The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Burmese Government, Rights Groups Raise Concerns Over Koh Tao Murder Case
- New Documentary Highlights Plight of Burmese Migrant Children
- Building Bamboo Bikes in Burma
| Burmese Government, Rights Groups Raise Concerns Over Koh Tao Murder Case Posted: 06 Oct 2014 04:44 AM PDT  Two Burmese migrant workers suspected of killing two British tourists on Koh Tao last month stand with Thai police officers during a re-enactment of the alleged crime. (Photo: Reuters) CHIANG MAI, Thailand – Questions linger over the controversial police investigation into the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao that led to the arrest of two Burmese migrant workers last week. The Burmese government is monitoring the case and President Thein Sein will raise the issue with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha—who is scheduled to visit Burma from Oct. 9—according to President's Office Director Zaw Htay. "That issue [the detention of the two Burmese migrants] will be in the discussion," Zaw Htay told The Irrawaddy, adding that Burmese government representatives were now trying to meet with the two migrants who are currently being detained on Koh Samui. "It is important that the suspects dare to tell us the truth without fear when we meet them," Zaw Htay said. According to Thai police, the two Burmese migrants, identified as Win and Saw, confessed to the murders of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, on the island in Thailand's Surat Thani province on Sept. 15. Thai police also said that DNA samples taken from the two suspects matched DNA found on one of the deceased. Burma's Ambassador to Thailand Win Maung told the Irrawaddy on Friday that he had asked a group of Thai and Burmese lawyers to find out from the two murder suspects whether or not the allegations were true. "We don’t know what really happened," Win Maung said. "Now, it is just a police finding. [The] case can be changed in court." "We will make sure [before taking any action]. Otherwise, it will be our mistake if our side is wrong. We worry for all our people [migrant workers] and we are trying to help them as much as we can," he added. Andy Hall, a British migrant rights activist based in Thailand, has also helped organize an independent legal team to undertake a fact finding mission, beginning yesterday, to ensure the two accused migrants receive a fair trial. "It is very important that independent legal assistance is given to the [two detained] workers to ensure they get a proper trial," Hall said. "We will be trying as much as we can." The two suspects were reportedly kept without legal representation during their interrogation. Hall also voiced concern over the treatment of other Burmese migrants during the investigation. According to the Burmese community on Koh Tao, some migrant workers were abused while being questioned by police, Hall said. "We have a lot of suspicions about the whole process in which they questioned the migrant community," said Hall. There are approximately 3 million Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, most of whom work in low-paid jobs where they are vulnerable to abuse, arrest and extortion by Thai employers or authorities. Than Hlaing, one of six Burmese migrants who were questioned by Thai police last Thursday in connection with the Koh Tao murders, alleged that the group was beaten under interrogation. "They [the police] beat all of us while interrogating us. Three of us were seriously injured. But some got minor injuries," Than Hlaing said. "They detained us for one night. They collected our records and took pictures of us. [Then] they finally told us that we were not guilty and released us." After hearing the news that two Burmese migrants were suspected of committing the murders, migrants living and working on Koh Tao expressed fears for their safety. Sithu, a Burmese migrant worker on Koh Tao who was questioned by Thai police, said, "Burmese people here live in fear [after] police said that Burmese migrants committed the killing. If it is true, the situation will be more tough for the Burmese workers." Kyaw Thaung, director of the Bangkok-based Myanmar Association in Thailand (MAT), a labor rights group that helps Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, expressed doubts over the police investigation. "The killing on Koh Tao is directly linked to the image of Thailand. So I think they [Thai police] will try to make it that Thai are not committing the crime because it will damage the image of the country," he said. Additional reporting by Kyaw Kha and Lin Thant. The post Burmese Government, Rights Groups Raise Concerns Over Koh Tao Murder Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| New Documentary Highlights Plight of Burmese Migrant Children Posted: 05 Oct 2014 05:22 PM PDT  Burmese migrant children of Good Morning School in Mae Sot, Thailand. (Photo: allyouneedislovedoc.com) "All You Need is Love," a documentary from second-time Scottish director Stuart Cameron, offers a look into the lives of Burmese migrant children at the Good Morning School in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Narrated by Sigourney Weaver, the film's focus on the plight of Burmese migrants is especially timely, as many NGOs increasingly shift their activities inside Burma, leaving refugees and migrants with fewer resources as donor funds dry up. It's a sweet and beautifully shot film that gently introduces the viewer to life on the border, one bright-eyed, adorable student at a time. These are children who take care of and support each other; who learn to get themselves to school before most Western children can put their own shoes on. They laugh and play, but also speak casually of human trafficking and regard unfamiliar vehicles warily while walking to the corner store for sweets. They rise early to study before school and help their parents in the fields when they return home. They dream of a future in which they are doctors, fashion designers, engineers, football players. No one takes education for granted, as they've seen their friends forced to drop out of school to work in factories, fields, and brothels. The film is also a story of mothers—the strong women who dedicate their lives to supporting these children. We meet Paw Ray, a humble Karen schoolteacher who took it upon herself to educate migrant children and now oversees a network of more than 50 schools; Magsaysay Award winner Dr. Cynthia Maung of the Mae Tao clinic, who helps illuminate Burmese migrants' lack of access to state services such as health care; and Erin Terzieff, a Los Angeles-based schoolteacher who has found her life's passion in nurturing and protecting the children of Good Morning School. There's also Oma, the school cook, who feeds more than 120 students (the figure has grown to 300 since the time of filming) each day while struggling to provide food for her own 10 children. The film endeavors to take the viewer on a "journey toward a greater understanding of the human spirit," but it tends to get caught up in the charitable spirit of the Western entities that bestow the school with a new