Showing 1 - 10 of 18
In fear ofbeing forgotten
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 21/08/2016
» Monsoon rains drench the cluster of small bamboo huts clinging to the sides of the Salween River bank that separates Thailand from Myanmar. The 475 leaf-roofed huts are home to 3,356 Karen people that make up the displaced community known as Ei Tu Hta.
Medicine monk
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 27/12/2015
» The muscular arm of a saffron-clad monk, propped against the wall of a bamboo hut, draws air pictures to illustrate why his community is in desperate need of an ambulance.
Ceasefire 'broken' before it began
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 01/11/2015
» President Thein Sein called it a “historic day for Myanmar” and “a new road to a peaceful future for our country”. The Karen National Union president, Gen Mutu Sae Po, hailed it as a “new page in history”.
Dengue season's extra sting
B Magazine, Phil Thornton, Published on 05/07/2015
» Dr Pipat is a worried man. As head of the paediatric department and deputy director of Mae Sot Hospital, he fears that 2015 is going to be a bad year for dengue cases.
The killing and the claims of a cover-up
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 02/11/2014
» The Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that up to Sept 10 this year, 40 journalists had been killed while reporting. The name of Myanmar journalist Aung Kyaw Naing, also known as Par Gyi, who was killed on Oct 4 while in military custody, can now be added to the growing list of the dead.
The deadly cost of breakbone fever
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 07/09/2014
» Poe Cho lies on the floor of the children’s ward at Mae Tao Clinic, his tiny body stilled by dengue fever. The boy, seven, was infected by dengue when bitten by the Aedes mosquito while living as a novice monk at Myawaddy’s Yaw Bu Temple, across the Moei River that separates Thailand from Myanmar.
Hunting those who hurt children
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 29/06/2014
» In the northern city of Chiang Mai, Pol Lt Col Apichart Hattasin is battling to stop sexual predators preying on and hurting children.
Uncertain fate surrounds Myanmar’s border outcasts
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 23/02/2014
» It is a difficult time to be a refugee on the Thai-Myanmar border. Last month, the US all but stopped its refugee resettlement programme and many aid agencies have reduced their services.
Tough town endures its latest tragedy
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 30/03/2014
» Mae Sot is a tough town. It has to be. Located on a remote part of the Thai-Myanmar border it has seen its share of armed conflict, battered refugees, natural disasters and other hurts. Last week the town was thrown into a maelstrom of grief after a bus carrying 53 of its villagers plunged over a cliff killing 30 and seriously injuring another 23.
A complex peace
Spectrum, Phil Thornton, Published on 02/02/2014
» Despite recent reforms, working in Myanmar for international non-government organisations (NGOs) is difficult. Most NGOs are concentrated in the country's urban areas, kept well away from the ethnic regions where health, education and food security is desperately needed. Like in most countries, NGOs are supposed to work in Myanmar with government agreement. This requires either a memorandum of understanding or letter of agreement with the government.