AYM Newsletter - Young Peacemakers Riding to Peace_June-August 2010

8/8/2019 AYM Newsletter - Young Peacemakers Riding to Peace_June-August 2010

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Young Peacemakers : Riding to Peace

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June-August2010


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ASEAN Youth Movement is a space for youth activists, students, NGOs,entrepreneurs and youth allies (to name a few types of participants) to

come together, share their experiences and support each others effortsfor a better society. We are not an organization - we are trying to create acommunication network, which can bring together organizations, networks,groups or clubs interested in connecting with others and exchanginginformation.

We call ourselves a movement because many of our participants areactivists - actively participating in society, working in communitydevelopment, politics, the environment, human rights and many other

issues. The most important thing is that we are all active youth, and whenwe come together, we believe that we can call ourselves a movement. Weaim to bring youth together and support our friends efforts for socialchange through youth-driven media and communication.

We have organized the ASEAN Youth Movement and plan to continuewith seasonal newsletters to represent the activities and ideas of youthin many different ASEAN countries. Human Rights, the environment,health, gender and social justice are all issues we continue to support

and help publicize throughout ASEAN. We are working based on youthvolunteerism and grassroots energy, and hope for our movement for abetter region to continue rising!


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During the summer heat this year, a tragic political incident occurred inthe heart of Bangkok where sixty people lost their lives due to the recent

political unrest. From our deepest sorrow and sadness, we would like toexpress our feelings to the people in Thailand who lost their lives lastMay. However, this incident was not the only one of its kind, other suchincidences are happening everywhere in the world as well.

One of the great peace activists, Mahatma Ghadhis philosophy says,There is no way to peace; peace is the way. Our peacemakers friends,Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and ourfellow friends, brothers and sisters are struggling for peace, justice and

rights around the world. In our region, the people of Laos, Cambodia,Vietnam, Burma/Mynmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei,Singapore, East Timor and Thailand have also been ghting for peaceand never giving in.

In this issue, AYM will bring you closer to knowing about the youthmovement for peace, to see their actions and to hear their experiences.

Despite the political incidents that occurred last summer we hope tond peace, especially inner peace, and with the belief in our hearts that

everything is possible, peace can become possible. Furthermore, eventhough our bodies are tired our hearts are strongly and rmly tied.

We hope that the rain may come to us and that we can be the young peopleto pave and build a more peaceful world.

Love and Peace,

ASEAN Youth Media Team

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EDITORIAL OFFICEThai Volunteer Service,

409 Soi Rohitsook,

Pracharajbampen Rd.,

Huay-Kwang, Bangkok

10320 Thailand

Tel/Fax: (66) 2691 0437-9

[email protected]


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Asking seriously what is the denition of Youth? Interestingly,there is a variety of answers to that. Even though the UnitedNations (UN) denes youth as those persons between theages of 15 and 24 years-old, some other countries havedifferent denitions. For instance in Thailand, the acceptednorm for youth is between the ages of 14-25 years-old,Cambodia 14-30 years-old, Philippines 15-30 years-old,Malaysia below 40 years-old, and there is no consensus

about the denition of youth in Indonesia.

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Accordingly, UN states that there are many countries draw line onyouth at the age at which person is given equal treatment under thelaw - often referred to as the age of majority. This age is 18 in manycountries, and once a person passes this age, they are considered to

be an adult. In some countries, one will no longer be a youth whenhe or she gets married.

However, the operational denition and nuances of the term youthoften vary from country to country, depending on the specicsocio-cultural, institutional, economic and political factors. Withinthe category of youth, it is also important to distinguish betweenteenager (13-19 years-old) and young adult (20-24 years-old), since thesociological and health problems they face may differ. (UNs website)

Source: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/qanda.htm,

http://library.fes.de/pdf-les/bueros/philippinen/04526/yp_02_prelims_introduction.pdf

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Fund Raising for Youth Network Forum:by Mee Mee, Burma

The Youth Network Forum- Fundraising activity was held at Judson

Center, Pyay Road on 27th February 2010. The activity was organized byyouth from different youth-led organizations. 20 youth organizationsparticipated in that event. The activity aimed to establish a commonfund for Myanmar Youth Forum; to introduce Myanmar Youth Forumto youth from various sectors, businesses and companies, and local andinternational organizations; to seek future collaboration with local andinternational organizations; and to encourage youth to participate invarious social activities and community programmes.

The programme started at 3:00 pm. There were 20 youth groupsactively participating in the activity by selling books, clothes, souvenirs,snacks and soft drink, games, ethnic traditional clothes and food.

The youth forum fund raising activity included entertainment. ShanConversation Club performed Shan traditional dance, My Subu fun clubcontributed A Nyeint (traditional dancing concert), Youth DevelopmentInitiative Network conducted Rakhine song and dance and MyanmarYouth Network had a poem reading session.

