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"All of us can support this dream"

Raising the Voices of Burma's People

by Charm Tong, as told to Ramya Ramanathan

For us—the women of Burma—we know that we are not alone. The messages of solidarity from the international community keep us going. They keep us working together, believing that one day there will be change in Burma.

I was born in the conflict areas in Shan State where the Burmese military still continues to ruthlessly attack people. When I was young, my parents, recognizing the danger, sent me to the Thai-Burma border for safety. I was put on a donkey and sent to the border with our neighbors. I consider myself to be very lucky. I grew up in an orphanage house where I could go to school, learn, and have at least a nine-year basic education. Being separated from my family was not unique; there were many children at the school who were orphaned as well.

Growing up on the border, we heard many stories about the regime killing people, confiscating land, raping women, among other terrible tales. In 1998, when I was 16, I knew I had to do something, anything—I wanted to hear the voices of the people, most of who have lived in fear for more than 50 years. I joined the Shan Human Rights Foundation because I wanted to learn about the lives of other women, as well as the lives of the migrant workers and refugees who fled their homelands.

Educating for Change

In 1999, together with 40 other women along the Thai-Burma border, we founded the Shan Women Action Network (SWAN). Through community-based actions, research, and advocacy, we work for gender equality and justice for women in the struggle for social and political change.

Shan are not recognized as refugees by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and therefore cannot officially access basic support such as food, shelter, education, and health. And yet, refugees continue to cross the border everyday. One border on the Shan State in Northern Thailand reportedly has 1,000 people crossing every month. In the months that there is heavy fighting and persecution, even more refugees flee into the border areas.

Many of these refugees are children. Without papers they cannot go to school and they usually end up as migrant workers. Through SWAN, we run about 16 schools for more than 2,000 children. We teach these children basic literacy, provide community health education, and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and reproductive health among displaced people along the Thai-Burma border.

Young people are not a priority in the eyes of the regime. Universities are closed; there is no food, no place to live. Together with other refugee youth from Shan State, we founded a school and train young people on democracy, human and women's rights, English language skills, and basic photography and Internet skills. Since 2001, we have had 220 graduates. Many of these graduates are active in women's organizations, some do international advocacy, and others risk their lives and go back to their homeland to document abuses and do community development work from the inside. It is encouraging to us that more and more young people are joining the social and political movement in Burma.

Empowering Women, Addressing the Violence

Rape has been, and continues to be, used systematically against women in the Shan State and other ethnic areas in Burma. In 2002, SWAN and the Shan Human Rights Foundation jointly released a report "License to Rape," detailing how more than 620 women and girls had been raped. The regime is using rape to terrorize and demoralize the local community.

This violence is very much compounded by Burma's neighboring countries' interest in our rich natural resources such as timber, jade, and gas. Our people do not have any voice in terms of their own natural resources and they are made more vulnerable by so-called development projects such as the building of dams, mining, and extracting natural gas. The military comes in and forces people to provide food and labor and build the base for these projects. The increased militarization just means more human rights abuses and more rape for the women.

We have highlighted the use of systematic rapes in ethnic areas in Burma, so the world will hear the voices of the women and know is really happening on the ground. It is painful each time they talk about rape, and yet they speak so that one day such violence will end. For this, we must all look at rape survivors not as victims but as defenders of human rights.

And yet, in spite of the detailed reports where evidence of rape has been clearly outlined, the military still continues to deny that the troops have committed crimes and rapes against women. They even released a report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) last year, and denied that any of this happened.

Exposing the Truth: Cyclone Nargis

We are all deeply saddened by the impact of Cyclone Nargis on the people of Burma and by the regime blocking and delaying aid for people who are dying day by day. It has been over a month since the cyclone hit, and we are extremely concerned about the health and well being of the people of Burma. We have to continue to expose what is happening on the ground.

It wasn't until one month after the cyclone hit, and only after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon demanded access, that the regime allowed some international aid agencies into Burma to administer relief and aid. And, in so many areas there is evidence that this aid never reached many of the people in need. There are even reports that the regime is selling the aid to the markets for profit.

What kind of a signal does this give? That the regime is trying to hold onto its power at the expense of the Burmese people.

There is speculation that this cyclone could be the catalyst for change in Burma, but the evidence clearly shows that the reality is that the regime is using this disaster to its own benefit.

On May 27, instead of freeing Aung San Suu Kyi, they extended her house arrest by another year. On May 24, they held elections in the cyclone hit area and reported that an overwhelming number of people—more than 92.4%—voted for them. They continue to harass the monks, and, just recently, one of Burma's famous comedians, Zargana, who has been helping the affected people in the delta area, was arrested immediately after condemning the regime for not providing aid to victims of the cyclone. Political prisoners remain imprisoned, and, to this day, the leaders who won the 1990 elections are in prison for terms of 96 years or 105 years without proper medical care.

The Way Forward

In the face of all this, we have to continue to voice our concerns and work with people on all levels. We must continue to show that one day our people can return home and enjoy peace and freedom. We believe that our work is accumulating. We still have hope. We know that there are many challenges, but with the support of our networks and community, we must continue to fight against injustice and work to build the capacity of our people.

I would like to see a tripartite dialogue between the National League for Democracy in Burma, the ethnic groups' representatives and State Peace and Development Council. And we have to continue to put pressure and advocate for change on local and international levels.

We need real and coordinated action to put pressure on Burma's regime to come to dialogue. We know that other countries are aware of the political situation, and yet, so many countries have economic, business, and investment interests in Burma through the regime. This economic support only further funds the regime's atrocities. We want countries to review their policies of business and trade engagement. We need to see concrete action from neighboring countries; we need them to speak and to act. And I think ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) can do more than they are currently doing.

Our people want to return home and live in peace; they want to live freely without fear of the regime knocking on their doors. They ask that they are left alone; they ask that the military and the soldiers retreat.

During the September 2007 uprising, the monks, women, and defenders of a free Burma all held hands. Today, the movement for democracy in Burma is still growing, despite the regime's attempts to suppress the movement by continuing to imprison politicians and student leaders.

When I listen to the stories of our people, my people who have lost and sacrificed almost everything in their lives, I hear them fighting to speak, fighting to survive, and fighting to find ways to work together to bring about change. All of us in the international community can support this dream and the hopes of our people.

I call everyone to action. I call on everyone to continue lobbying your governments to put pressure on the Burmese military regime, to liaise with the Burma groups in their own countries, and to support our initiatives, campaigns and activities. All of us can support this dream for a change in Burma. That is what we want to see, a strengthened, growing movement.