Between DBN and TTD villages, there is a little river called Weh Loh.  So, the village situated on the river bank is called Weh Loh village.  Weh Loh had never known a school, until recently. Even though the villagers farmed the land, the war had forced out any coordinated  educational effort.  Weh Loh’s children travelled to neighboring  villages for their lessons or went without.  More often than not, they  went without.
 
In recent years, a KNLA commander was moved  by the plight of Weh Loh: while children in peaceful democracies all  over the world spent the daylight in classrooms, the children of Weh Loh were at home, playing in the street, or working the fields alongside  their parents.   And so, he undertook a coordinated effort with village  elders to establish a school.  His efforts were successful.  

Today, the School at Weh Loh provides basic education to the future leaders of Weh Loh.  The children of Weh Loh now have reading, writing, and spelling courses – in three languages: Karen, English, and Burmese.  And
despite the constant presence of war—of depleted rations, ambushes, and threats of violence, the School boasts three teachers and thirty  students this year, from kindergarten through fourth standard. With  these seeds of educational growth, the School’s founders hope that the  children of Weh Loh will experience the promise of a better life.
 
Until recently, I only knew the school by reputation.  Weh Loh is bordered on all sides by the Dictatorship’s military battalions, always at attention.   But, on my way home this year, I unexpectedly stumbled upon the village of Weh Loh. The School’s founders built the school on a  track of land adjacent to the village entrance, a testament to strength  in the face of the most oppressive adversity.  I could hear it before I  saw it: the voices of children singing, reading, and reciting. 
 
What I see through the School at Weh Loh is an organically home-grown effort for development in the war zone.  No Norwegian Initiative is needed.  Weh Loh obviously does not seek attention of the international  community.  There is no complaint as to how they have been disregarded  by the caring world in the face of extreme misfortune – war.  They may  not be able to get very far with their humble effort.  But, theirs is a  genuine effort, an authentic little step to what they understand as national development through education for children.
 
Naw May Oo
July 2012

There is a huge lack of human resource in the country, and there are those who want to fill the gap.  But there is no existing legal mechanism that allows the Burma-natives, who have been in foreign country for a long, long time, to return and stay in the country for a good amount of time to make a difference.  Reports have been floated before that the Burmese government is thinking about granting permanent resident status to expatriates who are former citizens of Burma.  But, nothing concrete has yet developed.

In the meantime, whether the country can move onto development phase or not depends largely on how durable the ceasefire agreements are between the government and ethnic armed forces.  It seems premature to initiate development projects in ethnic areas, when there is no clear structure or boundary of authority and responsibility between the government and ethnic organizations.  And, it is uncertain if the ceasefire will turn into political negotiation process.  We all know that ceasefire is only a temporary step before political dialogues towards lasting political solution.

Though this may be the path less traveled by, we believe that empowering communities, especially different ethnic communities in conflict areas, is very important.  After all, the ethnic community themselves will have to make their own determination as to what kind of development they want and how they can achieve their goal of self-determination.

Posted by SI

Before 2015 elections, the government of Burma/Myanmar plans to collect national population census in 2014.  It will be the first census to be collected in 30 years.  Data collected from this census will play a critical role in Burma’s future politics and will likely impact the lives of citizens in many ways.  It is important we provide necessary information to the rural population so that they can participate properly and represent themselves accurately in the Census, so that that the government can accurately count population by ethnicity.   In the future, beyond 2015 in particular, the government will likely be forced to measure funding levels for programs and improvements at every level of societal living based on data collected from this Census.

Government funding for education, for example, may be distributed by population, which is measured by the Census.  Which ethnic language is to be taught at which school will also be determined by ethnic population count.  Many other public policy determinations will be made and debated based on the outcome of 2014 Census.   It is about time political parties and civil society organizations in Burma begin to educate the public and prepare for holding the government accountable for the accurate count of the country’s population. 

Posted by SI

The strategy of Burma’s government is that they start working on economic development while in ceasefire negotiation process.  The argument on the part of the government is that development projects should not wait for the nationwide peace process to complete, but the two processes should reinforce or complement each other towards the goals of peace and prosperity for the country.  However, there are both philosophical and procedural flaws in this strategy.

First, the idea that simultaneously seeking economic development in conflict area while in ceasefire stage could positively help resolve ethnic conflict assumes that Burma’s ethnic nationalities’ struggles are about material gains and, once they have enough to eat and get to live a comfortable life they would stop fighting.