Students, youth from various sectors, businessmen, representativesfrom local and international organizations, and UN staff attended theyouth network forum fund raising activity. The program was successfuland ended at 7:00 pm

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Book Distribution: Initiatives of Change Associationby Sovathana Neang, Cambodia

First and foremost, one of the Initiatives of Change Association (ICA)Cambodias projects was book distribution. The project works closelywith primary students at poor remote areas in Ankor Borei District,Takeo Province near the Cambodia-Vietnam border. The objective ofthis activity is to promote more spiritual awareness of education and itsvalues and create a culture of sharing; to encourage youth to be muchmore involved in their communities; to reduce school dropout rates and

motivate students to study hard; to bridge the gap between city peopleand rural people; and to contribute to reducing poverty. In addition, lotsof difculties and obstacles such as six-month ooding per year, a lack ofstudy materials, less-value on education, poor situations etc, has mademany students drop out. We conduct this activity twice a year, one at thebeginning of the school year to distribute books to all students and anotherone at the end of the year to reward the top ve outstanding students.

Last but not least, there are a total of 366 kids from four primary

schools: Bak Dai, Kok Thlork, Prek Taphor and Tuol Putra in Angkor BoreiDistrict, Takeo Province that gathered at Kok Thlork Primary School toget study materials such us note books, textbooks, pens, pencils, rulers,erasers, chalk boards, whiteboards, donated clothes, and other materials.

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Peace Start within, Change Start with Me!by Achmad Hairul Umam, Initiatives of Change, Indonesia

Initiatives of Change Indonesia initiated a one day workshop oncreating a culture of peace in Tidung Island, which is 3 hours by boatfrom north Jakarta. The workshop was held on 15 May 2010 andaround 35 students participated enthusiastically at this program. Theaim of the workshop was to promote a culture of peace starting fromthe small milieus of personal, family, and community. Culture of peaceis a calling to live in unity in diversity peacefully. It also transforms a

spirit of peace to engage someone else to care, love, and share with eachother differently.

During the workshop, participants learned some practical valuesto be peace makers and the agents of change in daily life interactions.They also explored and did brainstorming about why people act withviolence when responding to diversity, and why the majority of peoplekeep silent when a conict or violence erupts. The method used bythe facilitator was truth telling, so, participants could share and learn

together through honest conversation while searching for the answerto tackle any problem in their own lives.

At the end of the workshop, participants were also encouraged to havean action plan. The most impressive was when one of the participantscame on the stage and called to clean up the rubbish on the beach. Hethought, We need to bring peace not only for human beings but also tothe environment. See how violent we are if we still throw the rubbish awayimproperly? Now, our environment threatens our lives seriously as we

have felt and seen from the ood and climate change.

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Rise NOW, Young Malaysians!by Lorraine Siew Wei Mei, Social Spark Malaysia

On the 18th, 19th and 20th of May 2010, a group of youth leadersrepresenting various youth organizations were invited to participate inthe 6th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), an opportunity we usedto reach out to world leaders in government and business.

Matters about youth development, empowerment of the youths andrecognition of youths contributions to the country were discussed uponmeeting the highly prominent gures present.

The One Young World Youth Report, a report representing thevoices of 40,000 Malaysian youths, was also presented to Malaysian andinternational role-players such as the former Prime Minister of Malaysia,Tun Abdullah Badawi and ASEAN Secretary General, Dr Surin Pitsuwan.

Youth interventions conducted throughout the 3-day event were proven

effective when the WIEF agreed to initiate a Youth Corps program asone of its practical plans to harness the vibrancy of youth and preparethem for leadership roles in future.

God Willing, they will be the rst batch of national leaders that willco-create and co-produce projects designed to develop Malaysian youthssoon.

Understanding Peace and Human Rights: GenPeace startsits National Training Seriesby GenPeace, Philippines

Manila, PhilippinesYouth leaders from different youth organizationslearn about peace and human rights concepts through a trainingworkshop. Twenty participants engaged in a 3-day event to discuss: thenational Philippine youth situationer, human rights, armed conict andInternational Humanitarian Law, fundamentals of peace and different

ways toparticipate in peace building.The Philippines experiences two 40-year old armed conicts with

the Bangsamoro struggle for self-determination in Mindanao (with theMoro Islamic Liberation Front) as well as the communist democratic front

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(with the Communist Party of the Philippines) nationwide. The trainingis geared towards training second-liner peace advocates coming fromthe young generation.

Nikki Deln, from the GenPeace Secretariat says that Many of thepeace advocates in the country are now from the previous generations.They are now older and wiser, but there are few leaders from the newgeneration that would take the elusive peace challenge to the next level.

We want to be able to train young leaders and launch them in the differentelds where peace advocates are needed. Inter-generational peace building

is important if we want to see our dream turn into reality. He notes thatthe training series is just one step closer to achieving their goals.

