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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Quots of Mon Leaders

Nai Non Lar (1918-1990) Former Vice Chairman of NMSP

"Must say and die in front of the state."

Nai Shwe Kyin (1913-2003) Former Chairman of NMSP

"Our aim is to reclaim the traditional and historical homeland of the Mon people which was conquered by the Burmese in 1757 and which did not receive its own rights after independence from Great Britain in 1948."

Nai Htin (1921-2005) Former Chairman of NMSP

"The most thing that our enemy afraid is our unity."

General Htaw Mon (Chairman of New Mon Sate Party)

"Before we achieve our aim, we never surrender and retreat."

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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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Dilemma of cyclone victims on the rise in Irrawaddy Delta

by Asohn Vi

The dilemmas of survivors of Cyclone Nargis in the Irrawaddy Delta seem to grow everyday, even as meaningless restrictions prohibiting the movement of people from the cyclone-hit areas into Southern Burma are enforced daily. These people are escaping in search of jobs and better living conditions, in an effort to improve their lives and flee from their cyclone ravaged villages

Over 1,34,000 people were killed and around 2.4 million people have been rendered homeless by Cyclone Nargis, which lashed Burma on May 2. International aid agencies have estimated that of those severely affected 90 per cent were women and children.

On June 12, the Junta's Home Affairs Department issued orders for an increase in the number of guards on the Sittaung Bridge to check all IDs and stop potential Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from moving away from the Irrawaddy Division. Sittaung Bridge is the only way to travel from Irrawaddy Division to Southern Burma and is situated at a distance of 100 miles from Rangoon, the former capital of Burma. This new checkpoint stops all travellers to Mon and Karen states and has been set up just a few days ago, following a directive from the authorities to local policemen and army soldiers in the area.

Given the lack of jobs in Irrawaddy Delta, Kyaw Naing was attempting to seek a better life with his family, when he was stopped and checked at the Sittaung checkpoint and subsequently ordered to return to Pegu by the authorities. On the way, however, he was able to sneak away and managed to reach Southern Burma, where he contacted our correspondent. His story revealed the appalling treatment meted out to ordinary civilians, who have already suffered loss and tragedy in the past few weeks. Kyaw Naing was unable to understand why the authorities arrested him and treated him like a thief or criminal when his only 'crime' was attempting to escape from the cyclone-hit Delta region.

"I am wondering why the authorities were preventing us. I just tried to move to another region to gain some sustenance for myself. We did not break the law and we are not thieves, although they treated us as though we were," a 22 year-old man said. Kyaw Naing and six other relatives came from a village in Pyapon Township, one of the areas in the Irrawaddy Delta worst hit by the cyclone. After being imprisoned for one night at the Sittaung checkpoint they were moved to Pegu and ordered to go back to their village.

"But now I feel I should not be afraid of them (the authorities) because this is also my country," said Kyaw Naing on June 15 as he reached Mudon Township alone, which is 18 miles from the capital of Mon state.

There are clear steps being taken now that seem aimed at killing the survivors of Cyclone Nargis, according to a Mae Sot-based aid group. "The military junta should not prevent survivors from re-locating because this is their own country. The junta must take full responsibility of helping the victims," said Nai Okkar Mon, Secretary of the Mon National League for Consolidating and Aiding based in Mae Sot, Thailand. He went on to say that some survivors had fled to the closest border town after six weeks without aid, which is not surprising given the junta's continuous refusal of access to international aid agencies, alongside their continuous prevention of basic materials from reaching millions of cyclone victims.

Recently, the Junta has been offering Kyat 10,000 to villagers in an effort to clear out the IDP camps and demonstrate to the world the success of their alleged clean up. The amount of 10,000 Kyat is equivalent to enough money for rice for an average family for two days. Villagers who did not accept the money for fear of returning home are being forced to return to their destroyed homes, although the Junta claims their return is voluntary. Six weeks after the disaster most destroyed villages remain the way they were shortly after the disaster, the stench of decay is strong as bodies lie strewn across fields.

