Today more than 300 people demonstrated peacefully in front of the UN office in Nu Po refugee camp, Thailand. It was the second protest in three weeks.

The group of more than 300 Burmese refugees gathered peacefully in front of the UN office today showing banners with messages like “Help Us”, “Please open the door”, “Where is our future?”, “Where is our children’s future?”.

An estimated 3 million refugees from Burma in neighbouring countries
In Nu Po refugee camp alone more than 10,000 refugees from Burma are waiting for a future. Some of them have been there as long as twenty years. The number of Burmese refugees in neighbouring countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India and China is an estimated 3 million. “This is not good for our nation, our state and for humanity.” says U Lin one of the organizers of the protest.

The people in the refugee camps are living a life on hold. Waiting for a future to start, they feel like they are loosing their time. The UN’s reaction so far was the message that a “Combining Family Program” would start soon, but no date was set yet.

Another protest is planned for next month.

Buddha Day was celebrated on the 13^th of May 2012 in Frankfurt by the Burmese Buddhist temple.

About 100 people from different parts of Germany were present at the ceremony. First they recited Metta Bhavana altogether in unison. After that, people offered lunch, consisting of traditional Burmese food, to the present monks. Among them U Zawana, Ashin Kovida and others.

Later they observed the five precepts and listened to Dhamma talks, given by the monks. And Buddhist riddles were included: people who could answer the riddles were given a price. The first price was 75 Euros, second price 50 Euros, third price 30 euros.

Buddha Day is also known as the Vesak celebration. The celebration varies from one Buddhist country to another.

What is Vesak? It is the name of a month in the ancient Indian calendar and it usually falls in May. Vesak Day is the holiest of all Buddhist holy days and embraces a three-fold commemoration because  Buddha was born in 623 B.C on a Vesak full-moon day, and attained Enlightenment on a Vesak full-moon day, and passed away on a Vesak full-moon day, which Theravada Buddhists believe miraculously occurred on the same day. But the exact date of Vesak Day varies according to the various lunar calendars used in different traditions.

By Ashin Kovida

When you pass through Mae Sots’ busy market with all it’s exotic smells and views, you arrive at a four storey building in Bua Khun Road with a banner over the entrance door saying “The Best Friend Library Free Education Center”. Founded by one of the key figures in Burma’s 2007 uprising, this library has become a safe haven for migrants and refugees from Burma and a meeting place for interested people from all over the world.

Fifteen libraries inside Burma
It was Ashin Issariya aka King Zero’s first deed when he arrived in Thailand in 2008, after eluding authorities during a year in hiding and a two-week manhunt in Burma, to continue his work for education from inside Burma where he had already built and run fifteen libraries. But the Burmese military regime has been controlling all activities of politically active people, especially since the 2007 Saffron Revolution. Many of the members and volunteers of The Best Friend were forced to leave Burma to avoid persecution. Several people, also monks, were arrested, simply for the crime of providing information and discussing about politics and freedom. All libraries were closed.

In Mae Sot the Library door is always wide open. When you enter you will be greeted by young, friendly people, some of who arrived in the library a few years ago and never left. “The Library and King Zero have changed my life”, is what you will hear. And it is apparent that it is true. A good example are the young people who live at the library and have started a magazine (The Young Generation’s Note) inspired by the idea to “encourage youth and community members to find their own voice within the pages of the magazine”.

3000 books and 500 members
The Best Friend Library Mae Sot holds 3000 books, literature, research reports, news magazines, films and other materials about Burma for English speakers as well as books in Burmese and Burmese-minority languages. It is a place, where people can meet and discuss Burma-related issues openly and freely.

The library has now 500 members. As a registered education center with the Thai authorities, the library member cards give the Burmese migrants, who often lack passports or papers, a legal safeguard.

Twelve young people are living at the library permanently. They follow the house rules of “no drinking, no smoking, no fighting”. In summer visitors from inside Burma cross the border to stay at the library for a few weeks to attend a free English, computer, Burmese or Thai class, or simply to use the ten computers for free Internet access.

All classes and Internet access are free of charge
The Thai, Burmese, English and computer courses are running for three months, four times a year. Each trimester approximately 120 students of all ages attend. The classes are taught by migrants or foreign volunteer teachers.

Apart from that, The Best Friend Library is also running a “mobile library” with changing assortment of books each month in a local clothes factory with more than 1000 workers from Burma, and is exchanging books with the Best Friend Library in Nupo refugee camp. Ashin Issariya also supports three migrant schools in the area.

