The Mae Tao Clinic for Burmese Refugees

This report was written while I was living on the Thai/Burma border and I must admit, I’m not sure how to fully describe the painful experiences of the hundreds-of-thousands of Burmese refugees living in Thailand. Yet, I will do my best to show you through my photography the individual lives and experiences of a few refugees that I had the privilege of documenting while echoing the lives of thousands of Burmese people displaced by war.

The Mae Tao clinic is a free health care center on the outskirts of the border town of Mae Sot, Thailand which was established in February of 1989 by Dr. Cynthia Maung after fleeing violent repression from the Burmese government. Twenty-two years later, the Mae Tao clinic has vastly grown and now consists of several departments to address the needs of the ever-growing number of refugees crossing the border river every year. Upheld year round by some 630+ staff, the long list of these departments include: Dressing, Surgery, Trauma, Prostheses for land mind victims, Pre-natal/Post-abortion care (abortions are illegal in Burma but legal in Thailand), Food & Nutrition, Blood Transfusions, Water & Sanitation, Child Protective Services, Eye Care, Training Programs, HIV Care, School Programs, Dental, Social Outreach and Housing Accommodations for in/out patients as well as those traveling long distances to receive care. All of these vital services are free for the 150,000 refugees and illegal immigrants every year who otherwise cannot receive any health care whatsoever. The only payment required by the clinic is an initial registration fee of around 25¢!

Bedridden by injury.

Burma has the worst health record in Southeast Asia. The Mae Tao clinic report “From Rice Cooker to Autoclave” has published findings by Phil Thornton from the Bangkok Post which state that the “UN’s Development Programme's Human Development Index has ranked Burma # 130 out of 177 countries. The World Health Organization placed Burma’s health system as the world’s second worst out of 191 countries”. Per capita, “Burma’s official spending on health care is estimated to be $0.74 compared to Thailand, which invests $89”. Mr. Thornton continues to highlight how damaging the figures are on the ground by reporting that, “Over 7% of Burmese children don’t survive their first year on Earth and 10% will die before their fifth”. That's approximately one in fourteen gone before their first birthday, and one in ten that won’t see their fifth year of life.

Young girl in the trauma ward.

This neglect of human life and dignity is not from a lack of funds; rather, it highlights the depth of government corruption. The nation of Burma/Myanmar has a 1 -2 billion dollar a year revenue from oil and natural gas, and yet a John Hopkins School of Public Health report shows gut-wrenching evidence that the current regime spends “as little as 3% of national expenditures on health, while the military, with a standing army of over 400,000 troops, consumes 40%”.

A woman hospitalized by domestic violence.

This treatment center is crucial, as the situation in Burma/Myanmar is constantly fluctuating from instability to open war between the government and ethnic groups, such as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army or the Karen National Liberation Army, fighting for autonomy. Of course, every time war and conflict erupts inside of Burma there is loss of life, increased hardships and hundreds of arrests, disappearances, internally displaced people and refugees. Dr. Cynthia Maung has stated that, “Over the past twenty years I have never seen the patient caseload decrease”. To give weight to Dr. Cynthia’s words the Mae Tao clinic treated 1,351 trauma cases in 1999, which skyrocketed to 7,074 caseloads in 2008. In 1990 the clinic delivered 6 babies and a whopping 2,433 babies in 2008. Taking the doctor's words as truth, we can be sure that these numbers are even higher now in 2011 and will have exponentially increased by the time the next report is published.

A mother watches over her new born daughter.

The Mae Tao clinic runs its programs on year by year funding and with the global financial crisis still hitting many regions around the world supporters are backing out of their commitments and cutting off their contributions, leaving the looming question: Will the clinic have the necessary funds to continue their expanding work next year or the year after? As of now, 40% - 50% of the funding comes from the US AID program but with America tightening its grip on foreign spending (but not military expenditures) cuts are being made to social programs across the board. After personally witnessing the clinic and glimpsing the lives of those that depend on its help, I can begin to fathom what would happen if the clinic becomes unable to accommodate these desperate and displaced families. What would they do? And honestly, what other options would they have?

Young monk.

The "Can Do" Sex Worker Collective

In Chiang Mai, the northernmost city of Thailand, many restaurants, venues, and bars cater to the carnal pleasures of tourists and locals alike. One bar however, stands out among the others: the Can Do Bar is proudly owned and operated by a female collective of empowered sex workers.

