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BurmaNet News: October 31, 2000
- Subject: BurmaNet News: October 31, 2000
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 08:07:00
______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
An on-line newspaper covering Burma
_________October 31, 2000 Issue # 1652__________
INSIDE BURMA _______
*Wired: Myanmar's Tangled Web
*Myanmar Times: Cyber culture hits city as promoters open Uni outlet
*Shan Human Rights Foundation: Forced labor in Shan State
REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*AP: Myanmar press says Briton owes freedom to goodwill, not pressure
ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*Courier News Service: Diesel Company Seeking to Attract Investors
OTHER _______
*International Rescue Committee: Job positions, Thai/Burma border
The BurmaNet News is viewable online at:
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________
Wired: Myanmar's Tangled Web
by Swaroopa Iyengar
WIRED NEWS, 2:00 a.m. Oct. 30, 2000 PST
Not even 1 percent of the 46 million people in the Union of Burma can
read this article online.
Unlike neighboring countries India and Thailand, where technology is
making inroads, Burmese military dictatorship has actively kept Internet
access out of bounds from its citizens.
The military junta -- the State Peace and Development Council -- has
been so effective in closing down Burma that it has been included in the
"top 20 enemies of the Internet" list released by Reporteurs Sans
Frontieres last year.
According to the 2000 Amnesty International report on human rights
violations, there are "at least 19,000 prisoners in Burma, 700 of whom
were being held for 'national security' reasons. Prison conditions
amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment continue to be
reported."
To maintain the status quo, the junta keeps a tight reign on all
communication systems in the country.
Telephone lines are tapped, and fax machines, modems, computers and
satellite dishes have to be registered with the government. Any sort of
unauthorized use or possession of "illegal" devices result in severe
penalties and imprisonment.
"There is only one main government-run news agency in Burma, and even
there we don't use computers -- only typewriters," said a Burmese
student currently in San Francisco requesting anonymity. "The three
newspapers, and the two radio and television stations feed off the news
agency, and together, act as mouthpieces for the junta."
"There have been instances of people who get 15 years in jail, just for
using a fax machine or installing a satellite dish without permission,"
continued the student.
"The junta tries to subdue the citizens by keeping them in fear. But we
still want news from outside so we try and tune into BBC, VOA and
Democratic Voice of Burma (a Norway-based radio station) -- the
broadcast is monitored by the military intelligence and some portions of
the news are scrambled."
Given the fact that the junta's stronghold depends upon their control
over the flow of information, the advent of the Internet posed a serious
and immediate cause for concern.
In 1996, the SPDC passed a "Communication Computer Law" that enforces
seven- to 15-year imprisonment on anyone who tries to use the Internet
without prior sanction from the Ministry of Communication, Posts and
Telegraph.
"E-mails have to go through a government-monitored server," said another
Burmese student living in San Francisco. "And it is impossible for
ordinary individuals to get a line.
"First priority is given to government officials and organizations, then
to foreign embassies and foreign businesses and finally to certain local
businesses. When I want to send an e-mail, I need to take the
information on a floppy disk to an office that has an e-mail server and
then pay $1 per page. And all the data has to be text only."
The nervous regime has squelched the possibility of connecting to an
outside ISP by making international calls too expensive to afford on a
regular basis.
The average income of a government employee in Burma is $25 a month;
applying for an international calling facility costs $1,000 and calls to
the United States are as steep as $50 for five minutes.
While people in the country have a vague idea about the possibilities of
the Internet, activists and pro-democracy groups working from outside
say that the connectivity a Web address and e-mail provides has been
vital in bringing the diffused Burmese community together.
"The Internet has been irreplaceable in helping us come together and
communicate as a group," said Larry Dohrs, an activist working with the
Free Burma Coalition. "The fact that information moves faster online
enables us to always have someone on the ground, whether in Ireland or
San Jose or Japan."
The regime is not oblivious to the importance of having a Net presence.
Myanmar.com, "the only official website for Burma," invites tourists to
the golden land in four languages and with a few clicks one may even
stumble upon a five-page rant on "American interference in the internal
affairs of Burma."
The New Light of Myanmar, the junta's online English newspaper, carries
an endless barrage of military propaganda.
The Myanmar Times' online edition recently celebrated the opening of a
new "i-cafe" in Rangoon, calling it "a place where cake and coffee is
served with an info-technology twist" -- the writer carefully avoided
the forbidden "I" word -- but extolled at some length on the "wide
assortment of games" the cafe will offer its members.