building, pigs and supplies. It warms the heart to see the children receiving these gifts with excitement, appreciation and responsibility, but the show of Western heroism shifts the focus from the children themselves and how they make the best of their situation in the absence of these amenities. The thesis invoked in the documentary's title is at times lost in scenes that instead seem to suggest that "All you need is love … and also, this proper school building donated by Americans." In many ways, however, this is true. A great deal of Burma's untapped potential lies in the talent and ambition of marginalized children like those of Good Morning School. They need international aid to secure basic human rights and the future they deserve. Hopefully, this film will help. "All You Need is Love" premieres Oct. 31 in select theaters in the United States. The post New Documentary Highlights Plight of Burmese Migrant Children appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Building Bamboo Bikes in Burma Posted: 05 Oct 2014 05:00 PM PDT  Jeff and Kristen Parker with the bamboo frame bicycle they built with the help of Brown Bike in Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Photo: Mark Inkey / The Irrawaddy) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — A young American couple have heeded Aung San Suu Kyi's calls for ethical investment in Burma with their plans to set up a community-led company building ecologically sound bamboo bicycle frames in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State. Jeff and Kristen Parker, volunteers who originally went to Myitkyina to teach English, want to train locals to build bamboo bicycle frames and help give them the necessary leadership skills to be able to run the company and train others in the future. They plan to return to the United States after eight months, leaving the locals to their own devices while they help market the frames around the world. The Parkers said that 60 to 80 percent of 18-30-year-olds in Myitkyina are unemployed and many have turned to readily available illicit drugs. "We learned about the problems with unemployment and drug addiction and thought we could provide something. We can partner up with them, creating a local movement that is connected with the outside world so that they can be self-sustaining," Jeff Parker told The Irrawaddy. Jeff, who is a keen cyclist and is interested in the technical aspect of bicycles, came up with the idea of building bamboo bicycle frames after having read about them on the Internet. The couple then researched the feasibility of the idea and devised a plan to sell made-to-measure bamboo frames abroad for US$1,000 each, a competitive price for a bespoke frame. They calculated that they would need to sell 35 frames a year to make the operation self-sustaining. Each $1,000 frame sold pays to employ one person for 38 days; build one more frame for export; and build three complete bamboo framed bicycles for sale to locals at an affordable price. These will be assembled with cheap locally available parts, mainly acquired from rickshaws. Kristen said that building subsidized bicycles would generate local job opportunities, improve workers' frame building skills, and provide cheap bicycles far better in quality than those available at present. Many people in Myitkyina have had their vehicles confiscated during recent crackdowns on illegal vehicles, so the bicycles could also provide an appealing alternative mode of transport. "Eventually we would love to have some sort of cycling team," said Jeff. "There are cycling competitions in Southeast Asia and it would be a cool way to get the Kachin building international connections and getting to know people outside their own community." The Parkers are predominately self-funding the project through money given to them as wedding gifts last May, but they are also using the fundraising website Kickstarter to raise project capital. The first 29 frames ordered through the website will be sold at discounted prices ranging from $300 to $900, depending on how early the order is. Those who obtain the first 20 cheap frames will be asked to provide feedback once a month for one year to help the company tweak the design. The money from the first 20 sales will help fund the full training of five frame builders, including designing the bespoke frames with AutoCAD software and using Jeff's custom built jig to assemble them. It will take one month to fully train each worker. The Parkers already have premises in Myitkyina and have been talking to people there about their plans. Many locals have asked when they will start selecting trainees, but the Parkers said they would not employ anyone until they have enough orders to cover all their initial training costs. They also do not want to disrupt the local economy by paying too much, so they will pay a locally competitive wage and set aside an extra 42 percent that each worker can use for personal development and training. They will also try to employ people representative of the ethnic mix in Myitkyina. The locals will bring their unique skills and knowledge to the project. Without local knowledge about bamboo, Jeff said, "I don't think it would be worth it. This project would not get anywhere without local knowledge." The Parkers' plans are admirable, but they will only work if bamboo makes for good quality bicycle frames. On this point, Kristen has little doubt. "Bamboo is extremely resilient," she said. "It is stronger than carbon fiber and absorbs road vibrations way more than other materials." To be suitable for frames, bamboo must be between two and three years old (locals can tell the age of bamboo just by looking at it) and picked, when it is green, in the dry season. It is then left to dry in the sun for three weeks before being dried with a blowtorch. This turns the bamboo brown and caramelizes the sugar resin around the fibers, turning it into a solid similar to epoxy, which effectively petrifies the bamboo. The frame tubes are then held together with natural joints of hemp twine covered in epoxy and the whole frame is then sealed with lacquer and sanded by hand until a shiny finish is achieved. According to Jeff, metal frames suffer from fatigue and weakness over time, which does not occur with bamboo. He said that research has shown that bamboo frames will last over 20 years if they are built with natural joints—longer than any other kind of frame material. After the Parkers built their first bamboo frame, they refined their technique with further study in Chiang Mai, Thailand, under the instruction of Oat, a Thai bamboo frame maker who has been making his Brown Bike brand of bamboo frames for several years. Now that the Parkers have all the necessary knowledge and tools to start producing bamboo frames in Myitkyina, they just need the first orders to filter in. To order one of the first discounted bamboo frames, make a donation or obtain further information about the project, visit Jeff and Kristen's Kickstarter page at Burma Bike Partnership. The post Building Bamboo Bikes in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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