An assessment issued by the US Department of Agriculture last week said, "Farmers (in cyclone-affected areas of Burma) are yet to be supplied with sufficient food, viable seed, tools, livestock or replacement tillers and fuel," and the area affected by the cyclone, "normally accounts for roughly 60 percent of Burma's rice production." The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said some 52,000 farmers in Burma's cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta would not be able to grow a 2008 rainy season rice crop, unless they were supplied with farming equipment and seeds within the next two months.

The ill-treatment meted out to travellers is not confined to those moving away from cyclone-affected regions. On the way by train to southern Burma, northerners were subjected to many kinds of intimidation by the armed train-guards but were nonetheless allowed to travel provided they were able to pay bribes as asked. According to Kyaw Naing's brother Min Min, who arrived at a rubber plantation in Mudon on June 10 after a 350 mile journey across Mon State, "Policemen checked our group and took us to their Chief who asked us rhetorically, 'Are you all going ahead to the border town or to Thailand?' We showed our approval for temporarily staying in the border town and he fined us 600 Kyat per person."

Many people left from the Irrawaddy Delta after Cyclone Nargis washed out the region. Many have fled to southern Burma and border towns with these areas being their only hope of liberation from starvation. "We cannot plant paddy there and we do not have money for food during the plantation. It is not possible to start again without long-term support because we have lost all our resources. I know that there is a much better life here than in the Irrawaddy delta," Min Min told Kaowao's correspondent. There are more than 40 job seekers including women and children around Min's work field and all of them would like to work in Thailand if possible.

Given the harsh plight and precarious conditions after Cyclone Nargis, the number of illegal migrants may rise in Thailand, with many refugees from border towns ready for an influx, commented a Human Right Group in exile. Of all foreign illegal migrant workers in Thailand 75 percent are from Burma and the rest from Lao and Cambodia. Most of them work in the so-called '4D jobs', meaning Dirty, Demanding, Degrading and Dangerous with uncertain and low wages, poor conditions and no time off.

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A Black Tuesday for a Fallen Kingdom

by Asohn Vi, Photo by Taio Tyson & Asohn Vi

According to the Mon lunar calendar Kason Waning Day 8 of the year 1119, this coming Tuesday, May 27th is a black day for Mon people. It is the 251st Hongsawatoi Fallen Day, the Anniversary of the fall of their Kingdom. On this day the Mon people remember and pray for the enormous loss of over 70,000 of their nation including Buddhist monks, royal family members, leaders, ministers, soldiers, children, women and other innocent people executed in the genocide of 1757.

Beginning a few years ago, this day is commemorated by Mon communities worldwide, and deep inside Burma. In the Mon Kingdom of Bago, also known as Begu, where much of the Mon nation was originally based, Hongsawatoi Fallen Day is commemorated with a memorial prayer service started by overseas Mon and monks. Hongsawatoi Fallen Day is a common day for all Mon join in on the ceremony and prayer services, and is as widely attended as other important dates on the Mon calendar, including Mon National Day.

Mon organizations in South Korea will hold their prayer service for their Kingdom’s Fallen Day on May 26th, in Australia on the 24th May while places in Thailand and inside Burma will spend Tuesday the 27th of May honoring their fallen kingdom. The ceremony inside Burma will be mostly led by monks and youth, and held at their temple or pagoda as a candlelight vigil. Mon organizations in the United States staged a demonstration near the UN Headquarters in New York to mark the Mon Kingdom’s Fallen Day while other Mon groups worldwide held services praying for their nation which passed away over 250 years ago. Many prayers focused on not having to face such a genocidal incident again in the future, and lighting candles for a brighter life for future generations.