"The military uses the Net aggressively to push their point of view,"
Dohrs said. "They understand the usefulness of e-mail lists. The print
editions of the newspapers might have several anti-NLD stories but they
never really make their way to the websites. We have not heard of anyone
who has actually found an Internet cafe that offers access in Burma."
The junta is making claims of allowing lenient access soon, but
activists see it as a mere facade.
Individuals will still have to obtain a license from the MPT --
currently the only Internet server in the country -- and the government
will monitor content for any "anti-nationalistic" sentiment. Facts are
murky, but initial connections might cost anything from $300 to $1,000,
followed by a $3 to $5 per-hour user charge, according to different
sources.
"Governments are supposed to deliver services to people," said Douglas
Steele, editor of BurmaNet News, based in Japan. "This is more of an
armed gang. Besides, the junta is being dragged into getting Net access
because of their membership with the Association of South East Asian
Nations. Merely because of this involvement, there are at least 300
people in the government who have to have e-mail."
Steele started the electronic newspaper in 1994 -- he assimilates news
from Burma using various sources and sends it out in an e-mail
newsletter to 2,000 mailboxes each day.
"There are a number of groups that have access to information inside the
country -- I use them quite actively," Steele said. "There are people
who travel into Burma frequently. We do not hire people from within, but
most of the groups I work with have networks in Burma and they become
visible on the borders."
"The junta has to now make a trade-off like China did," Dohrs said.
"They want in on the benefits of e-commerce but that would mean free
flow of information into the country. They are not willing to risk
anything for commercial gain."
The information that is coming out of Burma and making its way around
the world in a single day is undoubtedly making the regime edgy. A new
set of Internet regulations was announced on Burmese television by the
MPT on Jan. 20, explicitly prohibiting citizens from using the Web for
political speech.
"They are looking at BurmaNet very carefully," said Maureen Aung-Thwin,
director of the Burma Project in New York. "In August this year, one of
their ministers criticized their practices at a business seminar outside
the country. BurmaNet reported this and a couple of days later Zaw Tun
was sacked."
"They will let the Net in as they want foreign investment in the country
-- e-commerce is too tempting," Steele said. "Right now, the situation
for them is like a rope with a noose on either end -- and to us
activists, it does not matter which end they hang themselves on."
BurmaNet is now being translated into Burmese, a step Steele hopes will
be the key to reaching several more people inside Burma.
"Now, there are other ways of getting information through," Steele said.
"Burma is asserting control by being primitive; so they might confiscate
a laptop at the airport, or look for video and audio tapes or disks," he
added. "But these days, we routinely carry around more megabytes of
memory, like maybe on a palm pilot. Or the new Walkmans that include MP3
players -- they are as small as a pen. The authorities are not
sophisticated enough to figure all this out.
********
BurmaNet adds: As is not uncommon in the media, Wired got a few things
wrong. Some of the quotes are not exactly right and the text of Zaw
Tun?s remarks were first published on the Free Burma Coalition?s mailing
list, not BurmaNet.
____________________________________________________
Myanmar Times: Cyber culture hits city as promoters open Uni outlet
October 23-29 ,2000
YANGON might not yet have access to cyberspace, but at least it has
cybercafe culture.That culture arrived in the city last week with the
opening of iCafe, a partnership between Café Aroma and Innwa Books, on
the edge of campus of Yangon University.And it looks certain to attract
a diverse clientele of students, academics, businesspeople and those
hungry for a taste of the e-revolution.
Looking to emulate a formula which has proved successful around the
world,
iCafe is stocked with both books and computers ? the latter locally
networked to games, educational resources and a vast array of academic
databases ? plus an up-market coffee service. Innwa Managing Director, U
Pyone Maung Maung, addressed a crowd of 100 at the iCafe launch last
Wednesday night. He said the event represented more than the opening of
a venue in which customers could undertake computer-assisted research,
drink a coffee or buy a magazine.
?Very soon Myanmar will join the information revolution and this is
going to change the face of education here,? U Pyone Maung Maung
said.?This iCafe represents the transformation that will inevitably
sweep our system over the coming generation.?As part of the global
online revolution the face of teaching will be changed forever, and we
are not about to be left out of the technology race. ?Indeed in the
halls of academia, the World Wide Web has moved rapidly from a
controversial talking point to a revolution in higher learning.?
