For this year, since some of the work that we do and that our partners do is quite sensitive, I will be intentionally using a lot of vague titles here, and few names. For the most part, especially for Burmese friends and partners, I will rarely refer to them by their names here (or at least their real names, which I may not know myself!), and will almost never include photos. Some of them may be working in Thailand "unofficially" and some of them need to maintain a nearly invisible profile for those times when they do go back to Burma. These groups along the border are largely ethnic minority groups who have been in conflict with the Burmese government since the country gained independence in 1948. These are some of the longest ongoing conflicts in the world. The Myanmar/Burmese government, or military (interchangeable titles, really), has a policy called "The Four Cuts" which is a counter-insurgency strategy they use against these groups. The four cuts are: food, funds, information, and recruits. They force local communities to make the choice of fight or flight...or give in. That is why so many have come to the border and are now supporting communities inside by their work here.
You might as well call 'health' a fifth cut in the Burmese agenda. Malaria, undernourishment, and landmine trauma are just some of the rampant health issues in the region. Eastern Burma is the epicenter of many resistant strains of malaria. Health statistics along the border are generally 3 or more times more dire than in the rest of Burma (and you can bet that some of their national statistics are fudged), and often many times more tragic than neighbors like Thailand or Malaysia. You might think that health care and health education are human rights issues, but human rights issues haven't seemed to constitute a concern to the Burmese government anyway. Burma of course made news in 2008 when the junta refused to allow humanitarian relief to come in after Cyclone Nargis tore apart much of the country, killing around 140,000 people. Documentaries recorded the events of the 2007 "Saffron Revolution" when monks, in their iconic saffron-robes, protested for economic, health, and education improvements. Along with civilians killed, the government also fired on monks, seem as some of the most revered figures in Burmese society. Even when not attracting world attention (as most often not), the government is committing human rights abuses daily: forced labor, murder, rape, forced resettlement. Aung San Suu Kyi, the iconic leader of Burmese democracy movements and a Nobel Prize Laureate, has been under house arrest for essentially the last 20 years.
If you don't know too much about the political situation in Burma yet, you will be learning along with me as I am compelled to share tidbits with you here. First of all: the name. Myanmar or Burma? As you may be familiar, the country was originally known as Burma, including while it was a British colony. In 1989 (following a huge uprising against the government), the junta decided to rename the country "Myanmar," the name for the country in the local language. They also renamed major cities, such as Rangoon, which became Yangon. Depending on who you ask, the change is legitimate or it is not. Largely, opinion rests on whether or not people feel the Burmese government is legitimate. Most places when talking about Burma will clarify or include both names. Notably, the United Nations uses only Myanmar, and the UK, US, and Canada use only Burma. Most significantly, in my mind, exiles use Burma. For an interesting article on the confusion, and for how both names originate from the same roots, check this out. I will typically use Burma, as that's what we use in our organization. Anyway, Burma is holding its first election in 20 years on November 7, 2010, so the flurry of activities, mostly illegal, happening on the other side of the border is astonishing. Regardless, the work that our partners on the border do, offering basic health care and health education services, is absolutely essential and unbelievably heroic. I am so inspired to be here to play even the smallest role. And, after explaining all of the above, I want to reassure you that I am in absolutely NO danger of harm here. Foreigners, or 'farangs' as we're known in Thai, essentially have diplomatic and economic immunity from the worst ills that can befall anyone here. Don't worry about me. Seriously. If you're interested for news, Al Jazeera English does some good coverage of the region, as does the Independent Mon News Agency, or Irrawaddy. Check them out!