The music album of ‘The 250th Anniversary of Hongsawatoi Fallen Day’, sung by famous Mon singers, was released late in December 2007 after the publication of a commemorative magazine, while overseas Mon produced a video on May 22nd that collated images from previous ceremonies and prayer services around the world.

“We are determined for our new generations to know about our Mon people. We want them to know that we had our own country for a long time, but that on this day over 250 years ago we lost our self determination,” said Nai Layeh Rot, a member from the Committee for 250th Hongsawatoi Fallen Day.

The Mon are one of the oldest of the various inhabitants of Burma, and have marked their place in South East Asia with a powerful historical background.

Burman King U Aung Ze Ya conquered the Mon Kingdom, Hongsawatoi in lower part of Burma, ruled by Banyaedala in 1757 and subsequently seized their wealth and riches, burnt the historical golden palace, and raped, tortured and killed the Mon people. History books written on old Mon palm leaves and western historians’ documentary books on the History of Rangoon and the Mon, or the Civilization of South East Asia, all document the Burman King’s plans to uproot the Mon nationality and kill all Mon people.

In his book ‘The Mons: A Civilization of South East Asia’, Guilon Emmanuel wrote:

“His majesty Aung Zeya was of a very fierce and cruel disposition and made no account at all of life. He put to death many monks, and their iron alms bowls, and silk robes were taken away, and the homespun robes were made into foot mats. Of some they made pillows, of some they made belts, and of some they made sails The monks’ robes were scattered all over land and water.”

He pointed out how foreigners expressed their eyewitness accounts of mass-executions of Mon monks in Rangoon in 1755 before Burman King U Aung Zeya overthrew Hongsawatoi. Successive Burman-dominated governments never wrote the true history of their leaders, but rather praised them as heroes. Conversely in Mon history, U Aung Zeya was a notorious and inhumane king in treating other non-Burmese people.

The idols of the Burmese junta that set up on the parade ground of Nay Pyi Daw, the new capital of Burma, were viewed as enemies by the Mon people because the Mon Kingdom, Suwannabhumi (Thaton) was invaded in AD 1057 by the Burma King Anawrahtar. The Mon Kingdom Hongsawatoi was invaded firstly in AD 1538-39 by the Burman King Tapin Shwe Hti and secondly in AD 1550 by the junta’s hero, Burman King Bayint Naung. The last dynasty of Hongsawatoi Kingdom was invaded for a third time by another hero of the junta, U Aung Zeya, also known as Alaung Payar.

The president of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), Nai Htaw Mon, addressed the crowd at last year’s 250th anniversary of Hongsawatoi Fallen Day in the Thai-Burma border town of Sangkhlaburi. He said that the Mon people had continually lost their nation, citing the annexation of Mon Kingdom Thaton 200 years ago under the Burman King Anawrahta, but that the Mons could re-establish their kingdom. He went on to say that there will always be opportunities for the Mons to re-establish the Mon nation, but they must remain united, and use better strategies and maintain a consistent commitment to their struggle.

Over the past 250 years there have been many battles for freedom, with many chances for land ownership and autonomy won and lost. These include the battle in AD 1757 led by general Tala Pon, the struggles led by Bayar Jaon against the Burman king Sin Phyu Shin in 1771 and to Bo Daw Maung Wine in 1814 right up until the British colonists occupied in 1824. After that all the other indigenous societies and ethnic minorities, including Burman, were colonized by the British.

After Burma gained independence from the British in 1948, the national boundaries of ethnic minorities in Burma were neglected and eventually abandoned by Burma. It became well known as a unique country where all ethnic nationalities were oppressed by the Burman nationals – a pattern which has continued until today.

The dark chapters in the Mon struggle over the past 251 years have seen a near-constant battle for their basic rights. Hongsawatoi Fallen Day is a reminder that the Mon want the world to know their real history, and they want self determination and recognition for the over 7 million Mon people living in Burma, Thailand and other parts of the world.

