healthcare outreach and services. The first AJWS grantee visited here was EARTHRIGHTS INTERNATIONAL (ERI). Earthrights mission is to address environmental exploitation and human rights abuses in

Burma. ERI provides 1.) Leadership training and education that develop human rights and environmental activists who can train their communities to secure and defend earth rights. (Earth rights are defined as the intersection of human rights and the environment) 2.) Legal action against earth rights abuses which seek to apply domestic and international law to hold corporations and others accountable for their actions and 3.) Advocacy campaigns that bring together human rights and environmental activists, affected communities and concerned individuals to raise public awareness about the issues.

EARTHRIGHTS staff met us at the nonprofit heath clinic started and run by Dr. Cynthia Maung, “Dr. Cynthia” to the local community. Dr. Cynthia is a Burmese who came to the Thai side of the border in the late 1980’s and has been here ever since. A tireless humanitarian, Dr. Cynthia recognized the need to serve an expanding population of IDP’S, refugees, and migrants from her home country. For most people in these groups, Dr. Cynthia’s clinic is the only source of healthcare and she set up her clinic to treat sick Burmese who could not afford healthcare services in

Burma as well as the continuously expanding refugee and migrant populations. This clinic served about 2000 people in 1989 when it first opened and currently is the primary means of healthcare for more than 100,000 Burmese last year.  The types of problems treated here are what we in the developed world hardly consider anymore. Malnourishment is a huge problem…you don’t see obesity here, only people who don’t know where or when their next meal will come from.

Burma’s healthcare “system” was ranked one of the worlds least responsive and it remains a place where basic vitamin deficiencies kill people. The clinic provides maternity, pediatric, surgical, prosthetic, lab and pharmacy services. Beriberi, caused by a severe lack of vitamin B1 is still found here and there are many babies dying from infantile beriberi. B1 is found in foods such as fish, eggs, brown rice, pork and peanuts…many people here only have access to white rice… People here are afflicted with and die from ailments that we no longer are concerned with or even think about.

The clinic is primitive by our western standards and by Thai standards as well but for the majority of Burmese here, this is their only source of healthcare. If not for the selfless efforts of Dr. Cynthia and her dedicated staff and volunteers these Burmese would have no access to medical treatment. In addition to being a clinic, it was apparent that the clinic compound serves as a community for these displaced Burmese. This “community” serves a wonderful need and is a fine example to our communities and how we as a community can always do more. These people here with absolutely nothing work so hard and so selflessly…

My father, a survivor of the holocaust, was naturalized in 1945 and what this has meant for him and my whole family is recognized and appreciated. Dad said from as early as I can remember, “Those born in America don’t appreciate

America” and I must admit, there is truth in these words. We are indeed fortunate to live in

America.

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. These three aspects are listed among the “unalienable rights” of man.These rights are ones we often taken for granted and we must keep in mind that our roles could easily be reversed with the oppressed and disenfranchised around the world. A role of the dice and we are here and they are there. Happiness and all that it entails we expect as a basic right by our western values and is brought down to earth quickly when happiness in the context of these Burmese and 40-50% of humanity is knowing that you have the next meal for yourself and your family. I try to keep this in mind when I bitch and complain about petty things.We later met with the HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION INSTITUTE OF BURMA (HREIB), an NGO, non-profit Burmese institute for human rights education in

Burma. HREIB was the first organization along the border area with this focus. Once again, we experienced the commitment, enthusiasm, empowerment, and tireless efforts of this AJWS partner. The continuing sense of how slowly change occurs and how committed these people are in light of this is truly impressive.HREIB provides human rights education, grassroots level gender equitable knowledge and skills based training, capacity building training of trainers programs, and produces impressive training materials, guides and publication.HREIB also produces human rights documentation via video that depicts the lives of displaced persons in

Burma. We viewed a very moving video of last’s months “Saffron Revolution” which showed footage of the brutality that was never seen on any major news network. At risk for their lives, these brave educators sneak back into

