UK-based human rights organization Article 19 will publish original photographs, essays, and poems submitted by EarthRights Burma School students in an anthology of contemporary Burmese writings due out this May. Each month, we will add a new piece of our students' work here in this on-going online series.

The EarthRights School (ERS) - Mekong is a unique training programming for activists from the Mekong Region (Yunnan/China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam) whose work focuses on environmental issues and human rights.  The seven month-long training program uses experiential learning methods to equip participants from the region with skills required to conduct research, gather data, and effectively campaign around environmental issues affecting the region.  The training will take place in Chiang Mai, Thailand from June to December of 2008. Housing, transportation, and a modest living stipend will be provided to successful candidates.

One of the students at the EarthRights Mekong School recently finished a report summarizing a lawsuit brought by the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) against major US chemical companies for the health and environmental consequences of toxic herbicides used during the Vietnam War. Although the suit was not brought by ERI, it uses a cornerstone of ERI's litigation - the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), and seeks damages for personal injuries, wrongful death, birth defects, as well as injunctive relief for environmental contamination and disgorgement of profits. Click here to read our student's report.

Click here to find out more about the lawsuit. ERI filed an amicus brief in the lawsuit, parts of which were quoted at length in the judge's ruling.

| Learn about our EarthRights Schools | Find out how ERI defends ATCA |