Reaching Out to Migrant Children

With a little support, children of migrant workers can go a long way in their education

By: STORY PICHAYA SVASTI PHOTOS YINGYONG UN-ANONGRAK

In a school storage room-turned-classroom, nearly 70 Burmese children of different ages are studying side by side, focusing on different subjects, but as one in their determination to get an education.

Burmese migrant students at the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)’s learning centre in Ranong during a Thai language lesson.

Due to limited space and teachers, one group _ kindergarten to Grade 3 pupils and another group _ Grade 4 to 6 students _ are seated together. At noon, they share lunch and play with each other. This is what happens during every school day at Bang Klang centre _ one of six learning centres for Burmese children in Ranong supported by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS).

''I study Thai, English, Burmese and maths here. My favourite subject is Thai language. We don't have to pay tuition fees. We get one uniform and textbooks for free each year,'' reported 13-year-old Bo, a sixth grader at Bang Klang learning centre situated on the premises of Ban Bang Klang School in the town district of Ranong.

It is one of the six centres supported by JRS, a Catholic organisation that assists refugees in over 50 countries, to give head-start education to some 800 migrant children in Ranong under the guidance of 29 Burmese and Thai teachers.

The centres are open from Monday to Friday. At each centre, Burmese teachers teach mathematics, science, English and Burmese language based on Burma's primary school curriculum while two Thai teachers teach the basics of Thai language every day.

Last year, the JRS started offering occupational training on traditional massage, cooking, dressmaking and mechanical skills. Art, music, dance and sports are also taught at the centres.

In Ranong, there are approximately 200,000 migrants and 100,000 Thais, according to provincial statistics quoted by a JRS officer. A JRS report states that most migrants in Ranong are members of Burma's Mon ethnic minority. Migrant workers usually work in the fishing industry, most of them illegally, which makes them vulnerable to exploitation and deportation.

Their children either followed them from Burma or were born here in Thailand. Most of these youngsters have to live tough lives, lacking proper care, guidance and education. They are at risk of involvement in narcotics, crime, smuggling and prostitution, which could affect the Thai community in Ranong.

Therefore, JRS reaches out to migrant workers and their families in Ranong by supporting education for migrant children and providing practical assistance for vulnerable migrant workers.

In 2002, the JRS initiated the learning centre programme after recognising the difficulties migrant children face in attending Thai schools. It helps build and maintain community-based learning centres, support teachers salaries, provide school uniforms, books and sporting gear, and grant scholarships to outstanding students to study in Thai schools.

Since 2006, the programme has added the learning of Thai language in order to prepare Burmese children to attend Thai schools. Teaching Thai language is an effort to enable the youngsters to communicate in Thai, adjust to Thai culture and choose to further their studies in Thai schools.

Lunchtime.

So far, 132 graduates from the centres in Ranong have been admitted to Thai schools and one to a Thai university.

''Without education, these youngsters might become troublemakers, such as drug addicts and the homeless. This project can more or less ease burdens for the

[Thai] government,'' said project coordinator Sister Prapatsorn Srivorakun.

Thiha Soe, chief of the JRS Bang Klang learning centre who has been teaching here for five years, said that several students are poor and physically frail. Some of them are orphans whose mothers died and fathers are jobless. The centre also helps find jobs for their parents and coordinates medical treatment for the ill.

Here at Bang Klang learning centre, the Burmese students do everything Thai students at Ban Bang Klang School do. They sing the Thai national anthem, attend classes from 9am until 3:30pm, play games and sports with Thai schoolmates and assist school activities.

It is the same story at the Pak Klong learning centre, which accommodates 200 Burmese students.

Nual, a teacher of almost seven years at this centre, said the children all like studying Thai so they help their parents with the translation, especially when they go to the hospitals.

A Prathom 4 student, Si Tanta, 12, said, ''All my teachers are kind. When we have no money, we will tell our teachers and they will help us.''

Her classmate Isa, 13, has been studying here since age 7. She is lucky enough that her fisherman father and food vendor mother want her to continue her studies.

''Many children have to work and study at the same time. Some of them have to drop out of school to help their parents' work,'' the girl said.