Burma where they can carry on their mission of training others about their human rights and also document ongoing events.We ended this amazing day with a short visit to the BORDERLINE WOMEN’S COLLECTIVE, another AJWS grantee that provides shared marketing space for handmade items created by women from the border area. This collective and fair trade shop provides internship opportunities and workshops in product design, price setting, marketing, and other small business skills for refugee and ethnic minority women’s groups. There was much in the way of local and ethnic handicraft and we were all very happy to provide additional support to this group through the groups multiple purchases of their beautiful products.  After this visit, we went to the actual border of Thailand and Burma. This is truly a “bridge over troubled water”. We could not cross but this is a “fluid” border where people are passing back and forth, whether it be via the bridge or by swimming or floating across the river. There was a noticable number of Thai military here and we were cautioned to not take pictures at the risk of having our cameras confiscated.

Tuesday, 10/30/07Gotta go, gotta go…many partners to visit but so little time. Chiang Rai and north to the Golden Triangle is a beautiful and rugged area that certainly deserves further exploration but we are off this morning to Chiang Mai. We start off at 8am sharp except, as I explain to our Thai guide for a couple of “stragglers”. Straggler is a word unfamiliar to him and I must explain this bit of English slang to him. I’m not used to group tours but being a “yekke”, straggling is something that I personally do not do. Once the “stragglers show up, he fully understands the term and we get on our way to Chiang Rai’s southern cousin, Chiang Mai. By this time in the journey, all study tour participants have removed the name tags and are getting to know each other. We have a very diverse, interesting, and compatible group of 13 tour participants and 4 AJWS staff. Major cities like Boulder, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Sebastopol, New York, Washington, Philadelphia, and

Loveland are represented. It is a fun and interesting group. It is a very scenic 4 hour drive and we have several stops along the way to break up the drive, buy unknown and interesting snack foods and the very, very best iced Thai coffee. I’ve traveled in

Thailand several times prior to this trip and seen many, many temples on those journeys. It is still quite a draw to many, but honestly for me (and with no disrespect), visiting temples is something that just doesn’t do much for me and honestly, if all I do is view them from a distance and see all of the glittering and shining structures, I am OK with that. Nevertheless, our first stop is at a huge white, glittery structure which was is still in the process of being built after many years by I believe a king who passed away with the knowledge that it wouldn’t be finished in his lifetime. As I described my interest in temples, I sort of “zoned out” the explanations but did walk around and look at the structure inside and out. Some very contemporary paintings were on the inside of the temple and I can describe the whole thing as interesting but let’s get an iced coffee and move out… Our next stop an hour or so down the road would be more interesting and would help set us up for our meeting with our afternoon partner visit.

Control over the HIV-AIDS epidemic has been a relative success story in

Thailand. In part, this success has come through the efforts of a creative Thai social entrepreneur. There are a group of retail shops/ cottages that go by the name of “Condoms and Cabbages”. Proceeds from this venture fund sex education and distribution of condoms. Several of us purchased memorabilia and souvenirs from this enterprise.

We continue our journey and arrive in Chiang Mai, where we check into the beautiful Chedi Hotel and have lunch. Now fat and happy after our very physically active morning bus ride, we proceed to our visit to AJWS grantee EMPOWER FOUNDATION. One of Judaism’s highest values is that of freeing a captive. EMPOWER is a great example of people gaining freedom through empowerment and education. In its most simple form, EMPOWER stands forE =educationM =meansP =protectionO =ofW =womenE =engaged inR =recreationEMPOWER is a sex workers rights organization that promotes economic opportunity, training, education, outreach, and support for migrant sex workers. This is accomplished through computer training, Thai and English literacy, non-formal education, counseling, health information, alternative livelihood, advocacy, and translation.As many here are migrants and have no education at all, EMPOWER provides collaborative education opportunities. These efforts help to give these people confidence to become part of the wider society.My sense is that they do great work here and the results are obvious. We had discussions with this group and the pride, self confidence, and empowerment of these women is impressive. We had a very candid discussion and question and answer session that were inspirational, enlightening, and thought provoking.By now my study group partners were learning about me what my wife already knows…I am “THE INTEROGATOR”. I have a great interest in knowing about things at a detail level. Many of these women were the primary providers for their extended families. I had a question that was gnawing at me…How did these women feel about having the responsibility…the burden of being the sole support for their families, even to the extent that they were putting brothers through school? They unanimously said that they felt a great pride in supporting their families. They then asked me if I had a family, how many people I supported, and if I was proud of supporting my family. I answered Yes, 3 and Yes again. They responded rightfully that they are supporting many more people than I am so they are even more proud…touché’! These are confident, proud, empowered and responsible young women. I am very impressed. They also expressed that for many people, it is more important what they do versus who they are. They are correct. Think outside the box.We headed back to the Beautiful Chedi Hotel for a quick shower and to our dinner program. We had a guest speakers from AJWS grantee MIGRANT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (MAP). MAP program areas are community health, education, women’s empowerment, and labor rights and advocacy to assist the large number of Burmese migrant workers. Recently their work has expanded to address violence, exploitation, and human rights.