Currently employing 20 workers, the Can Do Bar provides opportunities for female sex workers rarely ever offered in Thailand’s sex industry, such as: payment at (or above) minimum wage, 10 paid holidays, observance of 13 public holidays throughout the year, voluntary overtime at full pay, and paid sick leave. The workers are encouraged to join a union, or association, given full rights to settle disputes in a labor court, as well as instant access to contraceptives, and other safer sex methods, and an educational center on the second floor, above the bar.

Can Do Bar was formed by a group of sex workers frustrated with being controlled for profit, who quit, or fled their former sex houses, banded together, and pooled the initial Baht needed to start their independent collective. While working along the Myanmar border in northern Thailand, I decided to seek out this collective to experience, and understand this new approach to sex work.

Entering the Can Do Bar on a warm, fall evening, you get the impression of an intimately friendly den, instead of a booming nightclub; stings of thin, red lights outline the room’s frame, casting a soft, warm glow across the bar’s dark colored wood, and over the floor to the tables in the far corners. A staircase, with a large centerpiece photograph of a client in the midst of a sponge-bath, wraps around to the second, and third floors with bedrooms, and the education center.

Visiting the night before the bar’s large, Climate Change Cocktail Party, I interviewed the three women working that evening: Mai, Pae, and Oa. When asked over drinks of Whiskey what message they wanted to convey to other sex workers, their replies were confident.

"The Can Do Bar is fair bar" Mae told me simply. "It’s fun, and it’s enjoyable to be here. It’s not always work either. Sometimes we come here when we’re not working to dance, and sing with our friends. We also host social events, and fund raisers for our programs, as well as other organizations we agree with, and want to help support.”

Pae explained that the bar is not merely a place for people to find sex, but that it is a space for organizers, and friends of the movement to spread awareness about sex worker cooperatives. “Sex workers can open their own business, be their own boss, and take care of themselves," Pae said.

Oa expressed, "We can work, be artists (sex work as an act of art), and be safe all at the same time. We live here, and work in good conditions. Every bar can be like us with enough time, and effort.”
There are no exact figures as to the total number of sex workers in Thailand, but a conservative estimate puts the number around 20,000-40,000 women, with a large portion being underage minors. At this time, sex trafficking places many Thai sex workers in the dangerous positions of forced servitude.

The Empower Foundation is the focal advocate, and co-collaborator of the Can Do Bar’s undertaking, since its foundation in 2006. An organization of predominately western, third-wave feminists, Empower Foundation strives to build women’s confidence so they have a stronger foundation to express their preferences and assert their rights. The Empower Foundation views education and literacy as a fundamental part of building confidence, and it provides educational programs to over 30,000 sex workers throughout Thailand, many of whom are receiving education for the very first time in their life. They host classroom style education sessions in Phatpong Alley (a center of prostitution in Bangkok), as well as the southern island of Phuket, the town of Mae Sai, and the city of Chiang Mai.

Before leaving the bar, I met with Liz Hilton, a representative for the Empower Foundation, to discuss the Can Do Bar’s achievements.

“The Empower Foundation and the Can Do Bar were born out of sex worker frustration" Liz explained. "Workers voiced concerns to their government, but with no active response, they decided to pool together in a collective effort to show that their jobs can be done safely, and responsibly."

"We recently exceeded a global population of 7 billion people" Liz continued. "That means there have been at least 7 billion sexual acts. The global community does not seem to have a problem with this fact, and regards sex as a natural, private, and personal act. That is, until money comes into the equation. Then governments, businesses, and fundamental feminists (traditional first-wave feminists) all feel the need to intervene."

“Women have a right to do whatever they choose with their lives, and should be given autonomy to proceed in a positive way. That is what we are doing here. That is what the women of the Can Do Bar are doing."

With thousands of women involved in Thailand’s sex industry, the struggle to secure fair wages, the necessities of education, medical care, and access to contraceptives is an immense task. The thousands of workers denied these essentials each day urgently need change to this system.