The youth organizations come from different elds such as peace,human rights, environment, sustainable development and good governance,among others. GenPeace believes that the youth need a peace lens inlooking at the world and in transforming the Philippine society. One ofGenPeaces long-term vision is to be able to help empower, collaborateand transform on a regional level with the youth organizations in ASEAN

and beyond.GenPeace, a national youth peace network in the Philippines,

envisions youth leaders taking up peace and human rights issues asfundamental themes in their organizations. Trainings from the northern tosouthern part of the country is planned for the rest of the year. GenPeacealso is preparing for the International Day of Peace celebration in September21, which is also the Commemoration of Martial Law Declaration in thePhilippines.

Last month, GenPeace along with an international team of volunteers,drafted the Civil Society Report on the End of the Decade for a Cultureof Peace and Non-violence. The Report is a review and evaluation of theUN-declared Culture of Peace Decade which ends this year.

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Dream on Fire : Young Generations Perspectives:How Can We Live Together?Compiled and translated by Pimsiri Petchnamrob

Source: Ma Kham Pom Foundation

After the recent shocking political crisis in Thailand which caused 90deaths in just over a single month, Nonviolence Network and MakhampomTheater Group organized the event Dream on Fire: Perspectives of YoungGeneration, How Can We Live Together. The forum aimed to create a

discussion space about the political situation among different Thai youthgroups.

At the end of a discussion panel Phra Paisan Visalo, Thailands well-known monk activist gave a speech about the current political conictand stated that the root of all violent situations in Thailand (includingsouthern Thailands unrest and the latest political crisis) is the alienationperspective. What Phra PaisanVisalo described as, when we see peoplewho are different from us as other, the violation will be permitted.

He also said that Thai society must be more patient and provide morespace to the thing we call diversity. Even though here there are manypeople who are different or have opposing political opinions from eachother, it doesnt mean any particular person is right anor wrong. Whywere we sad when we saw buildings collapse but did not feel anythingwhen we saw dead or injured people because we believed that they werewrong?

Thai society must learn to respect the diversity within society and

peoples differing opinions. Young people should learn from the latestviolence and never let it happen again in the future, added Phra PaisanVisalo, the 2010 Sri Burapha Peace Prize laureate.

Saigon-Seoul: Connect Soulsby Minh Ngoc, Vietnam

Along with many interesting activities held by the International

Youth Club Vietnam, Saigon-Seoul: Connect souls can be consideredthis organizations most successful event during the last few months. Inone beautiful morning, on May 23, 2010 at Center of Korean Culture,the event was held with the attendance of 40 Vietnamese friends andnearly 20 Korean students aged from 8 to 18; not to mention about 20

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organizers and volunteers, all are members of Intergration team, IYC. Theaim of this event is to promote cultural exchange and relationship betweenVietnam and Korea. It creates a chance for participants to introduce theirnational character and learn new one from others.

At the beginning, participants really enjoyed their time joiningVietnamese traditional game called Cuop co and Korean game CockKicking. After that, by being introduced one of the most outstandingfeatures of a country: Food, participants learned about traditional Goi

cuon from Vietnam and Kimpap from Korea and people had chance topractise making them together. The last part of the event is when peoplelearned one of many similarities between Vietnam and Korea: the art ofying kites and then made real kites in two different ways according totwo cultures. All the time the event happened, participants did the taskstogether, they made friends, exchanged knowledge, culture, feelings aswell as the kites they made considered as souvenirs to each other.

The event ended with hugs, smiles and even tears on faces of participants

because it was time to say good bye. That day, they went home with nicememories about new friends, new culture but rst and foremost, theylearned that connecting the world must started at connecting people.One participant has said that the event ended, but a friendship betweentwo cultures has just begun.

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by Siriluk Sriprasit

Getting to know more about our friends andnetworks is very important, especially when we sharea common value and interest on building peace.This time our team makes it happen, although it

is only on the page here, writing to capture somepeace movement in cyberspace, in Southeast

Buddhism for development project (BDP)(http://bdplaos.wordpress.com)

Asia. However, these groups and organizations are very active and theykeep on creating, building, and paving the way to a peaceful society. Thewebsite is part of their movement, and provides a space for cross-borderfriends to visit, or bridge the work among the peace makers.

Some of the websites we are going to introduce are interesting inmany aspects. They are committed in believing that they can make theircommunities, societies, and countries a better place for themselves andfor everyone with the belief that they can make a change. For me, I do notthink that the big change we are looking for as a goal or so whatever wouldbe as important as the action they have already made and moved. Herewe are, and we are in the process of making something beautiful, indeed.

Firstly, we start with BDP,a project that aims to promote

bringing Buddhism principlesinto agricultural practices andorganic farming. Although thisproject is not recognized asa peace group, BDP deeplyattaches on practical activities

of building peace. It is also based on youth volunteersworking on the project. The proposed programme is designed to utilize localculture and wisdom, to be pro-Buddhist in the sense of using traditionalBuddhist values, while remaining inclusive of all religious and ethnic

Laoshttp://bdplaos.wordpress.com

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groups. Ultimately, the project also shows that the (religious) healingpower inside is the mental strength, and it is very important to everyoneto work on any social issues, and deal with any threat in our society.

