Mae Sot greeted a special guest late last week, Laura Bush. I was not overtly surprised to hear this news because she has always been a major advocate for peace in Burma. For example, after the cyclone that hit here in May, she became the voice of the administration when addressing the humanitarian crisis. The First Lady also seems to have a special bond with Aung San Suu Kyi, the female democracy leader who is under house arrest and who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. For these reasons, Laura Bush made a stop in Mae Sot, during the administration’s tour of Asia that coincided with the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. She first delivered aid to Doctor Cynthia’s prominent Mae Tao Clinic, a place where Burmese migrants can obtain free health care. From there, the First Lady traveled to a local refugee camp, to examine the camp’s conditions and again disperse aid. She also used this opportunity to make formal statements in an attempt to assure the stateless refugees and migrants that the west has not forgotten about them and that the United States is doing everything it can to bring peace, stability and democracy to Burma. Though encouraging it may have been to hear Mrs. Bush say this, many are skeptical to believe her promises can be fulfilled without actions, as the ruling junta has been deaf to the words of the west for far too long.
She was only in town for a few hours, yet her presence shut down Mae Sot for the entire day. We had to close our office because of the increase of Thai authorities that accompanied her, as we can not risk a potential raid the organization’s Burmese concentrated location. Just a few weeks ago, Thai officials rounded up 250 Burmese refugees and migrants to transport them back into Burma. Consequently, just about every other related NGO in Mae Sot was forced to follow suit. Because of the inconveniences that were created to facilitate Laura’s visit, many in the field here were upset that the First Lady would come here, as many claimed the visit was to strengthen her image or that she could have just sent a check in the mail. However, most of these criticisms came from international expats who dislike American Foreign Policy. I think her visit was important because she was able to take the situation in Burma and put back into international news. I also think the visit validates her sincerity to the issue because she her history as a pro Burma advocate. This aside, her visit gives hope to those suffering in Burma, showing that the world cares and that the victims should not give up.
A few days after Laura Bush’s visit, Mae Sot then welcomed the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana. This was an important moment for the NGOs here because no other special rapporteur had ever come to Mae Sot. Quintana spent a week in Burma meeting with junta officials and examining the human rights situation to the best of his ability. So after his visit there, he came to Mae Sot to have a panel discussion with the NGOs, in which we all shared our information and discussed strategies to solve Burma’s human rights problem. As our organization mediated his visit, we also had the opportunity to personally deliver the 2007 Burma Human Rights Yearbook to him. It was exciting to have reached our deadline in order to have presented our project to the UN when their representatives were here.
So, with all this commotion going on around Mae Sot, life has been very busy. Unfortunately too, I am entering my final week of work before heading to China on the 29th. It is going to be sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially since I have become so close to our local staff. Thus, it will be a tough week, yet very busy, since I still need to complete a couple of projects including a training seminar I am leading on the international norms of children’s rights for an upcoming project we are doing. I will be sure to let you know how it all wraps up.
Talk to ya soon! GO USA!
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