To the FutureAbandoned, but not forgotten
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITWF) released the following 10-minute documentary about the plight of Burmese seamen in Thailand's fishing industry.
Illegal Burmese Labor Fuels Thailand Economy by William Boot
The deaths of more than 50 Burmese migrants last week in a sealed container truck transporting them to illicit jobs in southern Thailand starkly illustrates the growing reliance Thailand places on unofficial labor to help run its economy.
The Thai authorities acknowledge that there may be 1 million Burmese migrant workers living in Thailand, yet Thailands Migrant Assistance Program recently recorded that only 367,834 were registered with work permits in 2007.
Various NGOs campaigning for the rights of abused minorities and refugees say the number of illegal Burmese in Thailand is closer to 1.5 million. Many of them are children.
The Migrant Worker Group, a coalition of NGOs pressing for human rights, documents many instances of abuse by employers.
The MWG estimates that illegal Burmese laborers, especially in the booming construction industry, are paid up to 50 percent less than Thai unskilled labor and have no rights.
Migrant workers are very badly regarded and very badly treated by Thai society, wrote academic and former Thai Senator Jon Ungphakorn in the Bangkok Post. Yet it is hard to imagine how our economy would manage without them.
Ungphakorn says that since illegal laborers are not taking jobs away from Thais they should all be given legal status and employment rights.
Source:
Boot, W. (2008, April 19). Weekly Business Roundup. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved April 23, 2008 from http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=11461&page=1
A boom at the border By William Sparrow
I went to a "mom and pop" store for cigarettes. A very young woman was handling the transaction; thin, long hair, long legs, pretty face with no makeup. I wondered if she was 18.
As she turned and descended into the dark shop, an elderly women, presumably a relative, emerged from the shadows. She lunged from her seat, sensing opportunity. "You want she?" the woman asked, meaning "her" - the young woman.
I was shocked and caught off-guard and couldn't respond. In the silence, the elder woman continued "You want daughter? You take," she said, pointing. "Have hotel. Fifteen dollar."
"No," I said firmly. With that, the old woman scowled and slunk back to her seat.
The shop girl never met my eyes as she handed over the cigarettes. Still, I perceived a small smile.
A sex slave working as a shop girl; a young woman being sold by her own mother. It was a sad situation that I won't soon forget. Sadly, scenes like this will likely continue until the Myanmar government can improve the lives of its 55 million people. I was overcome by this realization as I settled the bill in that tiny shop on the Myanmar-Thai border.
As I turned to leave, I heard the shop girl whisper "thank you".
Read more at Asia Times
Psalm 137
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?
Injured Burmese from Mae Sot bomb blast detained and sent back to Burma
Eleven persons who were injured in a blast apparently caused by some kind of homemade bomb at the Mae Sot dump on Thailands border were themselves detained and then sent back to Burma on February 26 because they didnt have ID cards.
Read more at Ratchasima
Photos by Rev. Wo Le
If you are like me and crazy about country life in Burma, here are some pictures. Rev. Wo Le took them on his trips to churches all over Burma as his capacity as the secretary of Lisu Baptist Convention.
Church
School
Water
Innocent lives
Life style
Trucks
Carts
Photos
A building on the bank of Chao Phraya river (Photo by Beauty Shwe)
A Burmese lady (Photo source is unknown and may have copyrights held by the photographer)
Photos by Wawlay
I wanted to post some pictures by Rev. Wo Le. He took these pictures while he was travelling all over Burma visting Lisu churches. I hope to remind you of village life style in Burma.
A big tree
A village (rather a town?) in Burma
A day in the village
A house in the village
A kid in the village
Baptism (village style)
Village family
Chef
Chef tasting food
Sunset
Fetching water
Bathing
Kitchen
Teapot
Dinner
Old pictures from the US
I found my old pictures of my mission trip to Shiprock, New Mexico. I took the trip while I was in the States. We stayed at a Navajo Indian church and here are some pictures.
Shiprock, New Mexico
Lwin Moe after painting an old Navajo Indian lady's house in Shiprock, NM
Pastor Eric Lee talking to our group
A Hogan in Shiprock, NM
Lwin Moe and Molly repairing the roof of an old Navajo lady's house
Mission Team after painting an old Navajo lady's house
My two (adopted) sisters
Heather, Molly and Lwin at Albuquerque airport
Lwin Moe with a Navajo family
With Navajo ladies from Mesa View Church
Jared and Lwin
Lwin in Shiprock, NM
Blue Sky and a tree near the Day Care Center we worked
A beautiful field
Mesa Verdae National Park in Colorado
Mesa Verdae National Park in Colorado
Mesa Verdae National Park in Colorado
Mesa Verdae National Park in Colorado
Four Corners (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado)
Four Corners (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado)
From Four Corners (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado)
Lwin Moe after Missoin Trip
Lwin Moe after Missoin Trip with Diana (host-mom)