As my overview of

Burma was quite abbreviated, I would recommend getting a copy of Christina Finks book, “Living Silence”. Here you will find a much more complete analysis of the historical and contemporary situation in

Burma.

After our morning orientation, we traveled several hours to a tribal village in the border area. Here we visited with an AJWS partner, Hill Area and Community Development Foundation (HADF). HADF is one of over 300 civil society partners in 39 countries that are supported by AJWS. Currently, AJWS has more than 100,000 supporters and takes a grassroots/ holistic approach to it’s support of it’s grantees. Most of the projects deal with human rights service delivery, hunger, poverty, disease, and social justice through the efforts and support of the Jewish community. The activities of AJWS and it’s partners empowers people to make change in their lives and the lives of those in their communities.  This is accomplished through a human rights lens and includes advocacy relating to the grantee’s work. HADF is one of 21 partners in Thailand and Burma, 6 of which are in Thailand and 15 in

Burma. The village that we visited and which HADF is located is high in the hills along the Thai-Burma border. The village residents are ethnic hill tribe people mostly belonging to the AKKA tribe. The area is very remote, mountainous, and is lush and thick jungle. A beautiful area on the surface but with many issues and problems inside. HADF programs center in the areas of education and advocacy, sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation, women’s empowerment, and health promotion. Many of the same ethnic groups live on both sides of the border. Due to the long standing situation in

Burma, many people have migrated over the border and settled in villages on the Thai side. Culturally the people are the same and they have historically welcomed these refugees. As the situation in

Burma has intensified, the number of refugees has increased dramatically and has become a burden on the already impoverished villages to which they have settled. HADF provides support for the hill tribes and collaborates with many NGO’s and government entities to promote community development, protection from harmful policies and sustaining of tribal culture. They do much work with the youth, who increasingly must move to the more urban areas in order to find work to support themselves and their families. HADF provides education to youth to prepare them as they migrate as human trafficking is common and in many cases they are taken advantage of and abused.

This was our first meeting with a project partner and was representative of all the partners that we visited in that they are all highly motivated, empowered, and dedicated to their work. It was very inspirational for me to see people living in what by western terms are “primitive” conditions and environment and how the leadership is accomplishing repair and change to their world. We were treated to a cultural exhibition of tribal costumes and dances as well as a tour of the village. We were fortunate to spend time in the home of a villager and were able to discuss with her through an interpreter her life and the life in her village. The attitude of the people is unbelievable. Our lives are so far from this…On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Golden Triangle, the intersection of Thailand, Burma, and

Laos.

On Monday, 10/29 Christina Fink, author or “Living Silence” spoke to us about Burma in orde to orient us to the situation within the country as well as what is happening in the border areas.  Since 1962

Burma has been controlled by a military junta. This junta has been and continues to be completely repressive and cruel. 

