Youth from Burma

Last Friday, I got a chance to participate in a youth symposium of the American University. Thanks to Myatnoe, who encouraged me to join the symposium. I presented the education of youth from Burma and their potential for Burma's democratic movement by dividing into three classes.
The first one belongs to the families and relatives of the top generals and their cronies. Their children get excellent education at private international schools in Burma and were sent to study in overseas. They simply take over the businesses protected by and interests of their parents. To them, education is a privilege but not a right. Their schools are equipped with modern facilities and supports. This group is not interested in rights and freedom of people.
The second group is so-called a middle class or working class. Children from this group attend public schools those are severely unfunded, shortage of teachers and insufficient facilities. I defined myself as a member of the second group in Burma. We did not have a choice but tried to get whatever education available. We were under strict control and no rights and freedom in our learning. Often, the regime shut down schools for political reasons and suppression. That’s why affordable families find ways to send their children to neighboring countries for further education. As a result, there are lots of young people from Burma studying in Thialand, Singapore and other Asian countries. Those young people know why Burma is poor and how to change it but they are hesitant to take a risk to fight this cruel regime that oppresses ruthlessly to its opponents. Eventually, they do not return to Burma and find jobs in overseas after graduation. If we can find some ways to motivate or lead them to join our democratic movement, they will be very useful.
The last class is poor and underprivileged who cannot afford even basic education. They are the majority. Because of political instability and mismanagement of the regime, economy in Burma is deteriorating with high rate of inflation, unemployment and corruption. In this class, poverty is the greatest barrier to accessing primary and secondary education in Burma. These days, young people drop out of schools and left home and look for jobs in neighboring countries. Today there are lots of young people working as illegal workers in Thailand, India, Malaysia and Indonesia. They cannot live long time outside of the country and often are deported to Burma because of their illegal status. Those people are willing to change the country. Of course, they are the most suffering from the crisis of Burma. If we can provide certain education to them, they will take the knowledge and skill back to Burma.
On the other hand, there are hundreds and thousands of young people living in the refugee camps along Thai Burma border. I met these young refugees when I studied in Bangkok. Very lucky few of us got scholarships and had a chance to study at the international college. However, many potential young people in refugee camps and on the border are losing their future. As scholarships are always limited, we need more educational programs that can effectively help the majority of the young people.

I also mentioned Dr. Thein Lwin, who is the Director of migrant learning center and teacher training programs. I informed the audience to visit his website at http://www.educationburma.net for more information. That's my two cents.
Winmay