The Best Friend Library Mae Sot is completely run by donations. With rent, electricity, water and food it has running costs of around 500 € a month. Although it is supported with donations from friends, Ashin Issariya says it is not easy sometimes.

Every donation for The Best Friend Library by means of money or manpower is very welcome.

by Alexandra Rösch

Article about the Young Generations’ Note by Brennan O’Connor, The Irrawaddy
Mae Sot, Thailand — Nay Satkyar Naing, 19, is like many of the Burmese youth in the Thai border town of Mae Sot who came for a chance to get a better education in the dozens of migrant schools offering free classes.

When he first arrived in 2010, he started volunteering as an English teacher at The Best Friend Library. It was around that time that he discovered a book titled “Bar Le He Lu Nga Ye” (“Human Hell? What is Human Hell?”) by National League for Democracy (NLD) co-founder Win Tin.

In 1989, Win Tin was sentenced to 21 years in Rangoon’s Insein Prison for his writing and involvement with the NLD. He was released in September 2008 after serving nearly 20 years. While in prison, the World Association of Newspapers awarded him the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize and the Golden Pen of Freedom.

Naing was inspired by Win Tin’s resilience during his lengthy prison sentence, keeping himself sane by writing mathematical equations and poetry on the walls of his cell with a broken bottle.

“Win Tin had no pen or paper yet he found a way to write. I have all the tools I need, so I asked myself, why can’t I write for my people,” says Naing.

Read whole article at The Irrawaddy >>

Ashin Gambira’s situation has worsened again. Apparently he has been receiving medical treatment in the last week. But according to his brother Ko Aung Kyaw Kyaw the doctor is now suddenly refusing to see him. Ashin Gambira’s brother thinks the doctor is afraid of the authorities.

Ashin Gambira needs to be treated urgently, if possible in Thailand. His family thinks he is suffering from the results of torture during his prison time. His condition gets worse in the evening. The treatment and the medicine is very expensive. The family is in urgent need of money to buy medicine.

Out of prison but not free

A conversation with Ashin Issariya aka King Zero about the situation of monks in Burma
“He is only laughing lately without any reason”, Ashin Gambira’s mother Daw Yay told DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma). She is very worried about Ashin Gambira’s mental health.

Ashin Gambira, one of the main organizers of the Saffron Revolution and a leader of the All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), who had been sentenced to 68-years, for his role in the peaceful uprising of 2007, was released from prison on January 13th 2012. But does that mean he is free now? Or is any monk in Burma really free?

Since he walked through the prison gates he has been under constant watch by plain clothes police, watching and questioning his every move. It is one of the ways for the regime to tightly control monks, especially those who dare to speak out.

During his four years in prison Ashin Gambira was subjected to repeated serious physical and mental torture.
Ashin Gambira was kept under solitary confinement most of the time. He has been showing signs of brain injury after being hit with a stick on his head while a bag was placed over his head, as reported by Amnesty International. After this he has been experiencing strong headaches but instead of receiving the accurate treatment, he was injected with strong pharmaceutics to calm him down.

After his release Ashin Gambira was rearrested two times.
He was taken “for questioning” by police officers in the middle of the night from his monastery without informing anyone about his whereabouts. He was transported to the office of the Sangha Committee with a black bag placed over his head.

In February the government Newspaper “New Light of Myanmar” reported that the state controlled Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee had asked for legal action to be taken against Ashin Gambira because he was “under a complete political spell”. This article damaged U Gambira’s reputation and made it clear to every monastery that if U Gambira would stay at their monastery they would have to face problems with the authorities.

It became more and more difficult for Ashin Gambira to find a monastery to stay.
One monastery after the other rejected him. He finally had to disrobe because the Buddhist lent of Waso was drawing near and it is impossible for a monk in Burma to stay in a lay house during that time. U Gambira is currently staying at his parents’ house. “He is only laughing lately without any reason.” His mother Daw Yay says he is refusing to see a doctor even though his family and friends are very worried about his mental and physical health.

Ashin Gambira is not an isolated case. All monks in Burma who have been imprisoned for political activities or talk about politics, face similar problems. Another friend of Ashin Issariya aka King Zero, who was released from prison recently and returned to live in his monastery, was forced to disrobe too.

Ashin Kovida from Nagayi Monastery, released from prison in January, was told by the Sangha Committee that he is not allowed to stay at his monastery. He received an order to leave two times. He then moved to another monastery. After the Sangha Committee talked to the abbot of that monastery, the abbot was very afraid to face pressure from the regime. Ashin Kovida had to move to another monastery again.

