The people of Burma has suffered from countless human rights abuses since the military regime took over the government in 1968. Inflation, forced labour, low wages, rising unemployment, violence and injustice are now a common occurence in Burma. The Burmese people have been leaving their homeland for nearly six decades now, in search of refuge in neighbouring countries like Thailand. Most of them are comprised of the indigenous people and minorities living at the border who are at a great risk of violence at the hands of the military.
HRIEB founder, Myo, symbolically has Burmese freedom on his back
As statistics stand, there are more than 3000 Burmese refugees and temporary IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) at the border between Thailand and Burma. Other asylum seekers flee towards the borders of Laos, India, China, and Cambodia. These undocumented migrants face a lot of problems and are exploited for cheap labour while constantly living in fear of deportation. Local people do not understand the reason behind why there are Burmese refugees in Thailand, and the media often depict them in a negative light; Burmese refugees and asylum seekers become scapegoats for crimes and a means for nationalist advancements in host countries.
Burma has the highest number of child soldiers. These children are kidnapped from the safety of their homes and forced into the military. As the numbers stand, there are more than 300,000 child soldiers and this number is increasing each year. It has been said that the military prefers to use children because they are “more docile and less resistant”.
Thailand has no clear long-term policy towards Burmese migrants. It changes with the change in government. He says that previous government’s policies were more tolerant than the current one that requires migrants to bring a temporary passport as proof of their nationality. Previously, the undocumented migrants were all housed at refugee camps, but recent years have seen the government allowing them to integrate within the Thai society and allowing them to work to make a proper living. The inconsistencies of policy decisions shows that Thailand is not willing to commit to helping the Burmese refugees in the long run, nor continuously help fight for their rights.
Saya Aung Myo Min is an exile from Burma, who took part in the democratic uprising in 1988, which was organised by university students and subsequently resulted in a mass crackdown and a stricter regime. Forced to leave the country, Myo Min registered with the United Nations Human Rights Commisioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which led to them granting him the status of refugee. Saya Aung Myo Min then co-founded the Human Rights Education Institute for Burmese (HREIB) in 2000, a organization that has tried and still tries to cultivate a human rights culture among the disallusioned Burmese who are exposed to numerous human rights abuse. The organization also assists Burmese migrants in Thailand.
HREIB targets the Burmese people themselves, using creative methods to change and open their minds to the concept of human rights and how to view violence as an abuse rather than just a daily phenomenon. They strive for a social transformation, to inculcate human rights awareness into every aspect of daily lives and to achieve this, they target community elders and leaders hoping to create a ripple effect. HREIB is actively pursuing three projects – women’s rights to combat domestic violence and rape, children’s rights to combat child trafficking and child soldiers of which Burma is reported to have the highest rate; and rights for the sexual minorities.
HREIB has many activists within and outside of Burma. In order to achieve a social transformation, Saya Aung Myo Min explained that coordination between the different agents was vital. Every year, HREIB has a meeting to discuss success stories, problems, to catch up with local news, and discuss government policies and upcoming threats.
HREIB faces many obstacles in their struggles; obstacles which are invisible to the UN Security Council table who remain quiet to protect their own national interests in Burma. Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a multilateral regional institution prefers to focus on economic growth and dare not interfere with the Burmese government out of respect of its rhetoric of non-intervention. Also, some of HREIB members at the border were assassinated and the assassins could not be located. All these increase their risk and vulnerability for the Burmese people within and outside the country, but Saya Aung Myo Min is still determined to push on. He says that he wants to tell his people not to leave, but to stay and fight.
Saya Aung Myo Min sees a positive vision for the future as he feels that his efforts are slowly but surely bearing fruit. The programs organized by HREIB are slowly gaining momentum and he says that the childrens’ program is the most successful as children are more receptive whereas the women’s program is the most difficult seeing as most men do not see domestic abuse as abuse at all but rather the norm.
In Burma, on the other hand, the public is becoming more vocal about their disappointments and is showing resistance against human right abuse in Burma is on the rise. Saya Aung Myo Min feels that there is still hope for freedom for the Burmese, and that one day, he will return home.
"Never Give Up" reflects the efforts of
the organization 22 years after their earliest, most turbulent days
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