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| นิตยสาร สารคดี: ฉบับที่ ๒๒๐ เดือนมิถุนายน ๒๕๔๖ | ISSN 0857-1538 | |||
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| Story: Wandee Suntivutimetee Photos: Wichit Sae-Heng |
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Mae Tao Clinic is a small clinic operating out of a small house just off the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Founded 14 years ago by a Karen doctor, Cynthia Maung, the clinic provides free health care for refugees, Burmese migrant workers and others crossing the border from Burma into Thailand. "Dr. Cynthia's Clinic" is a medical oasis and a glimmer of hope for the sick, wounded and penniless suffering, directly and indirectly, from decades of Burmese military oppression. Starting with just a small house, the clinic has grown to a multi-specialty center providing comprehensive services from reproductive and child health care to prosthetics for landmine survivors. About 200 patients are treated here daily, but the clinic's reach extends far beyond its base in Mae Sot. |
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In 1998 Dr. Cynthia initiated the "backpack medics" program which sends volunteer health worker teams into the Burmese jungle to treat internally displaced persons (IDPs). Civil war and human rights abuses inside Burma have caused around 1 million IDPs to live in hiding surrounded by landmines without health care and permanent shelter. To reach these IDPs, the 70 teams of 5 backpack medics each have to carry 300 kilograms of medical supplies on their backs and trek across dangerous and rugged terrains. But the most difficult part of the work is to stay alive. While having provided treatment to over 130,000 displaced people over the past 4 years, the teams have lost 6 of their members--3 to landmines, 2 to Burmese military's gunshots, and 1 from falling off a cliff. | ||
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Today the clinic also serves as a health education center for migrant workers and refugees from Burma, and trains new generation of medics to serve people throughout the border region. Despite the challenges in serving destitute patients in difficult situations and the risks involved in the backpack medics program, there is a continuous flow of donations and volunteers from all over the world to support Dr. Cynthia's humanitarian work. In recognition of her work, Dr. Cynthia has been awarded 7 international prizes. The 2 most recent ones are 2002 Ramon Magsaysay Award and 2003 Time Magazine's Asian Heroes. Due to her lack of travel documents, however, she has never been able to leave Thailand to receive the awards herself. Though these awards provide moral support to continue her work, for Dr. Cynthia the award she has been waiting for over fourteen years is the return of peace to her homeland and the ability of all refugees to return safely to their homes. |