Aug 31: Meetings with ND-Burma and WLB

Today Ah Noh took us to meet with some of KWAT’s other partners. It was great to improve our understanding of the organizations that KWAT works within to get a sense of how their work operates.

First, we visited ND-Burma- the Network for Human Rights Documentation. KWAT is one of 12 member organizations that document human rights violations in different states and other divisions of Burma. We learned about the data collection and verification process and how organizations like KWAT develop bulletins to share with the larger news network. The field workers who record the atrocities committed by the Burmese government risk extreme danger to tell the larger world about what goes on, and they have been successful in getting the entities like the Norwegian government to lobby for changes in the region.

ND-Burma also publishes reports like KWAT’s “Ongoing Impunity,” which are powerful records of problems like torture, drug abuse and economic exhortation in various parts of Burma. We picked up several reports, including a documentary, to share with our GlobeMed chapter and the Dartmouth community when we return home.

After visiting ND-Burma, we went to the Women’s League of Burma (WLB). KWAT is one of thirteen women’s organizations that works with Burmese refugees, as is the Burmese Women’s Union (the partner of GlobeMed at Whitman). The WLB works in Thailand, India and Bangladesh through its many member organizations, although its main office is in Chiang Mai. We learned about the history of the WLB’s founding and how KWAT operated with other organizations in its early years.

In the evening, Ah Noh showed us some of her favorite places to visit in the Old City. We had fun spending time with her outside of KWAT.