Aung San Suu Kyi update

Kim Aris, the younger son of Aung San Suu Kyi, reportedly applies for a visa to visit his mother in Rangoon.

Wednesday in Mae Sot

The news we hear today is that the Burmese army have retaken Myawaddy and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army have retreated to the outskirts of Myawaddy. The Thai army are sending the people back to Myawaddy but many people are afraid to return. http://www.irrawaddy.org/ reports,

'All Refugees Returned to Myawaddy
MAE SOT — All refugees who did not return to Myawaddy on Tuesday were sent back by Thai authorities Wednesday morning. Thai authorities said the process came after agreement was reached with Burmese counterparts led by Col Khin Maung Htay. But social workers here said some refugees are still hiding in rice fields along the Moei river. In Myawaddy, authorities collected a list of those who fled to Thailand during the fighting. One Burmese official in the town said the order to do so came from the regional military command.'

Another report said, “The town was silent when we went back this morning, but there were soldiers searching for explosive devices. Then we heard the soldiers wanted porters, so we come back to the Thai side,” said Han Sein (not his real name), a retire civil servant from Myawaddy, speaking to The Irrawaddy on the bank of the Moei River, which separates Thailand and Burma.
“I saw that some of the shops—particularly the phone shops—had been looted, but I have no idea who did it,” he said, adding that this was the worst incident he had experienced since moving to Myawaddy in 1992.
While many local residents have returned to the town to check their property, many others say they are still too worried about their personal safety to remain there.
“After I got back to my house, I cooked some rice. Then I saw that some people were running away to escape being recruited as porters, so I also came back to Thailand,” said Daw Yee, 74. “I am worried about my home, but right now, safety is my main concern.”
Many who have returned to the Thai side of the border have taken shelter in local monasteries or in houses near the river. Others are said to be hiding in the woods around the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
“I feel the situation in the town is still uncertain. That's why I decided to come to Thailand this morning,” said Ba Maung, 84, who was taken to the Mao Tao clinic in Mae Sot after he arrived on the Thai side. “I was at a monastery during the fighting on Monday.”
Thai soldiers at the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge between Mae Sot and Myawaddy said they could understand why the refugees were nervous. “The opposite side of the river is too quiet. It's not normal. Something could happen at anytime,” said one Thai sergeant at the bridge.
However, local authorities in Mae Sot are struggling to deal with the influx of thousands of refugees and are eager to see the situation return to normal as quickly as possible. Thai officials and NGO workers said there were only 13 toilets for about 20,000 refugees who arrived on Monday and Tuesday.

The Mae Tao Clinic have launched an appeal to support the efforts to feed and house and help the refugees from Myawaddy. There are many remaining in Mae Sot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCL_cXyf3yI



For details of Say Hei's day in Campie, see Campie website on http://www.campieschool.com/

Say Hei's Tuesday in Scotland

Say Hei and Paw Ray went to bed on Monday at 8pm. They were so tired but they woke up at 2am! So at 5am, they were in the Headteacher's kitchen cooking rice and chicken. Ms Laing snored through it all!

Say Hei's Tuesday in Campie on PhotoPeach



Paw Ray went to London today to speak to important people about helping the Burmese and Karen families living in Thailand. So Say Hei came to Campie for the first time.

Ms Laing and Say Hei took all morning to meet 14 of Campie's 18 classes. Say Hei loved the bright classrooms and could not believe that in P2 the children had 5 jotters for their work. In CDC, they only have 1. In CDC the children sit on benches and each class has 42 children so the children are squashed together on the benches.

In the afternoon, you can see Khaing Maung Maung came to assemblies to interpret for Say Hei. P4-7 listened superbly as they always do when they hear about Burma. Khaing, Say Hei and Ms Laing told them about the Karen and Burmese armies fighting in Myawaddy, near Mae Sot. We are glad that Say Hei's boarding house girls are all safe and living in CDC just now. She told us they've been cooking food for the new refugees.

What impressed Say Hei most was the excellent questions Campie children asked her. Some were so difficult to answer but Khaing helped us in the afternoon. Questions like...

Q. Do you have a pet?
Q. How many children do you have?
Q. Do you like Burma or Thailand best?
Q. Do you think in Burmese or English, Khaing?
Q. Do the children play football?
Q Does anyone in Burma make a sacrifice for others?
Q. Why did you come to Thailand?
Q Did the soldiers see you come to Thailand?
Q Were you afraid?
Q. How many students in your school?
Q. When did the trouble start in Burma?
Q. Would you fight the soldiers?
Q. When will the fighting stop?
Q. Are you cold?
Q. Are you tired?
Q What writing do children do in CDC?

and on and on and on and .... just brilliant... well done Campie kids.

Trouble in Myawaddy

Say Hei and Paw Ray woke this morning to very worrying news from Mae Sot. Overnight there had been fighting in Myawaddy, just across the river and some crossfire had hit some Thai people on the Mae Sot side.