U Pyone Maung Maung said universities across the globe were placing
increasing emphasis on the development of online course, and integrating
web-based elements into core curricula as a matter of course.In Myanmar,
the information revolution would force universities to re-examine their
role and professors to update courses they had been teaching for years.
It would reshape the domestic education model, he said.?With a free
market system and a solid, well established university system Myanmar
can make this grade ? and iCafe is an example of how learning systems
will evolve,? he said.
?The biggest challenge for anyone in online education is to determine
the most appropriate uses for technology.What kind of things are we
after here, and what is the best way to deliver it??Having information
at our fingertips will push our country into a better position for doing
business and will help the rest of the world have a more favourable view
of our country.?The many students in Yangon without computer access will
be a key market for iCafe.To mark its opening, iCafe is offering
discounted membership rates until 30 November.
____________________________________________________
Shan Human Rights Foundation: Forced labor in Shan State
Excerpt from SHRF Monthly Report -- October 2000
Despite their promise to the ILO to let up the use of forced
labour, the Burmese military junta are still blatantly using unpaid
civilian forced labour in virtually all their undertakings, including
economic activities, military operations, building and maintaining
infrastructures such as roads, bridges and military facilities,
cultivating crops for the military, and, in many cases, even in their
daily personal matters, in the whole Shan State.
Ox-carts, mini-tractors, trucks, cars and other vehicles of the people
are frequently being forced to serve the military for nothing and
without them taking any responsibility for any damage done to the
vehicles.
GENERAL SITUATION OF FORCED LABOUR AND EXTORTION IN MURNG-TON
The civilian population in Murng-Ton township are being forced
to work without pay for the SPDC troops regularly for at least 15 days
per month.
For each month, every household has to provide workers to work for the
military in the following categories of work. Working in rotation, each
household has to give up their time for the military generally as shown
below:
1. Guarding roads --- 2 days and 2 nights
2. Serving as porters (actually serving or standing-by) --- 7 days and 7
nights
3. Waiting on stand-by at military camps (for running errands, etc.) ---
2 days and 2 nights
4. Working in military farms and fields --- 2 days
5. Making fences, chicken shacks and pigsties, etc. --- 1 day
6. Clearing military compounds and drainages, etc. --- 1 day
Each civilian truck or car in the township has to wait at the military
camps on stand-by for 7 days per month to do various kinds of
transportation. Any truck or car, even though its turn for serving the
military is not yet due, is subjected to conscription at any time in an
emergency. The owners have to provide their own fuel for their vehicles.
Mini-tractors are often forced to work or borrowed æfor freeÆ by the
military for several days at a time and the soldiers take no
responsibility for any damage done to the tractors. Video tape recorders
are also very often borrowed by the soldiers, either to entertain their
families or for their own enjoyment, sometimes for several weeks and are
returned usually only after they have broken down, and the owners have
to pay for the repair.
Small shops selling a small amount of consumer goods are taxed 1,500
Kyat per month by the military authorities and bigger shops selling
clothes and other goods are taxed 3,000 Kyat and upwards.
Whenever there are occasions during which there are visiting senior
military authorities, or transferring of troops or military units, the
soldiers often take many things from the shops without paying the costs.
Apart from the regular provision of many kinds of forced labour, there
is often random conscription of labourers, especially porters, whenever
the so-called emergency cases arise.
FORCED LABOUR AND BEATING IN MURNG-NAI AND KUN-HING
Since early this year, SPDC troops of Kun-Hing-based LIB524 have
been conscripting ox-carts of the civilian populations in Kaeng Tawng
area of Murng-Nai township to transport teak lumber from Kaeng Tawng to
Kun-Hing town in Kun-Hing township. About 30 ox-carts from Kaeng Tawng
are being used at a time and at least 2 times per month.
The owners and the drivers of the ox-carts get nothing for their
service but are scolded, fined and even punished if they fail to fulfill
their forced labour obligations. Those who could not work fast enough to
meet the demand of the troops because of some defects are often scolded
and beaten; sometimes even the oxen are beaten to death. One such event
took place on 22.9.00.
FORCED LABOUR IN KAENG-TUNG
On 25.8.00, SPDC troops of IB226 issued an order forcing the
villagers of Wan Hud village in Murng Laab tract, Kaeng-Tung township,
to provide bamboo pieces for the military base to make fences around it.
On that day, at about 09:00 hrs, 5 SPDC troops from IB226, based at
Loi Muay in Kaeng-Tung township, came to Wan Hud village and told the
headman, Lung Sai, to go and see their commander at the base
immediately.