So far, more than 100 Burmese students from the JRS-supported centres have moved to Thai schools to further their studies. One of them is 15-year-old Thevakul Famai.Among them are Karuna Famai, Thevakul Famai and Somchai Rangsan, Prathom 2 students at Ban Bang Klang School.

''I like this school. Teachers teach very well and I have a lot of Thai friends. My teachers take good care of me. First, I could not read Thai, but they tried hard to teach me until I can.''

With a book on the Thai alphabet.

Three of them are from poor working class families, but they are happy and love their lives in the school. They cherish unity and sharing among Thai and Burmese friends.

Visit Junrungratsamee, director of Ban Bang Klang School, said the migrant and Thai children have no problems at all getting along with one another. Some even think of themselves as Thai-Burmese.

Ban Bang Klang School first allowed the JRS to use its storage room as a learning centre for migrant children in 2004. The number of students at the centre has risen from 30 to over 60.

According to Visit, the school has long admitted Burmese youngsters whose parents work in Ranong. At present, there are both Burmese and Thai students in every class here and all of them benefit from computer and English conversation courses sponsored by the JRS for the entire school. The JRS also helps Burmese students at its learning centres to further studies in Thai schools by requesting 13-digit identity numbers from Thai authorities for use in registration.

Like her friends, Bo plans to move from the learning centre to Ban Bang Klang School next year. However, she will have to restart at Prathom 1 level, which reflects a misunderstanding in Thai education circles.

Surapong Kongchantuk, vice-chairperson of the Human Rights Sub-Committee on Ethnic Minorities, State less, Migrant Workers and Displaced Persons, which is under the Lawyers' Council of Thailand's umbrella, explained that children of migrant workers have the right to attend Thai schools from kindergarten to Mathayom 6 level with no need to start over at the lowest level.

According to him, the National Education Bill, the ministerial regulation on student admissions and a 2005 cabinet resolution all guarantee children the right to schooling and to have educational certificates whether they are Thais or non-Thais. Also, the Education Ministry's regulation of February 7, 2007 allows the transfer of credits from former schools.

Nipa Laithai, 12, is one such student who benefits from that regulation. Born in Kawthaung, Burma, she came to Thailand with her father when she was only one month old. After attending a JRS learning centre, she moved to Ranong Mitraphap 60 school three years ago.

According to the JRS, its policy is to continue supporting migrant children to study in Thai mainstream schools so they can attain higher education and have better life opportunities as well as social integration. One Burmese student from Ban Bang Klang School is already studying in a Thai university.

''After completing our programme, our Burmese students will either further their studies or work. Even when they do not continue studying, they have the advantage of speaking, reading and writing Thai. At least they can work as translators at hospitals or factories,'' said teacher Mali Hakman at Ban Bang Klang School.

Nipa Laithai hopes that will not happen to her. Last year, the 12-year-old won 1st prize in Ranong's English-language speech contest and 4th prize in the regional competition.

''And my parents have promised to support my education until the university level,'' she said with high hopes.

Information for donations:

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), PO Box 49 Sanam Pao Post Office Bangkok 10406.

Contact Sister Siriluck Suwapap, Ranong Project Director. Call 077-826262, email siriosu1@jrs.or.th or visit www.jrs.or.th.

Savings Account: Ban Bang Klang School's Government Savings Bank's Ranong branch. Account number: 08-6201-20-040477-4

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Aglow in Buddha's embrace

City of gold ... the temple-studded plains of Bagan. Photo: iStock


As Burma slowly opens up to the world, its spectacular, sacred monuments are on show, writes Steve Tauschke.

A land of ancient kingdoms, bejewelled temples and devout monks, Burma is besotted with Buddhism. It boasts Asia's most dedicated Buddhists with almost 90 per cent of its 45 million inhabitants observing the philosophy.

Everywhere, tangible expressions of Burmese piety and generosity can be found, most notably in the innumerable religious monuments that dot the landscape. And, as the country slowly opens up to the world and embraces a restricted form of tourism after decades of self-imposed isolation, these sacred treasures can now be experienced by visitors. A word of advice a relaxed itinerary is a must.