Leaving the bar, and looking back at the lights illuminating the painted Can Do sign, I am inspired by these women’s stories, and by seeing what can be accomplished when determined individuals organize. By working together as a collective to empower sex workers, the Can Do Bar shows us the true strength of women when they claim their workplace and sexual rights, and define their own future.
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To learn more about the Empower Foundation in Thailand: www.empowerfoundation.org/barcando_en.html
To Learn more about sex work unionization in the Bay Area:
http://uspros.net/

Taking An Offering

Tonight is Loi Krathong—an annual light festival celebrated through Thailand and some adjacent countries. The most popular place to be during the festival is the northern city of Chiang Mai, where people light Khom Fai (something similar to a paper hot-air balloon). I, however, am currently on the Thai/Myanmar border, where most of the celebration is done in the traditional fashion of floating candles, flowers, and incense in a banana leaf boat down the river (though I will post a photograph of a lit Khom Fai so you get an idea of what it looks like). Almost all of these banana rafts contain food and coins as an offering to The Buddha. The purpose behind this celebration is to let go of one’s anger, frustration and negative thoughts, in order to put the past behind and move on positively into a new life.

Now, before I go any further, I want to take this time to tell you a story. (Trust me, it's worth reading.) This was a story that captivated me before I left the States to start my work overseas, and was told to me by the ever-inspiring Unitarian Universalist minister, Arther Vaeni.

--In a small Jewish community in Eastern Europe, there was baker who was in great need. One day, this baker decided to bake his finest loaf of bread and leave it in the cabinet behind the altar that evening as an offering to God, with the hope that God would grant him his prayer for happiness. Now, at night, the synagogue had a poor man from the community who lived off only a few coins a week come in and clean the sanctuary. This particular night, poor man fell to his knees in the sanctuary and prayed to God to help him find a way to feed his hungry children. When he opened the cabinet door behind the altar to see if God had listened to him, he was stunned to see a fresh loaf of bread waiting for him. It had worked; God had answered his prayers. After cleaning the synagogue, the poor man took this loaf of bread home and fed his children.

The following morning, the baker arrived and was also surprised to see that God had accepted his offering. From that moment, the baker vowed to bake an offering every day; and every day the poor man would come in the night and be blessed with this miraculous gift from God. Now this cycle went on for seven whole years until one day, the Rabbi of the temple watched the baker leave a loaf of bread in the altar cabinet. At first the Rabbi was angered at seeing the altar being defiled with food. Then, that anger turned to confusion as he watched the poor man take the offering from the altar shortly after the baker departed the grounds. The next day, the Rabbi gathered the two men and explained the situation. Both of the men felt betrayed; God had not listened to either of their prayers. However, the Rabbi explained that they were indeed fulfilling the wishes of god. The baker could be happy in knowing that his work was helping feed others, and the poor man could feel pleased knowing that there was a spiritually rich community for him to live in while never going hungry. The Rabbi then suggested that the baker bake a loaf of bread everyday and personally hand it to the poor man without the altar cabinet being involved. This way, both men would realize the true nature of God in each and every individual. Agreeing to this, the baker was filled with joy, and the poor man's family never went hungry again.--

Tonight, as the festivities of Loi Krathong started to die down, I walked up and down the river bank, photographing children as they swam out to collect the coin offerings of others to the Buddha. This way, each lay Buddhist has been spiritually revived by giving offerings to the Buddha, while less fortunate children are able to ease their suffering; the ultimate goal of The Buddha. Isn't that how a spiritually whole community should be?

Picking through the offerings.

Pocketing the gains.

Swimming to the prize.

Counting the purse.

Coins under the flowers.

Lighting of the Khom Fai.

The Lahu Hill Tribe

The indigenous people of the Lahu tribe span across the nations of Thailand, Burma, Laos, Vietnam and China. Traditionally known as a hunter-warrior society, the Lahu people are now finding themselves in a battle to hold onto their culture in this radically changing time of modernization.

After trekking through the jungle, crossing rivers, and climbing up the mountain side on a rough dirt road for several hours I finally arrived in a small village belonging to this indigenous hill tribe. Even though I was exhausted and the sun was setting behind the hills (the village has no electricity or running water) I knew that my time in this village would be short; so I grabbed my camera and set off to explore the area and get to know some of the locals.

These are a few portraits that I was able to capture during my time with the Lahu tribe.

A man treks his daughter up the mountain side.

A man walking through the village.

A girl collecting flowers.

An elderly woman separating grain for dinner.

Girl with a teddy bear.

Man sitting on his deck.

A woman enjoying a cigarette.

Sunrise in a Lahu village.