Volunteers for Peace (VPV)

(http://www.vpv.vn/index.php?lang=eng)

Secondly, VPV, anorganization that aims topromote voluntary service asa means of cultural andeducational exchangeamong people, for peaceand friendship, and as anapproach to address socialproblems. VFP is welcometo volunteers from around the world, to participate in its activities, bothmid and long term. VPV also provides various training opportunities foryoung people in Vietnam and from different countries in order to improvetheir skills and knowledge, especially in the eld of intercultural learningand social development.

Youth for Peace (YFP)(http://www.yfpcambodia.org/)

Third, YFP, is a highquality peace education programfor youth workshops. YFP prepares

young people for solidarity,

leadership and active citizenshipby developing their capacity fordecision-making, building a senseof responsibility, and empoweringthem to act. YFP conducts eldtrips to communities and villagesto have dialogue and cultural exchanges. It was founded in 1999 by agroup of students from different universities who were concerned aboutsocial issues in Cambodia.

The program director shared with AYM Media Team that YFP buildsthe capacity of youth to design and implement peace building projectsand most importantly, promotes solidarity by encouraging them to do ittogether; rst by analyzing the conict and social problem, then mutually

Vietnamhttp://www.vpv.vn/index.php?lang=eng

Cambodiahttp://www.yfpcambodia.org/

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identifying social and justice issues, and lastly thinking creatively abouthow their cooperative efforts can help overcome barriers to justice andpeace. It envisions a society where people have equal access and activeparticipation towards sustainable development and harmony There areabout 65 percent of the total population are youth, under 25-years-old.And youth are today activist and tomorrow leaders of the society. They

can be both of a source of conicts and peace. said Long Khet, a programdirector.

GenPeace - Philippines(http://youthpeacenetwork.wordpress.com/)

The next one is GenPeace,though their website/weblog isnot yet fully developed, theirstatement is clear and very rmfrom the heart of the youngpeace makers. GenPeace is anetwork of organizations andindividuals engaging for a youth-led advocacy towards a just andsustainable peace in the Philippines.

We know this is a mouthful, but simply put we are a young generationworking for peace. This shows in the website.

With many ongoing injustices and problems in their country,i.e. land rights, social justice and food issues, GenPeace is focusingon advocating the right to self-determination, as well as the IndigenousPeoples right to ancestral lands. Impressively, in its website declaresthat Peace is jobs, Justice, Food, Freedom, Land and Liberation. Peaceis government accountable to its people. Peace is freedom from fear.

Peace Generation (PeaceGen)(http://peace-generation.com/)

Looking at PeaceGenwebsite will really catch yourattention. Although only a fewpages are available in english,you can sense the tone and therhythm of the young hearts.PeaceGen was founded in2005 by two men who sharea common passion. It serves

Philippineshttp://youthpeacenetwork.wordpress.com/

Indonesiahttp://peace-generation.com/

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a key role in promoting peace in Indonesia. Irfan Amalee from Indonesiaand Erik Lincoln from America, have been working to strengthen thispeace organization for a few years already. They consulted with leadersfrom within the Muslim community, educators and youth. PeaceGentook two people to start it, but now the peace building movement spreadsout through, and across Indonesia already. Many organization, schools,

teachers, and community leaders have engaged in the peace trainings.Over 23,000 young people were trained principles of peace. By early2010 PeaceGen achieved nearly one-quarter of its goal to raise 100,000young Indonesian Peace Makers.

Generation Wave (GW) - Myanmar/Burma(http://www.generation-wave.blogspot.com and http://wp.me/pCzCA-bI)

The last one we cannotmiss is the GW of the youngpeople inside and outsideBurma. According to theBBCs report early this yearabout this group, Burmasyouth rapping for change, issomething very inspiring. GW

is a group of hip hop-loving,young Burmese, dedicated to over throwing the military government.They have a safe house somewhere in Thailand where they can learn andplan for a campaign, for instance the issue of human rights, and releasepolitical prisoners. The group has a strict policy of non-violence, and noone under 17 or over 35 years old can join. Anyone who does sign up mustofcially live in Burma and be prepared to take risks. Currently, about 30GW members have been imprisoned. (from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacic/8518137.stm)

Online Peace is the attempt to illustrate some of the peace movementsthrough cyberspace. We truly believe that there are so many young peacemakers, groups, and organizations out there, working their best to achievesome peace in their community. We would love to say that it is not likesomething blowing the in wind, gone and disappear. Their actions hereare real, and getting to warm the whole world. Lets support each other,however we can, to strengthen up the youth generation for peace!