In order to get to the military base as soon as possible, the headman
and 2-3 villagers hired a car and set off right away. When they got to
the base, the commander rapped out an order to the headman to tell his
villagers to bring 60 bunches of bamboo pieces for making fences by
30.8.00, no matter how they got them, and dismissed them immediately
without letting them utter a word. Each bunch of bamboo contained 100
pieces of 2-inches-thick and 6-feet-long bamboo sticks.
The village headman had no choice but to call a village meeting and
allotted the duties among his villagers. Since there was no wild bamboo
that could be cut for free in the area, the villagers had to buy from
other villages, some as far as 20 miles from their village.
The villagers managed to meet the deadline set by the commander of
IB226 by working very hard and squeezing out 300 Kyat from each familyÆs
meagre income to pay for the bamboo and the car rent. In addition to
their free labour, the villagers also had to provide over 8,000 Kyat of
money to fulfill the demand of the military.
According to the local people, every village in the area often has
to do one kind of forced labour or another all year round, and no
village or family is spared.
FORCED LABOUR IN MURNG-YARNG
On 17.8.00, SPDC troops of Murng-Yarng-based IB279 forced the
villagers of Wan Yaao, Wan Pung and Wan Pa Hai villages in Murng Luay
tract, Murng-Yarng township, to do sanitary work in the military base
all day long without pay, and the villagers had to provide their own
food and tools.
On 16.8.00, the headmen of the said 3 villages were summoned to the
military base of IB279 and were told by the commander to contribute
labour, one person from each house in their villages, to do sanitary
work in the base on the next day, and added that this was æbecause the
soldiers and their families were too busy to do it themselvesÆ. The
villagers were dismissed immediately without being given a chance to say
anything.
Each person from the 17 houses of Wan Yaao village, 9 houses of Wan
Pung village and 14 houses of Wan Pa Hai village had take their food and
tools and go to work at the military base from 08:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs,
stopping only for a short while around midday to eat their meal.
The villagers saw many soldiers and their families in the base who
were doing nothing most of the time, and some of them even came every
now and then to stand and watch them work with folded arms, but no one
seemed to care even to provide the villagers with drinking water.
FORCED LABOUR IN TA-KHI-LAEK (TACHILEK)
Since 19.9.00, SPDC troops of Tachilek-based LIB526 have been forcing
the villagers of Wan Saa Laa and Wan Noi villages in Fang Min tract,
Ta-Khi-Laek township, to grow several kinds of crops for them at the
farms near the 2 villages which have been confiscated from the villagers
since 1998.
The troops provided the seeds and the villagers have to do all the
rest, from clearing, tilling, sowing, weeding, up to the harvesting and
transporting the produced crops to the military base. The villagers
would also be held responsible for any loss and failure.
The crops the villagers have been forced to grow include potato,
peanut, sesame, pea and different kinds of bean. Since there are only
about 20-30 houses in each of the 2 villages, the villagers have to work
in frequent rotation, and have very little time to work for themselves.
FARMERS FORCED TO GROW RICE FOR THE MILITARY IN MURNG-TON
On 1.10.00, SPDC troops of Murng-Ton-based IB65 issued a written order
to all the village tract headmen in Murng-Ton and Murng-Sart township
forcing the farmers in the areas to grow rice and other crops for the
military.
The order required the farmers to buy rice seeds, which had been
brought up from the lowland in southern Burma by the military, and grow
them for the military as the second harvest in the villagers? rice
fields after the harvest of the rainy season crops.
Soya bean seeds and another kind of bean seeds were also required to
be bought by the farmers.
The farmers would be held accountable for any loss and failure. The
paddy seeds were to be bought immediately and kept by the farmers, and
were to be cultivated as soon as the current rice crop had been
harvested, said the order.
The paddy seeds would be sold at the rate of 3,500 Kyat per basket,
and both kinds of bean at the rate of 10,000 Kyat per basket. The
following rates of production were expected: -- 1 basket of rice seeds
must produce 100 baskets
-- 1 basket of soya bean must produce 400 baskets
-- 1 basket of a certain bean must produce 500 baskets
If these requirements were not met, the farmers were responsible to
fill up the quotas.
The 8 village tracts in Murng-Ton township were required to buy from
1 to 3 baskets of each kind of the seeds in proportion with the sizes of
their cultivating land areas.