Holiest of Burma's Buddhist sites and a must-see for tourists is the stunning Shwedagon Pagoda, situated atop Singutarra Hill in the capital, Rangoon. Reputedly built about 500BC as a protective repository for eight locks of Buddha's hair, Shwedagon is steeped in myth and legend, dominating the city's skyline with its blazing 100-metre-tall bell-shaped stupa.

The country's most important Buddhist icon, it is plated with 60 tonnes of gold leaf and topped by a shimmering orb encrusted with more than 4000 diamonds. It is easy to understand why Rudyard Kipling dubbed Shwedagon "the winking wonder". Pilgrims are expected to pay homage here at least once in their life. With 400,000 monks and 75,000 nuns in Burma, Shwedagon can get crowded.

The temple complex is ringed by four ornate arched entrances, one of which boasts an escalator installed specifically for the former royal family. The east gate has the most colourful ambience, flanked by vendor stalls offering a multitude of monastic requisites; flowers, candles, ivory combs, ceremonial parasols and the traditional zee gwet owl-like figurines thought to bring good luck.

Strolling the wide marble terrace that rings the pagoda, I feel like I've entered a dreamy religious fairytale. Among the clusters of smaller temples, statues and pavilions, the spiritual energy is almost palpable.

I watch as maroon-robed monks gather at prayer stations to pay their respects. Following age-old rhythms, they rub meditation beads and chant Buddhism's noble truths: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (suffering) and anatta (no self, no soul, no ego).

Respected as healers, teachers and community leaders, monks of the Buddhist priesthood are known collectively as the Sangha and occupy the highest echelon in Burma's social hierarchy. Not surprisingly, the country's monks initiated and led the barefoot march of 100,000 peaceful protesters through Rangoon during 2007's pro-democracy demonstrations. Several paid with their lives at the hands of Burma's military junta. Many were imprisoned.

In a nearby prayer hall lies an eight-metre Reclining Buddha. A senior monk, Tezinda, quietly explains the posture of the deity. "Buddha is resting because he is tired from fixing all the problems in the world," he says. He offers a few words of wisdom I will never forget. "Rangoon is a British town. Mandalay is a Burmese town. Go to Mandalay there you will find L.O.V.E," he says with a sweet smile. Strange advice from a monk but then Burma is a place that keeps tossing up surprises.

Six hundred kilometres further north along the fabled road to Mandalay is the country's second city and its main monastic centre, home to more than 20,000 monks who come to study Tripitaka (Three Baskets), the canon of Buddhist literature. Surrounding Mandalay lie the remains of Sagaing, Amarapura and Mingun, all former royal capitals and now religious centres.

I opt for a visit to Mingun Paya, a one-hour journey by slow boat up the mighty Ayeyarwady River. In 1790, King Bodawpaya arrived here with 20,000 slaves and set about building what was to be the world's largest Buddhist temple. But after 25 years he ran out of money and upon his death a short time later, construction was halted and the site abandoned. Only the 50-metre stone foundation about one third of the project's intended height was completed. A few years later, in 1838, the base was further damaged by an earthquake, reducing it to partial rubble.

Fittingly, locals now refer to the monument as Patodawgyi, or 'unfinished' pagoda since the king's children steadfastly refused to release the funds to realise their father's grandiose dream. Solid to the core, the structure's immense oblong mass is roughly the area of a soccer field. 11 Its ruins are a playground for bats, children and pink-robed nuns who sit beneath parasols while puffing on cheroots. Donations of kyat to their alm bowls are met with toothy smiles.

Despite its decrepit state, the monument remains sacred to the Burmese who insist all visitors must remove their shoes and climb barefoot. Atop the paya, the bricks are hot and buckled, not the place to be without your sandals. Still, up here is to experience Burma at its most picturesque: the palm-cuffed Ayeyarwady, the thatched huts and bullock carts of the Mingun village and the gold-tipped pagodas on the surrounding plains.

Within easy reach is a purpose-built tazaung (small pavilion), resting place for the 90-tonne Mingun Bell, the largest bell in existence and intended as the paya's crowning glory. With a small log in hand, I scamper below to gong the bell for a unique surround-sound experience.