Myanmarhttp://www.generation-wave.blogspot.com

http://wp.me/pCzCA-bI

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by AYM Media TeamIn my opinion, peace is non-violence and free of

doing anything under law of the country. A problem inmy country is education, which is very important for thecountry and also in the ASEAN countries. WE must awarethat the educatioin is the rst way to bring people to the

bright future, and it is the way we can spread peace tothe young generation and they will spread to the world.- Keo Leny, 21 year-old,Phnom Penh - Cambodia

Every country, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos,we all have the shared borders and were facing discriminationfrom misunderstanding history. This made we dont like each

other. And we hand that misunderstanding from generationsto generations. We should stop that and build peace amongus, a youth generation. And peace start from mind, I wish tohave a real peace in my mind then I will spread the real peaceto other people. Were the neighboring countries, stop hatingbut create some love.

- Borany, Initiative of Change Association Cambodia

Peace is a feeling of being free. Im free, Idont hate anyone because when you hate someoneor you hate your neighbor then you are not free.Everyday with the anger in you, it will tell you whatto do, to act badly, is not being free. So, to have peacethat refer to being free at your heart, you dont haveto be scared of other people. Its an internal peace.And one thing is, you can be nationalistic but itdoesnt need to hate [or harm] other people. Also, I

encourage that the young people are very powerful,and each of them can really change something.Even the big things, they can always change that.

- Sovathana Neang, Initiative of Change Association Cambodia

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All we want is peace, all we need is peace, all we ask is peace,and peace is all we want. - Gordon David. Peace should get startedfrom individual person, then among friends, and families, and inthe society. In fact, peace outside needs peace inside, so that it willcompleted each other to be a real peace. Youth is a force to changesociety. And it will be great for my country and other countries that

the peace issue will be highlighted in ASEAN community. Whenwe understand each other, then we can make a change to live in asolidarity community.

- Thai Seila, a 23 year-old law student, Kampong Cham Cambodia

The basic motto of the Indonesian nation is to build unityand cohesion. So I think to building peace is very important aswell. But not only for my country, but peace must be maintained

throughout the world, too. And that is with the realization ofpeace deep in our environment, our country and people, thusthe nation is able to be developed. The tragedy happeningin Bangkok, and between South Korean and North korean,Palestinian and Israeli, are not only their problems but ours,too. Youth movement must be able to become united acrossthe countries.

- Muttaqien Yunus, a young environmental activist - Indonesia

At least two dimension of peace: rst is peace innature; and the second is peace in human society. Andpeace doesnt mean only without having war, but alsono violence in our society. People dont take advantagesfrom each other. People are generally happily livingtogether with respect. We need to build peace amongourselves; that means we need to understand each otherput our hearts to others hearts. And always rememberthat violence for peace never nd the real peace. I seemany events when the soldiers are ghting for peace(they claim), but they dont really make peace.- Sopavanh Rassapong, a student from Faculty of Forestry, Vientiane - Lao PDR

Peace is not only for a society but also for a person. Which means aperson should have his/her rights to express opinion, thought, speech, andthe right to live, to have education and to work. Also, the right to managetheir own natural environment. Building peace is the most important for

all over the world because if we lose our peace and the war will come todestroyed our lives, properties and our environment. So, we must startto build peace from ourselves and then spread out to the society, andthroughout the ASEAN, and the world.

- Grace, a young activist - Myanmar/Burma

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Peace is a quality describing a society that itsoperating harmoniously, not only the absence of war andconict. And that one nation or society cannot functionharmoniously if there are inequities and social injustice.I believe. The nation should eliminate all its inequities,hence that country can be truly at peace. It sounds very

lofty but as long as a society strives for that goal then wecan strive for and maintain a peaceful state.

- Anthony K. Egos, 19 year-old, University of Southern Philippines,

Cebu City Philippines

Peace is a state in which all entities involved experience freedomand unity, while sharing responsibility in propagating love and kindnesstoward one another. There are many conicts and unrest in my country,

and lack of peace: that continues to hinder it from growing to its fullestcapacity. Peace can only be achieved if the government works hand inhand with the citizens. And I think building peace is the rst priority of

ASEAN community. ASEAN member countries involved must establishpeace in their own countries rst. As ASEAN we have to help each otherout but, as the saying says the blind cannot lead the blind, our focusshould be an our individual countries rst with the help of our ASEANbrothers/sister.

- Dea Puentespina, a 20 year-old undergraduate student, - Philippines

Peace is the absence of violence and strife.When there is peace, we have the opportunity todeal with conict and issues in a positive way;we will not need to live with unnecessary fear forour future, family and country. It is denitelyimportant to build peace because without it,a communitys progress will be hindered and

many individuals will suffer.- Benjamin Wee, a high school student - Singapore

Peace for me is like a mental calmness, and a happiness inside mymind. And with awareness, in any acts you shouldnt harm or trouble otherpeople. Peace is very important, whenever there is a conict we have tobe aware not to solve with using violence. Nowadays, people are talkingto one another less and less, so that it is very hard to build or create the

understandings among themselves. Actually, we can deal with conict andsolve the problems with wisdom and non-violence. We should practiceour mind to be in peace, then we will be getting used to.

