Tsunami Relief Feb/March 2005

Hello Friends,

Greetings from an already HOT HOT HOT Thailand. I am writing from mynew position -- I am in charge of the Tsunami Relief Project as partof an NGO called HREIB, Human Rights Education in Burma. I am stillworking here as well as an English teacher to the Burmese Interns, butnow I will be also working on the relief efforts -- keeping up to datereports on the conditions in the south of Thailnd and speficially howthey are affecting Burmese Migrant Workers. I will be travelling downthe Phuket myself to witness the damage and how it is being addressedup until this point. There is another group that wants me to teachEnglish and computer, but I don't want to spread myself too thin.Up until this point, I have been keeping myself mildly busy, I startedan immediate yoga class which is a great supplement to my new workingout and swimming schedule and I am overall tryign to be very healthy.It helps that the food is so amazing and cheap and that I get plentyof sunshine to keep me happy!

I travelled across the border into Burma this weekend from a towncalled Mae Sott and got to meet some of the Burmese Refugee friends ofDavid. Burma was fascinatingly different than Thailand -- in the 5 kmthey allow you to travel in as they withold our passport at theImmigration office. The poverty resemebled much more the rural areasof India I have travelled to and less the modern-ness of Thailand.

Election day was Sunday in Thailand, the country re-elected the partythat is striving for the country to be an economic powerhouse similarto Singapore, ignoring the importance of rights. Northern Hill Tribesand Burmese Populatiosn continued to be ignored by the government.The highlights of the weekend trip were definitely having my palm readby a Burmese Astrologist (and translated) which was of course,scaringly right on -- I will tell you about it, and singing badBritish pop songs by Blue as Karoke with the Burmese Folk (I did muchbetter at rapping along to 50 cent without a screen for words). Goodtimes!

I am going to return back to the US on March 31st because it seemsthat I have some business to take care of in order to finalize where Iwill be settling down in the fall. My mother is coming for a weekvisit in the begining of March which wil be exciting.Other than that, all is well! Keep in touch.

Love Reena

Here are some of the pictures from my trip i just returned to workingwith my organization, Tsunami Action Group, aimed to help with reliefand legal issues for Burmese Migrant Workers in Southern Thailand whowere affected by the Tsunami. Everyone I met had lost eitherchildren, mother/brother/sister, or husband... and are now faced withmany legal issues of deportation and live with no freedom of movementand in fear. We are lucky to have good funding, and hope to expand ourstuff and outreach to deal with the additional issues, in thisre-building stage after the crisis.

Yours Truly,
Reena