After a lunch of cow belly claypot and mango juice, I take a ferry ride south-west along the Ayeyarwady to the city-state of Bagan, considered one of the world's holiest cities along with Varanasi and Jerusalem with its 40-square-kilometre archaeological zone containing 4000 Buddhist shrines, temples and zedis.

When Theravada Buddhism was introduced into Burma by Indian traders in the 11th century, King Anawrahta was so taken with the concept it sparked a spate of pagoda-building in Bagan, formerly Pagan, that would continue for 2 ½ centuries, cementing the township as the nerve centre of ancient Burmese culture.

Eventually sacked in 1287 by Kublai Khan's Mongol armies, who destroyed all but a few thousand sandstone monuments, Bagan's heritage-listed monuments have now been beautifully restored, providing local jobs for artisans, painters and wood-carvers.

The humble bicycle is a convenient and accessible way to explore the area. Hired horse buggies are also available, as is hot air ballooning for those seeking an aerial perspective. To best soak up old Bagan's humid charm is to simply drift lazily among its monuments, marvelling at the myriad gothic, Buddhist and pyramidic-style iconography on display, no two of which are alike.

Built in about 1090, the Ananda temple is a white-washed masterpiece of early Mon architecture that houses four 10-metre standing Buddhas, each cast in gold. And if you look carefully, the facial expression of one of the deities appears to change from one of serenity to frustration. Nearby, the towering 60-metre-high Thatbyinnyu pagoda is Bagan's largest, a fabulous example of a two-storey Burmese zedi built in the 12th century.

Most important of all Bagan's temples, however, is the Shwezigon pagoda with its dazzling bell-shaped gold stupa and 37 nat (spirit) images occupying a tiny hall. The site of a pagoda festival every October, this temple contains the city's last bronze Buddha statue whose left palm is held outwards in the abhaya mudra (position), depicting no fear.

For a commanding sunset view, I climb a larger temple while leading Pied Piper-like an entourage of chirping children whose faces are smeared in thanaka, white bark paste worn as skin conditioner. As the sun slides below the horizon, we share an unforgettable panorama of pagoda silhouettes.

Leaving Bagan's treasures behind, I venture south by local bus to the fabled Golden Rock, near the Mon State town of Bago about 100 kilometres east of Rangoon. One of the country's most revered religious monuments, this remarkable balancing boulder-shrine rests precariously on a cliff-top, crowned by a small gilded stupa.

Locals know it as Kyaiktiyo, the literal Sanskrit meaning "pagoda shouldered on the head of a hermit", believing that a carefully strung lock of Buddha's hair stored in the stupa balances the four-tonne rock in place, preventing it from toppling into the valley below.

Until recently, Kyaiktiyo was off-limits to foreigners. However the Burmese Government's new push for tourism has changed that. Diesel-engine tray trucks now ferry a growing number of domestic and overseas visitors up the mountain, a rough gear-crunching ascent from Kinpun base camp nine kilometres below.

Preferring to stretch my legs, I take the "pilgrim's path", a three-hour scenic mountain trek that passes through jungle villages lined with vendors hawking animal bones, herbal elixirs and toy machine guns made of bamboo.

The climb is an arduous one so hikers are encouraged to catch their breath at the various zayats (small resthouses) given such appropriate names as Shweyin (Suffocated in the Chest) and Po-Pyan Tuang (Grandpa's Retreat). On the summit, Kyaiktiyo is bathed in the sun's golden rays, beckoning like a giant granitoid jewel.

At its base, monks with freshly shaved heads gather to recite mantras and affix gold leaf to the rock's surface so as to attain kusala (spiritual merit). It is thought by pressing leaves onto the shrine, prayers will stick.

On the surrounding terrace, I join a group of women who burn sweet-smelling incense and offer fruit to Buddha. It is here, at the end of my journey, I wonder if it would be possible to remain in Burma much longer without becoming a devotee myself. I suspect not.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/aglow-in-buddhas-embrace-20090604-bwl8.html?page=-1

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