- Wattanapon Tiempathom, a 23 year-old graduate student at Mahidol University - Thailand

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We all come from different cultures, believes and socialbackground, so that we have different ways of living. Sometimesits hard to understand each other, for instance we are Muslimand we dont understand the highland ethnic cultures. But afterwe try to talk, we begin to see what other people see. Peace inmy view is that the stage when people know themselves andunderstand other people. Then helping to create and buildup our society together in every aspects, art, religion, culture,education, occupation. All these things must be regarded adiversity of ethnicity and believes. I also deeply believe thatpeace is like a happiness inside, when yourself found peacein your mind: you will send it out affecting other people andthe whole society.

- Arida Samoh, a young activist, Southern Thailand

Peace, rst it came from freedom with we had foughtreally hard in the past. Therefore the young generations ofVietnam should try their best to maintain it by studying anddeveloping the country. Peace also reects in the harmonizationbetween the human and the nature. Together with many wonderful projects regarding environmental issues. Wehopefully reduce the pollution and reserve the natural

resources for a more peaceful environment in the future. Aswell as ASEAN community that should spend more effort inpromoting a sustainable development as well. The pace ofindustrialization nowadays in ASEAN countries is causingproblems and harm people and nature. If we dont considerand concern about this issue thoroughly, our children willsuffer from our actions today.- Vo Ngoc Yen Nhi, a student, environmental activist, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam

Peace appears when people can resolve conicts even if they aresmall. Conicts resolution can be done when people have the chancesto understand each other through working together. And I thinkASEAN community should highlight a building peace issue on creatingopportunities to exchanging [information, opinions and values] mutually,among ASEAN citizens for an understanding to prevent conict.

- Don Tuan Phuong, a founder of Volunteers for Peace Vietnam, Hanoi Vietnam

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by Boonson Ransikarbum

Regarding a news on paper,television, which then turns into thenews on the internet, we receivedinformation about Thai-Cambodiaconict every day back in that time.

Besides, the convinced state conven-tion has been great misunderstandingamong the people of these countries,which affected us by seeing bad sideof the opposite.

Nowadays problems of thecountries should be solved such thatyouth re-realize perception as soon aspossible e.g. media, news, historicaleducation, etc. It might help youthabandon what they are adhering toand help youth step over the createdimaginary boundary. On the otherhands, youth had better learn theirroutes to realize their life and spirit.Therefore, the cooperation betweencivil society movements of the two

countries is important to help andto recall youth awareness about thesimilarity of way of living, commonculture and local wisdom betweenboth countries as we are friends.

Road to Peace between Cambodiaand Thailand: Chol Chnam Thmey-Songkran was held during April 24-25, 2010 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.It was co-organized by a regional

program of Thai Volunteer ServiceFoundation and partner organizationsin Thailand and Working Groupfor Peace in Cambodia. The forumbrought together over 60 lives of theparticipants from various groupssuch as Buddhist monk, Buddhistfemale monk, Buddhist nun, villagers,activists, and Thais-Cambodians

young people.The activities of this event were

so creative; opening our eyes to seeeach others about how do we gettingclose for both countries. For instance,in the morning of the rst day, wediscussed about the situation, thesimilarity and differences of both

countries which it was connected tothe educational system of each countrythat let youth have more aggressionfrom the history lesson. Then it endedup with we, the youth participants of

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this event, wanting to help togetherto rewrite the. history from beingenemies of both countries to friends. Additionally, in the afternoon, wealso had good cultural heritage byyouth pouring the auspicious water

to elderly hands to apologize of whatwe had done to each other.

Moreover, we also had somepeace walking together, even it wasonly a short distance during theday, but we committed togetherthat the next peace walking we havewill be in Thailand for one week in

which of cause it would be a longerdistance to show how strong andgood relationship we have.

At the end of the event, youthbetween the two countries had somecooking lesson together. Thai youthwere trying to learn how to cook localCambodian food, and vice versa. We

also came out with further activitiesfor one year such as youth exchangeprograms, youth and peace walk,

youth media for peace, etc. We werereally happy for the memorable timetogether and being friends. We reallywant to send the message to adultmaking wars that lets make friends,not wars.

Supawadee Petrat from ThaiVolunteer Service Foundation saidthat my expectation is our younggeneration in Mekong region will walk hand in hand as sisters and brothers to build up peace in ourregion without prejudice. Learnand respect each other. Peace is

a collective effort from all and forall. Without young generation, wecannot achieve peace.

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Youth will continue theirknowledge about what theyd learnedabout peace building, and solve theconict in a peaceful way instead ofusing guns. Moreover, they combinedpeace building with non-violence

education for the people at thecommunity level, as well added ProkVanny, a Cambodian organizer alsoexpressed accordingly.

Both of them have the same ideaabout youth, that youth would be abrighter future of peace like a wheelrolling forward together to see the

brighter future of each country, andthey wish to see the change amongyouth themselves in inner peace andpeace building.

Stop hating each other becausewe are on the same border, we arethe neighboring country, so stopdiscrimination between countries.

