Witnessing the Birth of a Social Movement

Several like-minded NGOs met at the EarthRights School Mekong last week to discuss ways of mitigating potential harms from an economic venture between Burma’s oppressive military regime, the government of India, and others who are developing a project that threatens to create negative environmental and human rights issues for tens of thousands of people in Burma. As a new student intern with ERI, even I could recognize that this was only a new chapter in the longer story of harmful investments that exploit the natural richness of a land populated by many diverse ethnic groups.

The project, called "The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project," is designed to bring greater trade access to north-eastern India by connecting the remote area to a newly improved seaport in the city of Sittwe in western Burma. There is a concern that this greater access will be delivered at the expense of 225km of the wild Kaladan river, and the human rights of its inhabitants. The river will have to be dredged to support barges which will run goods from the port to a new 120 km highway that will cut through Chin State of Burma and run to the Indian border at Mizoram State. The already marginalized people who happen to live in the vicinity will most likely be subject to forced labor, land confiscations, and other abuses by the Burmese Army, impacts commonly associated with the ruling generals’ brand of development. The project will require up to three years to complete, and was originally set to begin in mid 2010.

The Arakan Rivers Network (ARN), a group that works to promote the sustainable use of vital water resources in Arakan State, has been following the development of the project for months. Building on their research, they made a presentation to the groups assembled at the Mekong school which highlighted the lack of public involvement in the acceptance or planning of this project despite the fact that it could potentially cause grave harm to the region. Without the input of those who would be directly affected, the ARN noted that it was unlikely that the negative social and environmental impacts of the project would be adequately mitigated. This could cause further hardship to the many thousands of ethnic Chins and Arakans living along the river and the proposed highway corridors, as these already impoverished populations rely on the river and surrounding environment for their sustenance. Moreover, as with any project undertaken by the ruling regime in Burma, such as the Yadana pipeline, there is a threat that heavy military involvement will contribute to human rights abuses such as forced labor and land confiscation.

The Chin Human Rights Organization echoed ARN's concerns over the potentially devastating social and environmental impacts of this project. The meeting, which upon request was facilitated by a member of ERI’s Campaigns team, then focused on developing concrete objectives of the new campaign, which will seek to ensure that the project will only have positive impacts on the Kaladan area. Brainstorming and planning continued well into the afternoon, and the only thing that flowed faster than the ideas was the coffee. The group concluded by deciding on a name for their collective advocacy: the "Kaladan Movement" was born.

The birth of an advocacy movement was an amazing thing to witness. The broad range of issues that were addressed in only the initial meeting demonstrates the complexity of this brand of activism. The movement had to address many angles of this nuanced situation, which involves the interplay of various national governments, corporations, local groups, cultural practices, socioeconomic and development considerations, and biological data. For me, these thoughtful efforts were a crash course in how different groups in this region can unite to effectively direct their advocacy towards a worthy common goal.

In the human rights field, we are constantly faced with seemingly overwhelming problems whose depth and complexity defy easy solutions. Consequently, it was incredibly encouraging to watch a movement form to tackle such a big issue on my first day with ERI. Although much work remains to be done in the region, the knowledge that inroads of progress can be made through concerted efforts is enough to inspire any advocate for change, whether you are a veteran activist or simply a new summer intern.

Sandra Ray is a student at Harvard Law School, where she edits for the Environmental Law Review and participates in the Human Rights Advocates program. Next fall she will take over the leadership of the campus-wide Harvard Energy and Environment Network. Sandra recently graduated from Arizona State University, which she attended on a full National Merit Scholarship, with a BS in conservation biology and a BA in political science. Sandra is currently enjoying a summer internship working on ERI's Burma campaigns in Chiang Mai.