Ten Thousand Things
Multicultural Webfinds

"Ten Thousand Things" is a Buddhist expression representing the dynamic interconnection and simultaneous unity and diversity of everything in the universe.

"KAWTHOOLEI," ALWAYS ON THE RUN, & SEASON OF FEAR: Voices of Karen Refugees and Refugee-Activists

"Kawthoolei" is a beautifully produced 2003 podcast with interviews with Karen women refugees from Burma and members of the Karen Women's Organization, a community-based organisation of 30,000 Karen women working in development and relief in the refugee camps on the Thai border and with IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) and women inside Burma.

Taking the name of the Karen, the largest ethnic group in Burma, to give to their mythical place of origin, "Kawthoolei," is one of four programs in OUTER VOICES, a multimedia project dedicated to listening to, learning from, and sharing with others the seldom-heard voices of grassroots women activists from traditional cultures throughout the Pacific Islands and the Asian Pacific Rim:

"For centuries, women have developed the tools of non-violence. Their expertise in peacemaking has always been the seedbed for conflict resolution within families, communities and nations.

"Now more than ever women are speaking out and taking leadership in turning the tide of violent conflict. And now more than ever women around the globe are pioneering new and effective models for grassroots, non-violent activism.

"Many unique approaches to non-violence are found among women in the traditional cultures of the Pacific Islands and the Asian Pacific Rim—cultures in which notions of economic and cultural sustainability are inherent..."

WITNESS, an international human rights organization that provides training and support to local groups to use video in their human rights advocacy campaigns, has links to online action and two moving videos focusing on Karen refugees in Burma "Always on the Run" (2004) and "Season of Fear" (2005):

"Always on the Run", produced by WITNESS partner organization, Burma Issues, tells the story of one of the world's silent humanitarian crises – the forcible displacement of over a million people in eastern Burma. Over the past decade, Burma's dictator Than Shwe has used military force, human rights abuses, and the destruction/burning of villages in a brutal anti-insurgency campaign that has left millions of Burmese people homeless in the country's jungles. Child mortality and malnutrition rates in eastern Burma are now comparable to those among internally displaced person in the horn of Africa.

"The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has condemned the atrocities in consecutive resolutions. Instead of ending the attacks and listening to the United Nations, soldiers of Than Shwe's military regime continue the onslaught.

"Advocates concerned about forced displacement in eastern Burma have argued that it should be addressed by the only body in the United Nations that can take action: the UN Security Council. The situation in Burma has deteriorated to the point where its political instability, widespread human rights violations, creation of over 700,000 refugees, displacement of over a million people internally, tolerance of the production and trafficking of illegal narcotics, and indifference to the transmission of HIV/AIDS from Burma to other parts of Asia, all pose a legitimate threat to international peace and security.

"On December 16, 2005 the UN Security Council received a briefing during informal consultations from Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, the Under-Secretary for Political Affairs. This marked the first time in history that Council has agreed to a briefing of any kind on Burma. A total of 28 non-binding UN General Assembly and UN Commission on Human Rights resolutions passed on Burma have been uniformly ignored by the regime over the past 15 years. The UN Security Council is the only body within the UN system that can pass and enforce binding action on a member country...

"'Season of Fear' provides insight into the daily struggle of the half a million displaced persons in eastern Burma. Filmed clandestinely inside Burma the video documents the experiences of villagers driven from their homes by the 2005-6 SPDC-led dry season offensives."

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