The principle and vision of PVA (1)

More and more people from Burma are pouring into the neighboring countries to look for jobs, and more than a million people are already in Thailand. Through out the history of Burma, no one from Burma ever was coming into Thailand looking for a job like this. Now they are everywhere in Thailand working at the factories, workships, shops, landscape, farming, and domestic work etc without any proper legal documents.

Among these Burmese migrant workers the social injustices like the unfair treatments by the employers, the lawlessness by both Thai and each others, exploitations and intimidations have been going on in their daily lives. Practically, it’s almost impossible to solve these problems individually. Being living in the alien land, most of them have face the obstacle such as the language barrier, the lack of understanding of the existing laws, the fear of confronting the authorities, and the feeling of the lack of personal security daily.

Therefore, the knowledgeable individuals and organizations are required to help solving their injustices and obstacles in their daily lives. Many Burmese organizations like the lawyer’s group helping the Burmese migrant workers, the women organization assisting the women and children, the legal groups helping the migrant workers for their legal problems and the health groups helping the migrant workers for their medical needs have emerged nowadays. All of these organizations are helping the migrant workers based on the pacific size and scope of the individual organization. Some of the organizations have been formed for more than a decade and the others also have four to five years experience in this regard. The question whether the help of these organizations satisfies the needs of the migrant workers ought to be answered. If the answer is yes then, it’s not necessary for us to from PVA in the first place.

Still, the issues such cheating, lying, framing, atrocity, extortion by the backing of the authority, family problem, drugs and alcohol related problem, sick and death issue, emergency help among the migrant workers have demanded the solutions daily. None of the above organizations could solve this entire problem all together. They might as well have to deny assisting the needs beyond their pacific issues.

No one/organization comes up and stands up to solve all the problems of our Burmese migrant workers regardless. The situations demand an organization to defend our people. And, that’s the reason for us to form PVA. People must know that they have the organization named PVA to depend on no matter what.

PVA has been formed by the people with the goodwill.

PVA has been formed to fulfill the needs of the people.

PVA has been always ready to help the people at anytime

Thein San

Central Committee Member (1)

PVA

The Statement of People Volunteers’ Association (1/2009)

Date- 12th February, 2009.

1. We would like to publicize that the name of our association has been renamed to “ People Volunteers’ Association” (PVA) as people knew the former name “ Burma Volunteers’ Association” which is a non-profit association and it’s taking a leading role to solve the social conflicts in the migrant community in Thailand.

2. According to the present situation in Burma, general crisis has been raising and many thousands of the Burmese people have to struggle economically by working in the neighboring countries and so far around the world and it’s like illegal and legal migrant workers. Under this situation, the Burma’s military regime couldn’t handle the economic crisis and its consequence social problems in the country.

3. Therefore, People Volunteers’ Association (PVA) has to take community organizing and interventional roles to solve conflicts gathering and peacefully between the local Thai and Burmese migrant community and the PVA believes that it’s a necessary need to be harmonized for working together between the local Thai people and the Burmese community.

4. The PVA stands on that there is no discrimination for races, religions, gender and it’s helping and cooperating to solve the social conflicts in the community with respects to be justice, rules of law and sympathy/kindness. Also the PVA is keep trying to develop convenience and conformability in the community and it’s planning to implement community organizing activities which are included primary healthcare and education programs for all people.

5. The PVA will be struggling to fulfill the people’s needs and it’s concerned seriously and aimed to be a helpful association for all people.

6. Aims and objectives of the PVA are as follow;

• To promote social welfare programs for the people

• To build capacities of the people to be skillful and knowledgeable persons in the community

• To educate the people to be respected in sequence of disciplines, dignity and unity in diversity among them

• To rebuild a new and peaceful society with active manner of the people

Central Leading Committee

People Volunteers’ Association

Email; pva.maesod@gmail.com

Phone; 087 6953 100 (DTAC)

084 319 5771 (GSM)

The aim and objective of PVA

The Opening:

Nowadays, more and more of the people of Burma are leaving the country to seek the jobs abroad. Especially, the people have been flooding into neighboring Thailand finding jobs to support their families. Throughout the history of Burma, this is the first time for the people, who abandon their pride and dignity of their national identity, to go abroad looking for the jobs due to the deteriorations of social, economy and politics in Burma. Such precarious dispositions require the social organizations to solve their problems they are facing everyday, and to encourage them maintaining their social values such as pride, dignity, character, culture, social norms and traits. With an aim to fulfill these needs, the “People Volunteers’ Association” PVA, which is formed by earnest, honest and well respected individuals of their social background, has determined to help sorting out these problems facing the people effectively.

Background:

Due to the deterioration of all aspects in Burma, the people of Burma have been flooding into Thailand to look for jobs daily. Unfortunately, in the unfamiliar territory, they have to face the mounting challenges such as intimidation, social injustice and unfair treatments at the working places and elsewhere daily.

Moreover, the manipulations, corruptions, mistreatments and criminal activities by the morally corrupt individuals from Burma against their own people also have post another obstacle for the decent people of Burma, who want to live on with their own pride and dignity, otherwise loosing respect by the native Thai people.

The prevailing circumstances demand the intervention of PVA for their safety-net promoting their national pride, good character and conscience, mutual respects with the Thai people for the better future.

Against all the discriminations such as race, sex, gender and religion, PVA is a volunteer organization to help for everyone regardless. Also, with understanding of the obstacles and hardships of the people, PVA always finds the root-cause of the challenges and seeks the solutions to help solve them accordingly.

The journey step by step:

1. The starting point:

The people with their dedication and determination standing up for the people of Burma in needs have formed an organization called People’s Volunteers Group in 2004 and 2005 to act upon their duty protecting and to providing the safety-net for those in need.

2. The building up:

In June 2006 with the emergence of more volunteers joining in the group, the volunteers group had decided to develop the Burma Volunteers Association up until 2008.

3. The continuation of building:

In January 2009 the situations had demanded the Volunteers to establish a larger and more inclusive association named PVA to improve their duty to perform the needs of the people. Their commitment and experience also had favored PVA to be more successful association for the longer term forward.