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Elephant Festival, Huay Malai (Pachyderm Party)

Photo by Taio Tyson




A procession of elephants carries townspeople during a festival ceremony







Photo by Taio Tyson

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Bor Bamot-Kaban Festival, Sankhlaburi (Creators of the same meaning)

Photo by Asohn Vi






Abbot Maha Su Chat, Wiwakarama Temple of Wangka Mon Village, Sangkhlaburi, Thailand




Photo by Asohn Vi

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Pachyderm Party

By Lawi Weng, Photo: Taio Tyson


Each June, Karen villagers living on Thailand’s border with Burma gather to show appreciation to elephants—their friends and invaluable helpmates

SANGKHLABURI, Thailand — EVERY year for the past three years, Karen mahouts have paraded their elephants through the Thai village of Bang Mai Pattana, in Kanchanaburi Province’s Sangkhlaburi District, on Thailand’s western border with Burma.

The Karen, an ethnic group who live mainly in southern and eastern Burma, but who have also inhabited parts of Thailand for centuries, have long used elephants in their logging businesses along the border.

With a stream running through it that many working elephants use to cool off in after a hard day’s work, Bang Mai Pattana is known to locals as “Elephant Village,” making it the natural choice for hosting an annual party to honor the noble beasts.

Elephant parties are nothing new to the region, which has a long tradition of revering the animals for their service to their human masters. Extravagant celebrations were often held in the past to encourage elephants to fight in wars between the kingdoms of Thailand and Burma.

The Karen value their elephants highly, prizing them as much as they would a luxury car.
They use them not only for transporting logs, but also for carrying rice from the hills to their homes in the jungles below. But elephants are more than just the perfect all-terrain vehicle; they are also friends who work together with people as part of a team.

The day of the party also marks the beginning of the elephants’ off season, when there is less work for them to do. Since the elephants work hard the rest of the year and often have less than enough food to eat, on this day they are invited to take their fill from a nine-tiered fruit pagoda. The huge pile of watermelons, sugarcane, bananas and jackfruit provides the elephants with enough food to keep them satisfied for two days.

This year, 3,000 baht (nearly US $100) was spent on sugarcane alone.

Even after half an hour of solid eating, there is still plenty of food left on the pagoda. At this point, local children began to clamber to the top to get fruit and sugarcane to throw down to friends waiting below. The children of elephant owners have a great advantage, because they can climb up their elephants’ trunks to reach the highest levels.

At this year’s party, one young boy was especially adept. Many of his friends could be heard calling his name and pleading for pieces of fruit. After an hour, anyone who could scramble atop the platform and avoid the elephants’ trunks had free rein of the produce.

Although the event is billed as an “elephant party,” there are many attractions for people as well. Visitors can watch Thai, Mon and Karen traditional dancing and enjoy free meals from food stalls. People are often greedier than the elephants, feeding themselves with both hands while trying to catch the fruit being thrown down by the children.

Besides being fun for everyone, the elephant party also has a serious purpose. It is intended to raise awareness of elephant rights among Burma’s ethnic minorities and to maintain the strong relationship between the Thai and Karen cultures.

As a sign of respect, the organizers of the party arranged for monks too pray in front of the elephants and sprinkle holy water on their heads. Then they gave amulets to the owners, who tied them to the elephants’ front legs. The amulets are believed to protect the elephants from physical and mental illnesses.

The pagoda used to feed the elephants also attests to the belief that elephants are more than mere beasts.

The custom of erecting fruit pagodas originated in the days of the Burmese monarchy, when ceremonies were held to celebrate the birth of an elephant.

But constructing them is fast becoming a lost art. “To build the fruit pagoda, we needed a teacher,” said a party organizer. “It is very difficult to learn and not just anyone can do it.” Many are worried this custom will disappear.

Meanwhile, Thai authorities in Kanchanaburi Province were keen to maintain the spirit of the event by emphasizing its role in bringing different species—and different cultures—together.

