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An NGO who took the advantage over
An NGO who took the advantage over Burmese cause
Burmese medical experts including distin-
guished doctors first founded Saytaman magazine
and European Union supported the finance.
It is a health magazine published since
1996. It benefits all health workers including
medics who are working along borders of Burma. It
is written in Burmese and English language and it
was mainly aimed for Burmese cause. In spite of
bitter complaint, which called for investigation
and verification, we believed that Mr. Thierry
ignored the request.
We, aggrieved party, are looking forward
to letting all people worldwide know about these
problems inside Saytaman health magazine project.
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31 July, 1997
Managing Director Aide Medicale Intemationale
l 19 rue des Amandiers 75020 Paris, France
Subject: Unfair dismissal of former Saytaman team
RE. The resignation letters by Saytaman Coordina-
tor of AMI-Chiang Mai, Thailand dated on 13th
June 1997
Dear Sir:
Warm greetings from Chiang Mai!
We, members of the former Saytaman team,
would like to express our high gratitude to AMI
Paris. We believe that you are aware that the pre-
vious Saytaman team was forced to resign by Ms.
Annette Ravaud, coordinator of Saytaman by the
alleged reasons of:
* the team could not satisfy the conditions of the
contract agreed between European Union and AMI.
* the team needs to be reconstructed and reorga-
nised for future publications.
We believe that Saytaman is one of the AMI
projects and hence AMI has the full responsibility
of fulfilling the project concerned. We believe
that Saytaman coordinator as well as AMI-Bangkok
and AMI-Paris also have the creditability to moni-
tor the project. Actually the health magazine pro-
ject is valuable and it benefits the health
workers who are working along the borders of
Burma. We were very pleased to participate in the
team.
Since the beginning of 1996 when Saytaman
started, the team has had four steady team mem-
bers. These four should be named as "core mem-
bers": Ms Annette Ravaud (coordinator), Thu Ya
(translator and deputy editor), Mi Mi (office
manager), and Soe Lwin (freelance layout and com-
puter consultant). Other participants who worked
for part-time were English proofreaders, transla-
tors, distributors, librarians and freelance illu-
strators. The core members were aware of the dif-
ficulties and problems regarding publication of
Saytaman but were unsuccessful in getting these
issues addressed by the coordinator.
Another important section was the edito-
rial committee. The editorial committee consisted
of members from various health organisations, from
Burmese opposition groups and NGOs. They were key
decision-makers in terms of selection of articles,
choosing subjects for coming edition, layout, etc.
But, the weaknesses of the committee were as
follows:
* editorial committee members could not attend the
meetings regularly.
* due to insufficient preparation for the meetings
and bad facilitation, the editorial committee
could spend up to two hours on only one article.
With no clear direction, strategies and poli-
cies were frequently changed, leaving the team
confused and frustrated.
* editorial members were from different health
sectors with diverse and sometimes conflicting
experience and background. Burmese doctors pre-
fer to write the articles based on ideology,
practical experience from remote area newly
created health care system for future. On the
other hand the medical professionals from NGOs
favored contributions on the diseases which
occur in the refugee camps sometimes NGO repre-
sentatives unreasonably rejected the articles
that Burmese doctors presented.
* There was a lack of consistency and/or commit-
ment among the committee. Some members changed
very often as they left Thailand according to
the regulation of NGOs. While Burmese doctors
remained, they faced problems attending the
meeting, as they do not have travelling docu-
ments.
Saytaman sought for and received funding
for publication of magazine in English and Burmese
bimonthly. The objective of the Saytaman is to pro-
mote distance learning and to revise knowledge of
the health workers. The prime target group is
middle class health workers (junior medics) who are
working along the borders of Burma. We understood
that EU provided the funding assistance for Say-
taman because of the Burmese cause but the manage-
ment was undemocratic and worked top-down. The team
was excluded from the funding process; and thus not
gives decision-making responsibility. Nobody from
Saytaman was informed about details of the project
except for Ms. Annette. We believed Saytaman to be
more than a health magazine and it should reflect
the entire health body of the Burmese borders and
need to be an example of the strength of the coor-
dination and co-operation amongst NGOs and Burmese
activists. However, to the contrary, the style of
management rather reflected the discrimination and
unfair practices that migrant workers continually
face. When the Burmese team expressed views and
opinions contrary to the co-ordinator they were
threatened with dismissal.
We were informed by other NGOs that the de-
lay of the magazines was due to the Burmese staff.
Since we were not given decision-making responsi-
bility, we were unable to publish the magazine even
though it was finished, whenever Ms. Annette was
absent, which was often.
We, Burmese staff, five members who were
hard core members of Saytaman were forced to resign
from Saytaman, arbitrarily with no reasons given.
The reason as far as we can discover that the pro-
ject coordinator Ms. Annette would like to control
the funds received mainly from EU and elsewhere and
use it for her own self-advancement at the expense
of Burmese health and humanitarian cause.
We are deeply concerned that Ms. Annette
disregarded the responsibility and trust bestowed
upon her. Due to the lack of openness and willing-
ness to work within the team, Ms. Annette use of
funds has been questioned by the team of workers
and we have found that 50,000 Baht has been spent
and not accounted for. For that we, Burmese staff,
complained to Mr. Thierry Colombet, who is coordi-
nator for AMI-Thailand but received no satisfactory
response. The quick-fix solution was for the team
to resign so as it could be reorganised. We accept-
ed the idea and it was credit as reasonable excuse.
However, at present time, we receive the reliable
information that Ms. Annette is working together
with Mr. Samuel Scoles who is appointed by herself
as assistant coordinator and two other French
people to publish Saytaman. It is unfair treatment
because she dismissed the former members on the
understanding that they would be included in the
re-establishment of the programme; and that their
experience and expertise would be (1 Please, refer
enclosed document dated on 06/05/97 and 03/06/97.)
given recognition. We also heard that Ms. Annette
contacted with Burmese embassy in Bangkok for tran-
slations of Saytaman. We believe that she should
promote the local people to employ and empower them
and make the Saytaman project to be sustainable
instead of spending money without planning and dir-
ection, which she already received from EU.
In spite of our complaint, which called for
investigation and verification, we believed that
Mr. Thierry ignored our request. For that it resul-
ted en masse dismissal. AMI at Chiang Mai is sup-
posed to be dealing with Burmese affairs and we are
Burmese. We feel that AMI is acting contrary to the
ideals of international NGOs by employing an inex-
perienced expatriate Mr. Samuel Scoles over the
qualified and committed Burmese staff. We are tho-
roughly upset with the irresponsible solution of
Mr. Thierry. Our main concern is that health
workers on the borders have access to information
written by and for them; providing a positive, em-
powering role model of the production and distribu-
tion of health materials. Therefore we all report
this matter to you, AMI-Paris. We will ever fight
for liberty, honesty, freedom of expression, and
human rights. We always against any kinds of the
discriminations violate by the authoritarian.
We, aggrieved party, are looking forward to
you for necessary corrective action and expect to
hearing from you as soon as possible.
Sincerely yours,
(Dr. Aung Myat Hla)
(Thu Ya)
(Than Aye)
(Soe Lwin)
(Mi Mi)
Copy to:
1. ECHO, Chiang Mai, Thailand
2. Headquarters, European Union, Brussels, Belgium
3. Co-ordinator, AMI, Thailand
4. Co-ordinator, Saytaman magazine
5. Editorial members, Saytaman magazine
6. Embassy concern:
7. Ausaid
8. Auscare
9. Asia foundation
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************ Aide Medicale Internationale ************
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