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| July 28, 2008 |
From Bangkok: late night thoughts return to the Thai-Burma border
Bangkok,We are a world away from the Thai Burma border and those who are struggling there, but my thoughts return to the Thai-Burma border. There are so many things I would like you to know. A few days ago I posted a Time magazine article about a remarkable young woman named Charm Tong who works on the border. I met her in Chiang Mai but her work is not there. For security reasons I cannot disclose the location of the school Charm Tong founded for 30 students from Burma. I was fascinated by what she is doing and I think you will be too. Every year, there are at least one thousand applicants for the 30 places in the school. They come from many different locations in Burma. The testing is rigorous. For 10 months the chosen few will receive an intense education. Their teachers are from around the world. The fortunate 30 come to live in her school.- a house at an undisclosed location in Northern Thailand. They do not leave the house for fear of deportation. Our meeting with the students, male and female aged 18-26, was powerfully moving and inspiring. They told us their stories and described the human rights violations and atrocities they have endured, including rape and the burning of their villages. They have never known freedom but they long for it. A young woman said, "Here we can ask questions and discuss freely. We are working and learning together." A boy told us. "The school encourages young people to learn about human rights. We didn't know about our rights-- about social justice and democracy."
A female student who looked no more than 14 stood up to say,
"I want to share my story with you. "--but she could not continue. Jody went over, hugged her, sat beside her and held her hand. Other students fought tears and some wept openly. After a long silence, the girl spoke again.
"On August 12, 2002 my sister encountered a soldier near our home. He raped her. She cried and cried. She was so angry at him. I was crying too. After they are raped, women are treated as if they are bad. That soldier was able to escape without punishment. They will continue to do this as long as the regime remains in power. I don't want any more women to suffer like my sister. Please tell everyone about the women's situation in Burma."
Here are some quotes from students who shared their dreams;
"My village is surrounded by military. A woman cannot go outside -the soldiers rape her. Women cannot do anything. I want to go back to my community and teach women their human rights."
"My dream is to become a teacher. In my village there is no school. and no teacher. I want to help the children learn to read and write. I want to teach them history. I'm very lucky to attend this school. It is the first step toward my dream.
"I also want to be a teacher on the Thai-Burma border. There are 96 or 97 orphaned children in my community. Burmese soldiers shot their parents and many children were killed too. I have a CHANCE for education."
Most of the students said they hope to be teachers because in their communities in Burma, there are none.
A teacher, Lyn Vasey, from the US told us, "my heart is bursting with pride. At least a thousand students would like to be in this position. We could only select 24. These 30 are here because the staff agreed to take cuts in their salaries."