Ashin Issariya says: “In our country most of the people are very, very afraid. They have many problems, they do not have an education, they have never experienced freedom or democracy. This is also true for the monks. They are very afraid to be questioned by the police.”

The police will ask questions about every monk who might be political active. They ask questions and create a difficult situation for the abbot. Most abbots will then tell those monks to move, just to avoid problems.

Now we have seen the pictures of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi traveling around the country, people openly talking about politics and the triumphant win of the NLD at the historic by-elections. But, “it is difficult for the outside world to understand the real situation in our country”, says Ashin Issariya. “Until now our country has not changed. The economic situation is still the same, there is no rule of law. It is the same as before.”

“The outside world may think that, because the NLD can participate in the parliament now, our country has changed. The regime gave the people a small chance to speak about politics and share ideas. But on the other hand the regime still controls everything else very tightly. We are not free.”

“The situation has not changed. The constitution was written only to benefit the military. The military always holds 25 percent of the seats in the parliament. Those military representatives are chosen carefully. Recently the soldier who gave orders to shoot monks during the 2007 Saffron Revolution was elected as a member of parliament.”

Four months ago Buddhist monk U Ya Seina aka Mau Min Zoo wrote a book about how to improve the country from a Buddhist point of view. He asked permission from the authorities to publish the book but it was banned.

One month ago the Sangha Maha Nayakka Committee gave out a new directive. It is now forbidden for monks who preach the Dhamma, to talk about the improvement of the country. Monks are only allowed to talk about the teachings of the Buddha. This is difficult to follow because the teachings of the Buddha include speeches about daily life and moral conduct, which effects the state of a country. State control of all monastic activities has increased continually since 2007.

Another order says monks who have been released from prison have to apply to the Sangha Committee to get permission to re-ordain. King Zero says, “this shouldn’t be.” According to Theravada tradition there is no such rule, a monk can join the order again anytime, he doesn’t need any permission. But monks inside Burma are still very afraid to speak out against the Sangha Committee.

By Alexandra Rösch

On 25.4.2012 refugees at Nupoe refugee camp staged a peaceful protest to draw attention to their hopeless situation.

“We are without a future in Thailand – living at the Myanmar border. We lost our future, our home, our country. We have no access to education and human rights. We want Thailand, the UN and the world to know about our situation”.

Thousands of refugees have been waiting in the camps for many years, some more than ten years. Waiting to be granted the status as a refugee, to be able to resettle to a third country. They are still there, living trapped under dire conditions in the refugee camps along the Thai- Burma border. They have nowhere to go. Some are still hopeful, others have lost their hope. They are still there. Waiting for a future.

Ashin Issariya aka King Zero recently gave a series of Dhamma talks on the occasion of the Burmese New Year water festival “Thingyan”, in Mae Sot. Traditionally the Burmese New Year is celebrated over 4-5 days and Buddhist devotees produce good merit by inviting and giving Dhana to monks.

Even though the political situation inside Burma seems to change slowly, life for ordinary people and the life of the refugees on the border hasn’t changed yet.

Most migrants live without hope for a better future, lacking education and thus lacking confidence. They believe with a donation to a monk in this life they can at least plant karmic seeds for a better next life.

In his Dhamma talks Ashin Issariya emphasized the need for education in this life. “The present time is important. The Buddha told us how to improve knowledge and live a good, meaningful life. When I was young I didn’t know much, I didn’t have much self confidence. I read a lot of books and it changed my whole life.”

He tried to encourage people in his speeches to be hopeful and work for a better future in this life with effort and diligence. “Try to be a good person, everything is possible if you work for it.”

Ashin Issariya criticized the habit of wasting the income on alcohol. Instead people should use it to by books to educate themselves. It is also a habit to give money to famous monks in order to attain merit, but Ashin Issariya advised his listeners to “look closely and consider wisely. Many people get impressed by age or degrees. But even if you give to a monk, it is important to see if the donations are used for the good of the people and the teachings.”

During the Water festival Ashin Issariya also visited several monasteries around Mae Sot where he organized novice and ordination ceremonies for monks.

Help secure the future of the Young Generation’s Note, a magazine run by Burma’s young refugees. Full of news from home & reader’s articles, it gives young refugees a voice!

Our story: Escaping Burma
Burma is home to one of the world’s longest-ruling military dictatorships and the world’s longest-running civil war. Education is limited, the media is tightly controlled and many young people – refugees, migrants, students – flee through the jungles to Thailand’s border towns, seeking a better life.

