Myanmar – Generation Change

Education for child workers in Thailand

mueserk — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 12:32:21 +0000

Child labor is widespread in Thailand, and it’s often young immigrants from Myanmar who are most affected. Many children are forced to drop out of school and work in the physically demanding agriculture and seafood industries. And missing school means they don’t have a chance at getting a good job later on and overcoming poverty. Win Win Wa, 16, was born in Thailand her parents are from Myanmar. After having to work as a child, she was helped into an education by a Thai NGO. Now she’s helping others understand the importance of going to school.

Listen to the report by Nik Martin in Mahachai near Bangkok:

Education for child workers in Thailand

Win Win Wa speaks Burmese, so she can help other migrants from Myanmar (Photo: Nik Martin)

Singer raises his voice in Myanmar

mueserk — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:36:56 +0000

Darko and his indie rock band Side Effect are singing for change in Myanmar. Despite looser censorship laws, he doesn’t feel totally free. But the band’s first-ever tour abroad has given them courage to continue.

Listen to the report by Nadine Wojcik in Berlin:

Singer raises his voice in Myanmar

Many of Darko’s songs are full of harsh realism

Side Effect was overwhelmed with the response they got in Berlin

Darko und drummer Tser Htoo have matching tattoos of the band’s logo

Read more about Side Effect in the DW article.

Burmese activist risks personal safety for political change

admin — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:03:36 +0000

Bo Bo, a 23-year-old Burmese student and musician, left his home behind because of politics. But his group of young political dissidents still advocates for change inside Burma, despite the huge risks.

Burmese activist risks personal safety for political change

The logo of Bo Bo's opposition organization, Generation Wave

Reporter David Meyers writes about the political situation in Burma:

In 1990, the people of Burma voted in civilian leaders to push their country forward – only to have Burma’s military rulers refuse to concede power. In the past year, the country experienced its first national election since the 1990 poll, yet in many respects, the state of democracy remains as stagnant as it was 20 years ago. Though Burma, or Myanmar as it is officially known, has at least nominally returned to civilian control, the election was widely seen as a foregone conclusion. Opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi was finally released from her long-standing house arrest following the November election, yet her role in her country’s political future remains cloudy. And though Burma’s authorities released dozens of political prisoners earlier this year – including hip hop star Zayar Thaw, whose politicized music had landed him in prison – almost 2,000 still remain behind bars. Being a political dissident in Burma, then, remains a dangerous job. Members of the anti-regime group Zayar Thaw founded, Generation Wave, are politically active, yet they live under the threat of arrest and carry out their work underground.

Bo Bo has a lot of respecct for persecuted Burmese politican Aung San Suu Ky

Posters of Aung San Suu Kyi, which group members look up to, hang in the Generation Wave safe house