“Elephants and humans are the same,” said one local official. “We are all the same, and we are all welcome at the party.

Elephants from Burma can also come to our festival.”

Of course, it was not all about goodwill and peace to man and elephant. There was also a commercial motive, as the elephant party was a guaranteed tourist draw.

Owners, some of them from Burma, were offered 1,000 baht to bring their elephants to the event. The party, which was traditionally held in April, was rescheduled to take place in June at the suggestion of the Tourism Authority of Thailand so that it would not compete with Songkhran, the Thai New Year. Some expressed concern that the party was little more than another opportunity to exploit the elephants for financial gain.

Despite such misgivings, however, most agreed that the elephants deserved a break from their usual routine. Unfortunately, many were not able to make it. The number of elephants in attendance dropped from 18 to 14 this year.
An organizer explained: “The four who missed the party were working—it can be a tough life for an elephant.”

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Creators of the same meaning

(Writted & Photo by Asohn Vi)
As I stood in the Maha Buddha Gaya Pagoda, I could hear the clear voice of an old woman praying from the pagoda's south end. It was not strange for me for I grew up inside Burma, but it was a little surprising, for though I stood in Thailand the prayer I heard was that of an elder Mon/Burmese.

In my community in Burma, our elders offer food to Lord Buddha and monks in the morning, then look for flowers, rest at lunch time and spend the rest of the afternoon making flower rings (Mon name). In the evening, they go to monasteries and pray. Standing there, I already knew what the old woman was doing. When I spoke with her, she told me she prays every day, unless she is sick. With ten others she prays everyday and makes an exception only four days a month.

I stood in a temple in Wangka, an ethnic Mon community that hugs the perimeter of a small inlet on Lake Vajiralongkorn, tucked high up in northwestern Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. Across the inlet is the town of Sangkhlaburi near Three Pagodas Pass, twenty minutes to the east is Burma, an area that has seen centuries of Burmese and Mon crisscrossing over the border area. Five hours to the northwest is Bangkok.

The Wangka community was founded by the prominent Abbot Uttama in 1949 to help the Mon people who had been displaced by armed conflict and the appalling human rights conditions. They also came to Thailand to study in Thai schools. Wangka connects to Sangkhlaburi via the longest handmade wooden bridge in Thailand, the village bridge can be seen as a metaphor that is the lifeline for the Mon people. Though U Uttama passed away in October 2006, Wangka's population is now about 8,000.

A large sign-board at the gate of the village bears the words "Mon cultural village" in Thai script. Likewise, street names and other announcements are written in Thai. Although cultural images are not obviously visible on normal days in Wangka, the beat of the village life can be seen everywhere on religious days as people come and go wearing the traditional Mon dress in colors of red and white. Fridays also are important for on this day schoolchildren are permitted to shed their uniforms for their traditional clothes, and in the morning you can see more than 2,000 youngsters making their way into the classroom. Wangka is, in other words, is the place where Thailand-born-Mons and Burma-born-Mons come together.


A religious connection

Like Mon people in Burma, Wangka celebrates "Bor Kamot-Kaban." The festival is unique to Mon people, who have been holding it for at least five hundred years. The festival began in 1019-1020 in the Buddhist era. It is held to commemorate the rule of the Mon king Dhama Zaydi, who sent monks on the ships Seittara Duta and Rama Duta to develop their religious thinking in Sri Lanka. When the monks did not return, the king built a temporary ship of bamboo and paper, loaded them with one thousand offerings, and sent them a sail into the ocean, accompanied by prayers from the Mon people. Soon after Rama Duta was safely home in port and the Mon have been celebrating the day ever since. In Wangka, it was celebrated for the (fifteenth time?) on 14 September 2008.

