US Repeals Sanctions

2012 marks a big year in the history of Myanmar. Along with other influential powers in the European Union, the US lifted the long-standing investment ban on the country. In the wake of democratic changes, President Obama has stated that the easing of sanctions is evidence of the recognition of these efforts and encouragement for further reform.

Within the US government, there has been much debate as to the extent to which sanctions should be eased. While some argue that a full repeal is essential to support the country’s democratization, others caution that the military still controls the majority of the economy.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest last year and won a seat in parliament in April, requested that foreign governments maintain sanctions, especially those that do allow corporations to partner with the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, which is the state-controlled and military-influenced organization that controls all energy sector business. Despite the Obama administration’s assurances that it would follow Suu Kyi’s advice throughout the democratization, the US ended up approving broad repeal to the investment ban. They justified the repeal saying that it will contribute to growing tourism, banking, agriculture and manufacturing sectors. The opposition, however, claim the move is politically and economically motivated. They credit the broad repeal to the fact that the US government feels threatened by the presence of European corporations in Myanmar working with the growing energy and mining sectors. Human rights advocates and politicians have expressed great concern and disapproval of the repeal, claiming that the Obama administration is sacrificing protecting human rights in order to cater to powerful special interest groups in the US. 

The debate will undoubtedly continue as US corporations enter Myanmar and the economic and political climate shift or remain stagnant.

Further information can be found at: http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/07/11/obama_breaks_with_aung_san_suu_kyi_lifts_burmese_investment_ban 

Banyan Center Reopening!

After a pilot program with 9 children from January to April, the Banyan Center reopened on May 12^th for a new school term. With a study body of Thai, Shan and expat children, the school is quickly becoming a hub of multiculturalism. The children quickly formed new friendships during the first week of school, despite language and cultural differences, and overcame barriers to work with the Montessori materials and engage in fun activities such as gardening and cooking.

Every Wednesday, the class will have a theme to explore. The very first Wednesday of the school year was Banana Day! In addition to making banana chip and banana ice cream, the students colored banana pictures and learned how to write the word banana in both Thai and English.

We are looking forward to hearing more from Beth, the school leader and lead teacher, about the school as the year progresses! We will keep you updated on news and developments as we embark on this exciting first official year!

-Tierney

Artit Gets an Award!

We have really wonderful news about Artit, one of our first scholarship recipients! In March, Artit’s mother traveled the three hours to Chiang Mai for his high school's graduation ceremony at the Empress Hotel. Though Artit was not graduating, he was being honored as an outstanding current student. On the way to Chiang Mai, Artit's mother told us that she was nervous, but also excited, given that it was the second time she had ever been to Chiang Mai. Her sister was supposed to pick her up from the bus station, but unfortunately there was a miscommunication and Artit’s mom couldn’t find her and had no way of contacting her. Though she briefly considered immediately buying a bus ticket to return to Pai, she gathered her courage to call Jo, one of our project managers, who was also planning to attend Artit’s ceremony. Jo picked Artit’s mother up and together they went to Jo’s guesthouse to get dressed.


When Artit’s mother saw Jo’s dress for the ceremony, she felt uncomfortable and nervous about her own casual clothing. Luckily, Jo took the time to convince Artit’s mother that the event was very special and that her being there was all that mattered. Eventually, the two of them found their way to the ceremony, stopping on the way to buy Artit a bouquet of flowers.


 The event was not merely celebrating the students’ graduation, a feat in and of itself. The school was also honoring specific students that showed special promise and distinguished themselves in their field. Artit was awarded one of these unique prizes! Surayud Chulanont, the former Prime Minister of Thailand, presented the awards on behalf of the king, evidence of how important and impressive the award truly is.

After the ceremony, Artit’s mother sheepishly presented the flowers to Artit and the three of them took pictures. Artit’s mom told Jo that she had never expected anything like this to happen – that it was a miracle. The whole day was quite overwhelming for her as she proudly watched her son receive special recognition from his teachers and peers. The award validated Artit’s hard work during the school year and further motivated him to continue with his studies.


After the ceremony Artit returned to Pai to be with his family. He is now searching for work experience while also looking to continue studying English, which he believes is a language that will increase and improve his opportunities. We are looking forward to seeing Artit’s future accomplishments as he completes high school in the coming years, enters the next stage of his life and undoubtedly continues to impress everyone he meets.

Montessori school opens

We are thrilled to announce that our Montessori preschool, the Banyan Center, has opened. Read more about the Banyan Center here.

legal clinic

We were fortunate enough last week to receive a visit from the Migrant Assistance Program in Chiang Mai. They provided a clearly articulated, well-organized overview of the migrants' rights to social and welfare services in Thailand, their process of potentially attaining Thai ID cards and nationality, and the different laws affecting their status in Thailand. The MAP folks also patiently answered many questions about specific legal cases and scenarios presented by our community members, taking notes so that they could follow up in the future. We are grateful that they were able to travel rather far and send several Thai- and Shan-speaking workers, all quite knowledgeable, to conduct the workshop/ legal clinic in our community-- after the refugees came home from work, at dusk, on a dirt path amidst the refugees' thatch-roof huts, by the light of single lightbulb on a string!

Clinton's Visit to Burma

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton visited Burma this week, marking the first high-level visit to Myanmar in half a century. She met with the country's new president, Thein Sein, as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Partly because the military government has recently launched a series of reforms (including a promise to release 6,300 prisoners, including political prisoners, in October), Suu Kyi will participate in next year's elections, after her party boycotted last year's. Her National League for Democracy (NLD), will compete for 48 vacant parliamentary seats in the election.

Critics, however, remain wary of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and its election tactics, and urge foreign governments to pay close attention to Burmese politics for the next critical year before rewarding the military junta for its new political and economic policies.

Our refugee community's educational aspirations

Our BRP social workers and a Master's student at NYU recently completed a series of conversations with the refugee families on their educational aspirations and perceptions of the Thai school system. Their findings suggest that our community's children place a high value on education overall, but that they are uncertain of their ability to finish high school and go on to college-- because of financial reasons, discrimination, and lack of know-how.

Some highlights:

. 82% of those surveyed hope to finish university level studies.

. When asked “I don’t understand why I have to go to school when I won’t be able
to get a job after that,” 84% DISAGREED with this statement. When the NGO ZOA Refugee Care administered the same survey in refugee camps, only 69% of students DISAGREED with this statement.

. 58% of the refugee children answered "true" or "somewhat true" to the statement that they were "slow learners.

. 78.9% strongly agreed with the statement, "I feel comfortable in school," but only 42% did so when asked if they felt comfortable with their fellow classmates.

. Finally, the students take pride in their educational activities, but they are apprehensive about their parents (many of whom do not speak Thai and have never attended school) interacting with school officials. Thus, almost 70% wanted their parents to attend a graduation ceremony, but only 11% expected their parents to meet their teachers or help with homework.

These results suggest that the BRP has largely succeeded in relaying the importance of education to the refugee families, many of whom were resistant or felt uncomfortable sending their children to school at first. However, the results also suggest that the BRP staff continue to have their work cut out for them-- in terms of acting as cultural translators and institutional liaisons for families unfamiliar with what any schooling might be like, and helping the students to socialize, cope with stress and marginalization, excel and thrive in school.