Burmais made up of many ethnic groups. The Burmans make up close to 70% of the population and the balance is made up from Shan, Karen, Rakhine, Chinese, Mon and others. Many of the ethnic peoples live along the border areas and are literally tribal and living in jungle villages. The borders between Burma, Thailand and

Laos are disputed and the ethnic groups/armies serve as a buffer. The ethnic peoples are anti-communist and the Thai government doesn’t want a merger of Thai and Burmese communists. There has been a historical “sacking” of the Thais by the Burmese and this has created a mythology and the Thais do not want armed conflict with the Burmese. Burma is a former British colony and gained independence from

Britainin 1948 (sound familiar?). The ethnic autonomy movement began in 1948 and the ethnic Karen people have been at war with the central Burmese government continuously since 1949. There have been ceasefires with the other ethnic groups but not peace. The military junta took power in 1962 and all business’ were nationalized at that time. The military junta is very cruel and repressive. There has been no economic or other planning. It is common for the junta to conscript people into forced labor. Also, children as young as 10 years old are forcefully brought into the military in order to increase the numbers and further control the population. Since the junta controls all monies, the military, except for the Generals do not pay the soldiers and instruct the soldiers to “make due” in any way they see fit. This includes taking over rural villages and hill tribe ethnic areas, stealing their food and homes. This, as well as other activities has caused mass migrations of people into the jungle and to the border areas of

Thailand. The problems today consist of a struggle for ethnic autonomy and to restore democracy in a continuously worsening economic situation.

Burma’s population is 47 million and for millions, malnutrition, lack of access to healthcare, and complete personal and political repression is the norm. Most of the population is either too poor or too isolated to have a voice in change since their main “occupation” is simply survival. In Burma, 10% of children die before reaching the age of 5 as opposed to 2% in

Thailand. A woman has a 1 in 75 chance of dying in childbirth as opposed to 1 in 900 in

Thailand. The Thai-Burma border is 1400 miles long and is disputed in areas. Heroin and methamphetamine cross freely over the border and drug use is a big problem in this part of the world. Thailand also gets much of it’s energy from Burma to the tune of $2 billion, which is 40% of

Burma’s total exports. Thailand is

Burma’s largest trade partner. China is also a very large trade partner and because of these “partnerships”, neither Thailand nor

China apply any serious pressure on the military government.

For Burmese living in

Thailand, there are 140,000 refugees who have some degree of safety but live with many restrictions. There are around 1000 activists who have no legal status and 2 million migrant workers (only 10% of whom are registered) who are subject to human trafficking and exploitation. Many of these groups do not speak the Thai language, are isolated, and have no access to human services. Refugee camps in

Thailand were first established in 1984. Residents of these camps are literally people without a country and receive only basic needs.

 

Wow…what a busy, interesting, and emotional 5 days. Sorry for not posting earlier but we have been on the go from early morning to late evening every day and honestly, given the schedule and the jet lag I am now just getting to it. After my last posting, I flew 14+ hours from LA to Taipei and immediately caught my next 3 1/2 hour flight to Bangkok. I arrived in Bangkok at 2am and took a room at the airport hotel. My flight to Chang Rai was the next day (or technically the same day) at 1PM. Unfortunately, sleep did not really come at all so I stared at the ceiling until about 6am and finally fell asleep. My cell phone rang at 8:15am and that’s “all she wrote” as far as sleep is concerned. In any event, I caught the flight and arrived in the Chang Rai airport at about 3PM. Unbeknownst to me, there were 4 other study tour participants on the same flight. We were picked up  by our AJWS tour service and then drove to a beautiful hotel about 1 hour away that sits right at the Golden Triangle. For you geography buffs, the Golden Triangle sits at the intersection of Thailand, Burma (Myannmar), and Laos and is on the Mekong River. This used to be the source for the majority of opium and heroin production and there is actually quite a fine museum close to our hotel…the Opium Museum. My room overlooked the Mekong River, Burma and Laos. The area is extremely mountainous and rugged and is composed of very dense rain forest. After arriving, we had a welcome dinner where I met the other 12 tour participants and 4 AJWS staff members. I was fortunate to sit at dinner with our speaker for the next morning, Christina Fink. She is an American author married to a Burmese activist and lives in Thailand. I read her book, “Living Silence” prior to the trip and found both the book and the author very enlightening about the history and current events of Burma. The area is just beautiful. As I was to learn in the upcoming days, underlying the outward beauty of this area is a human rights and social justice crisis that has existed continuously since 1949 with additional significant events occuring in 1962, 1988, and again this month. This week has been a first hand and up close look at the complex history, politics, and issues as well as the people and organizations working for change.