background

In 2003 and 2004 Rose Marie Khubchandani traveled to Thailand for three months as a volunteer teaching English to young Shan women and men.

These young Shans have fled Burma to better their lives and further their education, all in the hope that they can one day return to a free and democratic Burma.

I had a deep interest in helping to support these people and felt that I wanted to meet some of them face to face and learn first hand of their plight. So I decided to work in Chiang Mai as a volunteer teaching English.

In addition to teaching I spent time socializing with my students outside of class. I attended birthday parties, lunches, dinners, picnics, and concerts. I took walks and celebrated the Shan New Year with them.

I heard first hand accounts, from my students of their suffering at the hands of the brutal Burmese military government.
They experienced forced relocation, forced labor, rape, beatings, a broken economy, poverty and no possibility for continuing their education in Burma. Because of all of this they have fled Burma and entered Thailand. These brave, young people are determined to do all they can to prepare themselves for a future in a free and democratic Burma.

About one million people from the Shan state and other ethnic areas of Burma now live in Thailand, many have no possibility to contact their family members still in Burma.

I had an opportunity to visit a migrant worker camp. With one of my students acting as a translator, I spoke with the people in the camp and saw how they live. The conditions are alarmingly poor. Most of the adults work in construction or the fields. Those that work in the fields are becoming sick from the use of toxic pesticides. Those in construction sometimes receive no pay at the end of the week and they have no recourse because they are illegal.

We traveled to a Shan monastery where the Thais run the one and only legal school in Chiang Mai for the immigrants to continue their education.

We attended the opening of the 4th session of a School set up to educate Shan Nationalities living in Chiang Mai. The school can accommodate only about 20 students at each session; many more would like to attend but there is no possibility at this time.

A group of women students are learning about AIDS prevention and assistance to AIDS patients. They took me to a community set up for women with HIV or AIDS.

Still others are involved in presenting and attending seminars, workshops, lectures and classes on diverse subjects. These young women are studying about how a democracy works, they are taking women’s empowerment courses, learning accounting, computer skills, discussing health issues and teaching the Shan language to young refugee students. Some are studying journalism, others are continually searching the internet and newspapers for material on Burma which they can translate from English into Burmese or Shan.

Some women have translated United Nations article 1325 concerning the protection of women and children during war, from English into Burmese. A few years ago a group of these same women did a monumental job of collecting data to document the rape of ethnic women in Burma by the Burmese military. They put together their findings in a report entitled, ” License To Rape.”

Our male students are very talented singers and musicians. They shared with us songs and poems they composed. They even produced a CD with their band and their own songs, which they hope to market. These young men are responsible for producing a Newsletter for other Shan Youth Nationalities; they are learning computer skills and teaching what they learn to others.

The men study English, Thai and the Shan languages. They are attending conferences and meetings on world peace, civil society and democracy, all in preparation for the time when the present military government in Burma falls and they can return to their beloved country and help form a democratic government.

All of the above activities of the Shan women and men are done in a quiet way. At this time the Thai government has not granted these people official refugee status. Many good and kind Thai people try to assist or look the other way. All the refugees and their activities are supported by generous donations from Non Governmental Organizations around the world.

I was deeply touched by the gentleness and kindness of my students, who had suffered so much. Currently Burma shows no positive change. Yet these Shans continue to work and study hard, while always maintaining their optimism for the future. They are truly remarkable people.

Rose Marie is on the board of directors at Burma Lifeline
Currently she teaches English as a second language in her home community.