Among these countries: Thailand,Cambodia Vietnam said Lun Boranyfrom Initiative of Change Associa-tion, Cambodia. She also added shehopes and expected to see in thefuture of Thailand and Cambodia theyouths voice raise the peace amongthe countries.

Moreover, Mai, another youthparticipant added that I hope tosee no one would repeat history.Cambodia and Thai youth are shar-ing common notions, desires, andcultural similarities. Having nodiscrimination is the thing I wishfor the two countries to be. I dontwish to see bringing up the weapon

to confront each other, because itwould bring us disaster and the loss.

He also mentioned to the LordBuddhas teaching that the war

brings us nothing, but disaster tooneself. I really think that the peopleliving among the borders arent everserious about the discriminationbecause the people around the areaare also having their relatives in the

countries along the border. Peoplealways cross the border as usual, ifthe borders closed that would makeThai and Cambodia lose a lot ofincome. said Mai.

This event was one of the stepsof the youth from two countries tokeep walking forward and working

on building peace. Not only workingtogether based on understanding andrespecting one another, but adoptingand adapting the local wisdom andreligious practices into a movement;such as Dharmayattra or peace walk,keep exchanging ideas and culturalunderstanding within a conception ofpromoting mutual understanding andworking towards sustainable peace.

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by Muhd KhalisA Dream To Be Free

Water Flows Down The Stream,To The End Of A Beginning.

Rocks And Stones Seems Painless,A Dream Of Hope Is Forever.

You Saw In Your Eyes,You Hear And You Cry.A Moment In Your Life,Was To Live Is To Die?

The Pain That You Feel.The Fear That You See.If Today Was A Dream,

Let Me Wake Up To Be FREE!!!

Muhd Khalis Rifhan is a political activist in Singapore. He is a memberof the Singapore Democratic Party and the Program Director for its youthwing, The Young Democrats. The party aims to eliminate all forms ofauthoritarianism; to uphold democratic principles and institutionalizedemocratic practices.

He is also involved with a number of local NGO and activist groupsincluding Singaporeans for Democracy, Singapore Anti-Death Penalty

Campaign and Free Burma Campaign (Singapore). He has been activelyinvolved in politics and civil society for 2 years now. In my early teens,I began reading books on Politics and History. It was then that I startedexpressing my views and opinions; mainly through poetry. To me, poetryis like a picture. It says a thousand words yet paints an emotional subject.He wrote in his email for AYM interview.

The poem was written when he was undergoing some challengeswhile serving his Military. He is now under the Ofcial Secrets Act and so

he is not allowed to blog or release any press statements about it. I stillbelieve that one day Singapore will see the light of Democracy, Equalityand Social Justice. Till that day arrives, I will continue my work andactivism. He said.

Visit his blog at http://muhdkhalis.wordpress.com

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by Jaruwan Supolrai

Have you any dream youve beenpursuing? Young people across Southeast Asia

dream of a hundred different things. Somemay dream of getting good careers. Someof you dream of having a big house and aluxurious car. And others may dream of beinga full-time world traveler. But interestingly,this group of young activists are dreamingabout peace, justice and rights for theirrespective regions.

AYM had a chance to interview six youngpeacemakers who recently returned homeafter taking part in three-month internshipprogram with School of Peace in Bangalore,southeastern India. They painted andcolored their confrontations and conictsinto posters for peace. Here are the goodstories of the hopes and dreams behindtheir meaningful works of art!

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A young female artist behind thisposter is Haryanti Rica Sulistyorini,25 years old, originally from East Java,Indonesia. Her work background iswomens issues. She now works on the

legal reform staff of the APIK Federation(Asosiasi Perempuan Indonesia UntukKeadilan) in Indonesias capital city ofJakarta to promote legal reform in hercountry with regard to womens rights.

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The inspiration behind Ricas art piece comes from the many casesof violence against women in Indonesia that she encounters in her work.I see that it is very sad and painful if women have to become victimsespecially physical abuse and I can feel very hurt for those women. saidRica. She hopes her poster will help raise awareness about violence againstwomen and believes that it is the responsibility of everyone in the world

to stop violence against women and to respect womens rights.

You can feel like women is mother of the world, you must respectbecause without women, we all also cannot struggle for our rights andcannot change the world. Her hope and dream for the region is that allpeople can live with no rape, no trafcking of women or children, no abuseand no war. If we live together with peace, I think we can live until onethousand years. she ended with a big smile.

A young Cambodian changemaker who has turned violence into colorsis Sophear Nomad Roun, 23 years old, originally from Pursat provincein western Cambodia. He has been actively involved with social serviceactivities since volunteering in high school for a Cambodian youth for apeaceful society organization. Currently he is a volunteer for Cambodian

Muslim Youth Coordination Center, where most of his weekend time isspent in urban poor communities doing community service with his youthvolunteer groups. Now he is a third year computer science student at theCambodian University for Specialties in Phnom Penh. Nomad loves todiscuss society and life with friends.