The festival is traditionally celebrated in the monastery or near the pagoda the day before the full moon. Young boys go into the forest to cut bamboo, while young girls collect flowers and fragrant items. Community elders guide the youth and help them make umbrellas and traditional things. The monastery or pagoda is crowded with the young and old until a boat has been constructed of bamboo and ornaments prepared for its adornment. In spite of heavy rain on the traditional day, people of Wangka build an eight foot wide, eighteen foot long and ten foot tall ship in front of the pagoda. Hundreds of poles, flags, flowers and other offerings were placed on the ship as Thailand born Mons and Burma born Mons came together to exchange ideas, prayers and visions.

A gathering place

In the past, villagers worked in their gardens, grew rice, and other food staples. Today, people, young and old struggle to find work and migrate to the cities or go abroad. Few can return to their village to participate in their traditional festivals, said Mi Alanyar, who helped to organize Wangka's Bor Kamot-Kaban. This makes the festival in Thailand all the more important. "It's the time for Mons from all over to make 'merit' together. This year young people participated in the ceremonies more than ever before."

"Bor Kamot-Kaban' ceremony used to be held in Ban Kadi Mon village, near Bangkok," said Nai Kay Thit, the owner of a Bangkok-based tour company. "But now, this ceremony is held only in Wangka. This kind of Mon traditional ceremony is fading out in Thailand, but Mon people in Burma continue to hold it."

"I was born in Wangka. Everyone speaks the Mon language because of efforts by U Uttama. Mons born in this village do not identify as Thai Mons, though they are not from Burma. They identify as Wangka Mons," said Nai Sein Aung, 44, who is a member of Wangka's village administration.

"We attract visitors with our Bor Kamot-Kaban ceremony. It is a significant ceremony in Thailand, for it is held nowhere else. We are very pleased to hold this unique ceremony. In the future, we would also like to show Nyaung Yay Thoum Pwe, the festival for water consecrated and poured around a banyan tree. We would also like to hold the Nivan Zay Pwe festival, which is a festival of free food held as a communal celebration," continued Nai Sein Aung. "Neither of these festivals is seen in Thailand. We had many visitors and participants in Bor Kamo-Kaban this year. The big aim is to maintain our culture."


Building hope
Ships for Kor Kamot-Kaban are built with bamboo, colored paper, and wood. In some villages, the ship is built on wheels so that it can travel through the community, receiving donations. In other places, the ship is built on chairs and receives offering in the pagoda, but never sails. In most villages, the ships are built to float and after receiving offerings, the ships are set a sail down rivers or into lakes and oceans.

The festival is held before dawn when monks begin the ceremony by reading scripture near the ship, then offerings and prayers are received and given. In Wangka, I saw a group of boys bring huge colorful hot air balloons to the temple in trucks, then release them into the sky with the tails of small lanterns and fireworks streaming behind. In Wangka, the ship was set a sail in Lake Vajiralongkorn the next day.

All of Sangkhlaburi's monasteries, Thai and Mon alike, are invited to Wangka's festival every year. They receive offerings of food, honey and sweets, among others. I saw the new abbot, U Maha Suchat, move around the pagoda throughout the day and night until the ceremony was over.

Monks and some scholars can explain away the details of the tradition, but most people understand the festival as a time to make merit and earn some good luck. Most Mon families in Burma have at least one close relative working abroad so offering food on the ship is intended for the loved ones who work away from the family. Old tradition meets the new reality of life and the hope is that family members just like Rama Duta, will return home safely one day. In Thailand, as in Burma, the festival is a familial and communal event, an expression of Buddhist beliefs throughout cultural life. For the Wangka Mon people, it is reaching over to live with our Mon people in Burma, to show solidarity and unity, between Mons separated by time, the border, and human events.

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Born A World window to Mon People

We, Senior reporters and Analysis around the world that focus on Burma especially Southern Burma created the window to see the minorities how they suffering in Burma and to bring justice and lasting peace and change Burma.

Our motto is "Change Burma to Lasting Peace".

Mon Media Group

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