CDC school and the other migrant schools have been asked to close by the Thai Police to keep everyone safe. CDC tried to evacuate Say Hei's boarding house but the boarding house is right on the road to the bridge so the Thai Police wouldn't let people out. However Say Hei spoke to teacher Myo Nyunt and was satisfied that all her boarders were safe.

After Dr Cynthia told the volunteers the school was closed, Louise went to see if she could help with the stream of people fleeing into Mae Sot. The police were directing them to a big field near the bus station, near CDC school and Mae Tao Clinic.

Louise told me, "People from Myawaddy were all just sitting there on bits of cardboard in this huge field. They'd run away from Burma across the river with nothing and they were sat there feeding their babies. They were happy to be out of Myawaddy and glad to have somewhere to camp with their families. One woman was sitting wanting to go into the queue for food but she couldn't go because there was nobody to watch her baby. She told me she was a teacher in Myawaddy but here she was sitting in a field with nothing. It was mayhem. I helped by handing out water to people. The Thai police were being very kind to the people and the Red Cross were giving them food and water. I felt so horrible to leave to go home. Tonight it will be cold, about 16 degrees and they are all sitting in that field with no shelter."

She's written more on www.ilovemaesot.blogspot.com

From Mae Sot to Edinburgh - they did it!

4pm on Sunday 7 November 2010 was a wonderful moment. Say Hei and Paw Ray came through the International Arrival door, exhausted but safe. I was getting quite worried because their flight landed at 3.35pm but they weren't coming through the arrival door. That was because customs opened their suitcases and checked everything. Makes you cross doesn't it?

But they are here and we are so happy to have them with us. It was 4 degrees centigrade outside so we had the heating on full blast and our house was like toast. All the Scots in the house were sweating but Paw Ray still had her big coat on! I think they're OK now though.

We had a lovely welcome party for them. Gaynor (Chair of Campie Parent Council) and her family were here, Fiona, Beth and Gavin from Forthview and Alastair whose mum is Burmese. We enjoyed a buffet and Paw Ray and Say Hei both managed to eat it.

Of course, today is Election Day in Burma so we quickly found the Irrawaddy website in Burmese so they could catch up on the news. The Election is over, the results unknown except we all know what they will be. However, news from our friends that the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army have seized power from the Burmese Army in Myawaddy, just over the bridge from Mae Sot. Follow this news on http://www.irrawaddy.org/.

They've had a shower now and they're both tucked up in bed at 7.30pm. Tomorrow They will both go to Forthview, taking greetings from Thazin. Then on Tuesday, Paw Ray is going to London to speak to groups about the need on the border for migrant Burmese and Karen children. Say Hei will be going to Campie and EVERYONE is very excited for that.

Journey is going well

I just spoke to Say Hei and Paw Ray on the phone. They are about to board the plane in Bangkok and have safely got through all the checkpoints. They sound happy and excited and a bit worried about how cold it will be. We'll be meeting them tomorrow at 3.35pm in Edinburgh Airport. Just amazing.

One of our lovely Campie mums went out today and organised 2 whole bags of essential clothing for living in Scotland. So so kind ... and the labels she made said,

"Welcome to our friends from Burma with much love from your Campie friends. x"

What a lovely start. Thank you Campie mum. :)

Say Hei comes, An Election in Burma

At last, Say Hei will arrive in Scotland on Sunday 7 November at 3.30pm. She will be in Campie on Tuesday, or perhaps Monday. The children are all very excited to meet her and are pretty good at the Burmese greeting. Minglaba! Say Hei hasn’t got any shoes. She only wears sandals so we’re guessing what size she is so we can take some shoes to the airport for her. Gaynor’s family and Ms Laing and a Burmese lady called Khin are going to meet Say Hei and her friend Paw Ray, who is travelling with her.

On Saturday, the Campie teachers who went to Burma and 6 P7s are going to Glasgow to speak at Amnesty International’s Scottish Conference about Burma. Ko Htike and Win Maung Thein are going with us. They are Burmese refugee students at Newbattle Abbey College, Dalkeith so the P7s will enjoy quizzing them on the train.

It’s a very important weekend for the Burmese people. The first elections since 1990 are on Sunday, the day Say Hei and Paw Ray arrive in Scotland. Last time Aung San Suu Kyi won the elections. This time, her party are not allowed to be elected. So the election is not as fair as the election Campie children have voted in this week. Every child from P2- 6 has voted in the Children’s Vote run by Tam Baillie. Nobody told Campie children what to vote for. Burma is very different. So listen to the news children and listen out for what happens in Burma this weekend.

On 13 November, Aung San Suu Kyi may be freed so listen out for that too. Say Hei and Paw Ray will be finding out what’s really going on in Burma and they will tell us.
So have a safe journey Sey Hei. We are all thinking about you. You are very brave, just like Aung San Suu Kyi.