Instead of a better life, they find that their prospects are poor. Working and sleeping in factories, farms and shops, or living in the numerous refugee camps, they have little chance to improve themselves or learn about the world.

Without hope and lacking confidence, they don’t want to create and are afraid to express their innermost dreams.

The Young Generation’s Note
In mid-2011 a small group of us young migrants in Mae Sot, on the Thai-Burma border, wanted to change things for the better. So we began making a monthly magazine, full of content created by and for migrants and refugees – news, stories, articles, poems, photography, cartoons and more.

- every month we distribute the magazine to refugee camps, factories and migrant schools
- we bring news to divided families about what’s happening in Burma
- we share stories and experiences that inspire vulnerable young people
- we publish the writing of refugees and migrants, giving them a voice
- and we try to strengthen the fractured Burmese community

Free media training
And we’ve begun to grow. We’ve recently started offering free media training for migrants and refugees in creative writing, photography, video-production and more. Students go on to train other migrants and refugees, as well as those back in Burma.

- we aim to create a sustainable future of creative and empowered young people
- we train people to think analytically
- we help people understand the power of the media

The impact
Every day we see the magazine attracting more and more readers and support. It’s building confidence and raising the aspirations of the Burmese migrants and refugees in Mae Sot.

But the impact reaches further. Empowering young migrants with the right training means that when they return they can help build a strong national media, encourage better systems of government and help their country to develop.
We need your help!

Please help us to improve the futures of young Burmese migrants and, by extension, their communities and Burma as a whole!! We need your support to help our project become financially sustainable!

Without your support, we risk leaving a lost generation of young people in Thailand’s refugee camps, factories and within Burma itself – a generation who find it difficult to pursue their dreams, who don’t recognize the power of the media and are unable or afraid to express themselves through it.

Support us now >>

Our deepest thanks to you all,
Sat Kyar and The Young Generation’s Note team

“Give these children a voice, let them be seen by the whole world.”
Sascha Schöberl, 29-year old film director from Germany, is currently fundraising for his upcoming documentary “Dreams Without a Home”, which focuses on the lives of Burmese children on the landfill of Mae Sot, Thailand.

TBF: What is the film about and what inspired you to do this film?
Sascha: This film is about Burmese refugee children and their families. They were forced to leave Burma, their home country, for various reasons. Some left because of the war, because of land mines or famine, some left to avoid detention. They basically left Burma for survival, and some of these families had to sell everything they had to afford this trip to Thailand. So now they live on this landfill in a neighboring country, and they say it is better to live on the landfill in Thailand than at home.

This movie will focus on the kids on this landfill because it was the kids who inspired me to start this project. They live under the worst conditions you could imagine surrounded by poison and trash. And yet these children have such strong hearts and souls and find happiness under these conditions. That was something that inspired me personally. I want them to tell their story with their own words.

TBF: How did you find out about the rubbish dump and the refugees living there? Have you been involved with Burma issues before?
Sascha: I knew about the Burmese situation for a long time, it’s a long tragic story.
As a filmmaker I wanted to help the people. So I got involved back in Germany. I got in contact with The Best Friend, with Ashin Kovida and Ashin Sopaka. That was the first time that I heard about this landfill refugee community.

But it wasn’t until 2011 when I had saved some money and had time to go to Thailand.
I met with many people and organizations who are proactive about change inside Burma–for peace and democracy, and to help the refugees in Thailand. That’s when I met the monk King Zero, and he brought me to the landfill in Mae Sot.

Especially during the first and second days when I was with the children it was really touching. It was very hard to see all these kids standing around me, laughing and dancing and right behind us was this mountain of trash. That was just crazy. That was the moment when I thought, I can help here, I can be active here. Maybe I can bring some change with my abilities to this place.

TBF: What touched you most while being with the children?
Sascha: I think it was the strength of their hearts. Maybe it is the naivety of a child, but still they are able to find happiness under the worst living conditions you can possibly imagine because they turn all this trash around them into an adventure park. And the trash turns into treasures. They invent games with old magazines and stones. They deal with this tragedy with such creativity and grace. It is so inspiring and impressive. These small little children taught me a lot.

Another thing is seeing these children growing up. When they are around eleven or twelve years old they get more involved with the landfill. They have to help their parents collect trash or care for the whole household. And this is when they start to realize the big picture. This is also when this lightness and happiness fades away very quickly. It is heartbreaking to see.

I felt most for a boy who is twelve years old. He is the neighbor of Sein Le Wai. He already has to help his parents a lot, to make another one or two dollars each day. You could tell he was already bitter and very much grown up for a twelve year old. He lost his lightness and switched to this dark mood his parents have.