Anyway, so that's the larger context and ultimate reason I'm here, but I'm light years away things on a daily basis. For example, I am at a posh coffeeshop this very minute, listening to strange soft rock versions of Britney Spears and Coldplay, trying to decide if the weather looks like rain or not. It always sort of looks like rain here, not so strange given that it's the rainy season. Mae Sot is the epicenter of the Burmese border aid organizations. Large and small, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) are here, along of course, community based organizations (CBOs). Only so many of them work in really effective partnerships, unfortunately, which makes me proud to be with a group that really focuses on building the capacity of CBOs to work for themselves and for their own causes. It's a funny town, part Thai, part Burmese, part Farang. The majority of the Burmese here belong to an ethnic group called the "Karen," (pronounced kar-EN), but there are also Kachin, Shan, Mon, Karenni, and Chin, among others. Traditionally people who are actually ethnically Burmese, not just Burmese by nationality, are called Burmans. They're here too--and, honestly, the groups are all more ethnically blended than they sometimes appear at face value. There are multiple Buddhist shrines and temples and ample monks of all ages, but also a mosque and several churches. The farang influence is most strongly felt in the number of coffeeshops with wi-fi, temples of their own for the sect of farang that live here. At least 3 of Thailand's over 3,000 (!) Seven Elevens are here (yeah, that 7-11), and a KFC recently opened on the main drag.
Getting here was not too much trouble, about 8 hours by bus from Bangkok. I was in a double-decker style touring bus, and got one of the best seats: the front top right corner. I had big windows to my front and to my side, and a great command of the countryside. I saw my first water buffalo! More cows than water buffaloes, though. I also saw plenty of rice paddies, though not many filled with people in funny hats as the stereotype goes. There were lots of scarecrows, however, which I hadn't expected (isn't the rice submerged much of the time?). The mountains begin about 50 kilometers out from Mae Sot. The bus really struggled on those! I also saw my first wild bamboo here, which grows absolutely enormous. Strangely, once you get into Mae Sot it is pancake flat--you wouldn't know it from the drive here.
Approximately 8 kilometers from my current coordinates is Burma. There's the "Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge," which links Mae Sot with Myawaddy (fun fact: the Moei River that runs below the bridge runs to the North). Standing at the edge of the bridge, I added another country to my list of "seen-but-not-touched" countries, now Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Burma. A few months back, allegedly for some issue issue of erosion along the river, Burma closed the bridge to all trade and tourist traffic. This closure, contrary to ASEAN agreements, is costing Thailand and Burma each millions of dollars in trade each day. Most people believe the closure has a lot more to do with November 7th and blocking potential election watchers.
Just because the bridge is closed doesn't mean that traffic, good and bad, is not coming through all the same. Among the more interesting things to be found at the border market on the river, is fabric from Burma. The different ethnic groups I mentioned above all have unique fabric styles, and many of these styles are available at stalls in the market. I went along with a few new friends, one who was able to translate for me, and I chose a fabric from Mandalay and a Karen fabric as well. I really like the Karen style, and bought the fabric and had a beautiful, tailored "longyi" made for a grand total of....$5.00! Longyis, pronounced "lon-chis" are basically long skirts, worn by both men and women all over Burma. Normally they are tied or pinned, but I had one stitched (no wardrobe malfunctions!). The longyi for a peasant or farmer is usually a bit shorter, mid-calf, to allow them to work in fields without dirtying it. The picture on the right is my pink Karen longyi!The traditional Mon longyi is red-checkered and is worn with a white top. I've been told repeatedly to be ready to wear lots of white shirts for weddings, birthdays, holidays, etc. in the coming year. The fabric market here didn't have Mon style, but I am going to get one made the first day I arrive in Sangkhlaburi. For as much as the ethnic groups cooperate to resist the government, there's a lot of pride, and I wouldn't want to ruffle any feathers by wearing the Karen one in Sangkhlaburi before wearing the Mon one!
Time for me to wrap up, we've got a get-together to celebrate the promotion of a member of our staff. I know I didn't get all of my stories or many pictures into this post. Next time! I hear "Sangkhla" is prettier than Mae Sot anyway, haha. Wish me an easy journey with all of my stuff! Hasta luego! (And a very happy 200th birthday to Mexican Independence on September 15th! I am sorry to miss it!)
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