___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
AP: Myanmar press says Briton owes freedom to goodwill, not pressure
Oct 31, 2000
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) Myanmar released a British human rights activist
from prison last week on humanitarian grounds and not because of
international pressure, commentaries in the state-controlled press said
Tuesday.
The articles also charged that James Mawdsley, who flew out of Myanamar
Oct. 20 after 14 months of solitary confinement, was mentally deficient.
``Tolerance, forbearance and compassion are typical Myanmar
characteristics,'' said a column in the Myanmar-language 'Kyemon' daily.
Mawdsley, ``an eccentric mental patient, was freed on humanitarian
grounds and in response to the promises and requests by some prominent
British citizens and not because Myanmar was afraid of international
pressure,'' it said.
During his time in prison, Mawdsley received consular access 27 times,
met family members 17 times and was allowed to see a Christian priest
twice for prayers in accordance with prison rules, Kyemon said.
Mawdsley was arrested last year when he sneaked into the country to
protest against the military government of Myanmar. The junta has faced
increasing Western criticism for not allowing pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi to form a government despite winning elections in 1991. The
military government is also accused of suppressing minority rights.
Mawdsley was sentenced to 17 years in jail for illegally entering
Myanmar and distributing pro-democracy leaflets. Britain's Foreign
Secretary Robin Cook has said that Mawdsley's release was the result of
lobbying by his family and friends and diplomatic pressure from Britain.
``The mercenary who was convicted due to his violation of existing laws
was branded as a democracy and human rights activist. He was nothing but
an addled brain,'' said another commentary in the Myanmar-language
'Myanma Ahlin' newspaper.
The newspaper accused the foreign media and two British voluntary
organizations _ Jubilee Campaign and Burma Campaign _ of exaggerating
the news over Mawdsley's release and complicating Myanmar's affairs
under the pretext of promoting democracy and human rights.
Several weeks before his release, British consular officials reported
that Mawdsley, 27, had been beaten by guards and had suffered a broken
nose and two black eyes. Myanmar's government said he had injured
himself accidentally in a scuffle with prison guards.
Mawdsley, from Lancashire in northwest England, had been arrested in
Myanmar twice before. In 1998, he served 99 days of a 7-year sentence.
He was pardoned on condition he not return to the country. ^aaw-gp/vj<
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
Courier News Service: Diesel Company Seeking to Attract Investors
Burma Courier
October 25, 2000
RANGOON -- A diesel sales and service company, which lists among its
partners some of Rangoon's leading construction and trading enterprises,
is looking for international funds to help finance projects in Rangoon
and southeastern Burma.
The Myanmar Unique Diesel Company (MUD) with invested capital of more
than $US 3 million and a network of sales and service centres in
Rangoon, Mandalay, Taung-gyi, Pye and Museh (on the Chinese border)
lists as its top priority the start-up of a plant for the assembly and
distribution of diesel fueled vehicles from Japan's Nissan Corp and
Korea's Samsung Company as well as a Chinese company identified simply
as JAC.
MUD, which was incorporated in 1999, lists as associated partners some
of Burma's leading financial, construction and trading companies
including the Kanbawza Bank and the Myanmar Billion Group, Yuzana,
Golden Shell, Shwe Family Trading, Myanmar Minami, Golden Orchid, A & O,
Thilawun and Shwe Myeik Co. Among its leading patrons are U Aung Ko
Win of the Kanbawza Bank and U Htay Myint of the Yuzana Group.
An advertisement posted on a Myanmar government website says the company
is "seeking foreign partners, contractors, investors or funders" for the
projects outlined in the notice. It also offers the company's services
as consultant for other investment and trade opportunities.
Besides the diesel vehicle assembly plant, MUD lists a wide-ranging
series of development projects on its financial wish-list. These
include the construction of a 400 ton daily capacity cement plant and 14
MW hydro electric power plant in Tenasserim division and the
construction of a deep sea port and development of a granite quarry on
Kalagauk Island in Ye township.
One of the Kalagauk projects is the building of a highway from Three
Pagodas Pass at the Thai-Burma border to Kalagauk. A company named as
the Thai Transit Trade Network is listed as having an interest in the
port and 'export promotion zone'. A second Thai firm, the Kanchanaburi
Tavoy Development Co, is already involved with a Burmese firm, Kyaw Lynn
Naing, in plans to build a deep sea port facility in Tavoy (Dawei)
farther to the south in Tenasserim division.
