Norway, Thailand
Burmese Teacher Wins Norwegian Peace Award
by Frank Jensen • January 18, 2007 • 0 Comments
25 year old activist, student and teacher Charm Tong from Burma will receive the Norwegian Students' 2007 Peace award, Norwegian daily Bladet Tromsø reports.
The award is given to Charm Tong because of her opposition towards the military regime in Burma.
After reports of assaults on women and children, Charm Tong was sent across the Burmese/Thai border at the age of 6 for safety reasons. Aged 16 she became a human rights activist along the Burmese/Thai border. An area housing a lot of Burmese refugees and an area very unsafe for women.
In 2001 Charm Tong founded a school for Burmese refugees in Northern Thailand offering them lessons in English, computer science and human rights. The students' peace award is given on behalf of all Norwegian Students every other year and given to a student or student organization that have done a particular effort for peace and human rights. The award will be presented to Charm Tong on the International Student Festival in Trondheim (ISFiT), Norway, on February 23rd.
President of ISFiT, Martin Svarva, explains.
"Charm Tong is a living proof that anyone can make a difference as long as you do not give up the hope. In spite of limited supply of resources Charm Tong has never given up. Her courage and her ability to keep going forward have given her authority beyond her young age."
Martin Svarva is truly impressed with his Burmese counterpart.
"At the age of 17, she went to Geneva to give a speech to the United Nations' Commision on Human Rights. She spoke about how the junta ravaged Burma and amongst the audience were members of the junta. Charm Tong even had a personal meeting with George W. Bush to tell him about the situation in Burma and only very few private individuals get to meet the president of the United States. She is a huge source of inspiration for all students and most certainly is a worthy winner of the Students' Peace Award," the president of ISFiT explains.
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