TBF: When they grow up they understand that there is no way out of this rubbish dump for them, they do not have much hope?
Sascha: Yes, for example, when I talked to the parents about the future of the children, often I would have to stop because they started to cry. The parents deal with their situation by thinking from one day to another, one meal to another. There is no perspective, they would love to dream for the children to get an education, go to school and get a great job. But they don’t see that this is possible and so they block it out. And once the children get to this stage too, they don’t see that their dreams are actually realistic, they become bitter and sad.

For example, Sein Le Wai has realistic dreams. She wants to be a Burmese teacher or a photographer. I think this girl should be able to make this dream come true. Her mother is aware that education is the only way out of there, and the “Blue Sky School” is near by. But Sein Le Wai had a new baby sister when I was there in April and her mother had to work collecting trash while her father works on a trash truck. So no one is at home to take care of the baby. That means Sein Le Wei has to stay home to take care of the baby and she can not go to school, she will not be able to finish any school. And this is exactly how the dreams stop from becoming a reality.

TBF: How are you planning to work with the children?
Sascha: First of all, I want to spend a lot of time with them. I would like to spend one or two months with the children. This is so the children and the families can find trust in me and become comfortable with my presence, as well as with the camera’s. I will again organize painting sessions and football matches. But I think first of all I need patience to let the children meet me and show me their world because they should tell their story at their pace. They decide how much they want to open up and share.

It is important to me that this story is told with their words and their pictures. I even think of giving the older ones a camera so they can record anything they think is important. Or they might not think it is important, they just do things and have fun.

TBF: What do you hope to achieve with the film, what message do you hope to send out?
Sascha: Top goal is: I want to help the children and their parents, this is the priority. I want them to have a chance for education, to have a chance to leave this situation, to have a dignified life and to make their dreams come true on the way.

Secondly, I want to raise a bigger question about the issue of Burma. When people watch this movie they have to ask themselves why do people live on a landfill? This draws a bigger question about whats happening inside Burma. Because these people are not only on the landfill because they are poor, they are there because of the political situation inside Burma. If Burma would be free and if there would be peace, these people would not be on that landfill.

The third goal is for the viewer to be inspired by this dignity and strength. We should get this reality check: how are these kids able to find happiness under the worst conditions. Sometimes it just depends on the strength in one’s heart to achieve happiness.

I want to draw a direct connection between the viewer and the children. There are already a lot of great movies about Burmese issues, about the genocide, about the resistance of the monks. But I do not want to make another sad movie where the viewer is stuck in the situation of desperation, feeling helpless. I want the viewer to have a direct link. They should be able to leave the movie, go to the computer and directly help the kids they just saw on screen. This is why I am working with The Best Friend because The Best Friend is directly helping the children on the landfill. It is very important to me that this is not an abstract story. The viewer should get involved.

TBF: How can people help or get involved with the film project?
Sascha: This is a non-profit project. In fact, I am spending my own savings and using my own equipment. But I do need money to cover transportation, music rights, salaries for the translators, some post production costs and festival distributions.

Right now the people can get involved by helping “Dreams Without a Home” with a donation on the indiegogo profile, or they can donate directly for the children. You have the choice to give these children a voice and support the movie or donate directly to The Best Friend.

I do encourage everyone to donate directly to the Best Friend. With The Best Friend, the money doesn’t get lost in some administrative system, it goes directly to food donations or the relocation project.

If I can not reach the fund raising goal to do the film, all collected donations will go to The Best Friend.

Currently The Best Friend is organizing a monthly rice donation for the refugee families living on the garbage dump of Mae Sot. We would like to ask for your help.

Around thirty houses built of trash and bamboo are located on the garbage dump of Mae Sot in Northern Thailand, near the border to Burma. War, Famine, landmines, and extreme poverty have driven these families from from their home land Burma to a living on the rubbish dump, with hardly any chance of escape from the current situation.

The families make a living by collecting and selling plastic and metal trash. The meager income forces many families to have the children help with work to be able to have enough food. Even though there is a school near by many children can not attend because they have to support their parents with work or take care of the smaller children.

The Best Friend has supported these families since 2007. We have started a relocation project and support the families with food, medicine and education, such as sewing and computer classes.

Until now we have organized monthly rice donations mainly with the help from a donor from Australia. We would be very happy if more people would join in with a small monthly donation of $5 or $10 so we can support the families and give more children a chance to go to school.

You can support us easily trough our Pay Pal account donate@thebestfriend.org or visit our support page for more information >>