Another ambitious project noted on the MUD list is the development of a
50,000 hectare palm-oil estate and 'downstream' production facilities,
presumably in southern Tenasserim where several national companies
including Yuzana already have stakes. Nearly all of Burma's major
construction companies are currently involved in government subsidized
land reclamation projects, which utilize pricey earth moving equipment
during the current drought in the real estate construction market.
MUD did not respond to requests from Courier News Services for further
information about the company and its projects.
_____________________ OTHER ______________________
International Rescue Committee: Job positions, Thai/Burma border
[Abridged, contact nipawan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
PROGRAMS COORDINATOR
(Field Coordinator)
Mae Hong Son, Thailand
SUMMARY:
Based in Mae Hong Son, the Programs Coordinator (PC / FC) will be
responsible for overseeing comprehensive primary health care, emergency
relief and capacity building/ development projects provided by
IRC-Thailand in three Karenni refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border
(for approximately 19.000 camp-based refugees). The total budget for
MHS in 2001 is expected to be US$ 850,000. An expansion of services to
vulnerable groups, unrecognised refugees or displaced people living
outside designated camps is envisaged. The PC is responsible for
overall administrative and fiscal management of the Mae Hong Son field
office, for assessing and establishing new initiatives, and for liaison
duties with refugee leaders, Thai government officials, visiting donors,
and other interested parties at the provincial level. The main
responsibilities of the position are as follows:
CAPCITY BUILDING PROGRAM
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title : Capacity Building Program Manager
Job Summary : The Capacity Building Program Manager (CBPM) will be
responsible for the management and administration of current capacity
building programs and will have responsibility for future program
direction and planning. The CBPM will be the immediate supervisor of
the Capacity Building Program Officers with responsibility for
developing the capacity of the CBPO's to manage delegated aspects of the
Capacity Building Program as defined in the CBPO's Job Descriptions.
Job title: English Language Trainer (Volunteer Position)
Country: Thailand, South East Asia
Skill group: English Language Teacher/Trainer
Skill: Teaching English as a Foreign Language (+ General
Teaching/Workshop Skills)
Employer: International Rescue Committee (Thailand Program), 19 Soi 33
Sukhamvit, Bangkok, Thailand 10110 66-2-260-2870 Contact: Khun
Nipawan,
Starting Date: Dec 1, 2000 or asap
Length of placement: Yearly contract (12 months, can be renewed if both
parties agree)
 The yearly contract (12 months) is standard employment practice
with IRC for all staff. It is expected that the contract would be
renewed for another one or two years, as long as a need for the position
exists. The placement will be managed under IRC's Capacity Building
Program based in Mae Hong Son (Northern Thailand). The position
involves working (mainly) in the Karenni Refugee Camps in Northern
Thailand. This can present many challenges to someone who has never
worked in such a context before. The climate is generally hot all year
round with variable levels of humidity. As with any tropical location,
malaria is a possibility but normal precautions reduces the risk
significantly.
Key Duties and responsibilities of the volunteer:
 Identify English language training needs of the main Karenni
Leaders and Karenni NGOs. Develop appropriate English language
training materials/curriculum for implementation in formal training
lessons (to accommodate basic through to intermediate levels (expect
advance later). Develop appropriate training schedule for
implementation of English Language training (based on a year plan,
detailed into monthly activity plans). Arrange and conduct
formal language training courses for the main Karenni Organisations in
the Refugee camps (target group size estimated between 40-50
participants).
Identify, develop and maintain appropriate support materials to
consolidate the formal training activities (i.e., a small library,
simple English language news letter, internet usage, etc.).
Provide both formal and on the job support training to the CBLT
counterpart and 2-3 Karenni refugee trainers (focus on teaching
methodology and subject/curriculum development, etc..).
Monitor and evaluate training implementation and write a monthly
progress report to the Capacity Building Program Manager.
Develop and maintain a filing system for all relevant correspondence and
teaching materials.
Maintain appropriate records on student participation (attendance,
progress, test results etc.) Attend and participate in IRC's
weekly progress and development meetings.
Location of placement
The placement is located on the Thai-Burma border, in the northern hills
of Thailand, in the small tourist town of Mae Hong Son. The climate is
tropical and reaches temperatures as high as 38oc in March/April, it is
relatively humid during the monsoon season (mid June to end Sept). The
cool season (25oc) occurs between December/January.
Social context of placement
____________________________________________________
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