Free Burma Alliance Hosts N.Y.C. Benefit To Support Burmese Children At Mae Tao Clinic

by ERICA LIEPMANN, Causecast Associate Editor

When filmmaker Jeremy Taylor read about Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader of Burma who has been imprisoned by the ruling military junta for almost 20 years, he was inspired to take action. For the last several years, Taylor has dedicated himself to producing and directing the documentary film, Burma: An Indictment, set to be released this year, to shine a light on the rampant human rights violations committed by the country’s cruel dictators.

To further his work on behalf of the Burmese people, Taylor has also founded the Free Burma Alliance, which in Taylor’s own words, is a “coalition of human rights and humanitarian relief organizations dedicated to bringing freedom to the ill-treated and oppressed people of Burma. We want to unite all the Burmese organizations under one umbrella so we can act as one strong unified front to deliver the same message…” Causecast recently had the opportunity to speak with Taylor about his ongoing work with the Free Burma Alliance and the organization’s upcoming fundraiser.

This April, the Free Burma Alliance is teaming up with Network 355, a group of women entrepreneurs who use their expertise to support humanitarian causes, for a fundraiser to benefit the Mae Tao clinic on the Burma/Thailand border.

The clinic provides health care for Burmese children who have fled their country into neighboring Thailand. By the time they reach the clinic, the children are often starving, suffering from tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases, missing limbs that were blown off by landmines or facing other life-threatening health problems. In their homeland, these children were often raped, enslaved or forced to be child soldiers. Taylor explains the clinic’s mission is to “help the orphaned Burmese children who escaped death and destruction in Burma [and] were lucky enough to have made it across the border into Thailand.”

Currently, about 2,500 Burmese children are living at the Mae Tao clinic. In addition to health care services, they are also being provided with a safe environment, nourishing food and an education. Just $300 will provide one Burmese child with food, education, shelter and health care for an entire year.

Taylor explains that fundraising to support this organization is especially important because the situation in Burma lacks the mainstream media attention countries like Haiti are receiving. Due to the recession, international aid to the region has been cut. Canada, for example, recently cut 40 percent of the aid they usually contribute to the Mae Tao clinic.

The Burma Benefit is taking place Wednesday, April 7 from 7:00-10:00 p.m. at the Friar’s Club in New York City.

Get tickets now! If you can’t make it, you can donate to the Mae Tao clinic online and you can sign the petition to urge the American government to take a stronger stance in their policy toward Burma.