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Inspiration for his poster was drawn from his childhood memory ofwhat had happened to his family when he was little. These sad storieshappened not only to his family but also to his neighbors families in hisvillage. Through his poster, Nomad aims to tell people about domestic violence in the family. It is truly sad that many families from manycommunities of different countries are facing this situation. We always see

this problem. I feel badly about this case, since it is very dangerous andcaused many victims in the world. said Nomad, who strongly urges thepeople in the world to stop domestic violence. Domestic violence comesfrom many negative conditions, when people have no work, no education,no reasonable thinking, and no good relationship, no money and so on.

The hope and dream behind his painting is to see people in hiscommunity having a happy and healthy family. I want to everybody tohave good family and good life with happiness and warmth in their family

life. But sometimes they just dont realize that they do not have to haveeverything that they want.

A dreamer of Burma, and a believer in Burma, Doo Kipho Plout,

a young Karen activist, 21 years old, is from a Karen refugee camp alongthe Thailand-Burma border. Kipho is now working with the KarenStudents Network Group (KSNG) in Mae Sot promoting public awarenessof Burma issues in the media.

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Kipho painted this poster because he wants the world to know moreabout the situation in Burma. Together with others, he hopes to nd solutionsto improve conditions there. International organizations did help us, butI feel like nothing has changed for a better to the victim people, so I wantother people to think more about this situation and nd different waysto solve this problem. said Kipho. International organizations have

to put more pressure to SPDC government. [SPDC is the State Peaceand Development Council, the ofcial name of the military regime ofBurma.] If they do only like this poster the situation in Burma will not change.he suggested.

Kiphos dream is that his Karen people who suffered for a very longtime under the Burma military will someday be free. I dream that one daywe will live in peace. Farmers will not be afraid of anything when they gofor farming, they will sleep without fears. Children will not be hungry, they

will be secured to play around their places. People will worship withoutfear and they will have time to learn their own language and enjoy theirlives peacefully.

You might have heard about Thailands southern unrest situation. Ason of Pattani province, Saharee Bear Chelong, 27 years old, expresseshis passion for nonviolence in this work under the name of Stop Fear.Bear works for the Southern Peace Media Volunteer Network, based inNarathiwat, where he now is working on Deliberative Democracy with

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villagers in southern communities. He is as well a young farmer, plowingthe land, growing rice, harvesting and milling on his own farm.

Bear revealed that the hidden fear behind his poster is from thefear that he feels from villagers in affected areas in the deep southernThailand. The long term conict and the ongoing situation here are very

complicated and sensitive. said Bear, a young peace activist who dreamsof peace coming back to the south of Thailand.

Various types of violence have occurred on and off. This has madepeople in the areas feel fearful and distrust each other. Buddhist Thaisare afraid of talking to Muslim Thais. Muslims are afraid of Muslimsthemselves. They dont trust each other anymore. says Bear. It is a longjourney to pursue peace and freedom for his homeland. Bear hopes thatone day his dream will become reality, that the problem will be solved in acreative way tailored to the social and cultural context of the people livingthere. Government should open more spaces for people participation tohelp solve the problems and so people in the community will be able tostrongly stand on their feet in term of making a living and good qualityof way of life with peace and security. he ended with hope.

A young Filipino nurse activist known as Knacky, 23 years old fromMati City in the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines, is thecreator of this artwork. Kathleen is a registered nurse currently workingas an instructor in a nursing college. She is also an active member of an

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organization called United Youth for Peace and Development (UNYPAD),which is mainly working on issues of peace and development in Mindanao.

Her painting spoke about the desire of the Bangsamoro people to befree from oppression and discrimination, and to claim back their freedom,which was taken from them a long time ago. [Bangsamoro or Moro are the

Muslim ethnic group in the Philippines]. Long ago, the Moro people wereindependent, living harmoniously and sustaining themselves on their ownland. They lived with dignity until foreign invaders conquered their landand took it from them. They left us with almost nothing, Mindanao isconsidered the food basket of the Philippines but ironically many peopleare hungry, some cannot attend school, almost all are considered poorbecause of the improper distribution of wealth. said Knacky who ghtsagainst human rights violations in Mindanao.

She explained that the Moro were left landless, because almost allthe land was overtaken by the huge corporations. As a result, indigenouspeople had to move up the mountain. They are not well represented in thegovernment, at either the local or national level. We are discriminated, weare labeled as terrorist as a result job opportunities are rare only becausewe wear veil for women, only because we are from Mindanao, and onlybecause we are Moro people.

This is my little way of expressing what Moro people feels andexperiencing right now. I wanted other people to be aware of what we

are going through, how it feels to be discriminated and oppressed in ourown land. How it is to be a stranger in your own place? I just felt thatlong silence is enough, it is now the time to speak and ght for the truth.

Last but not least, you may wonder what has been happening inThailand recently. Lets get to know Siriporn Poo Pengjan, 26 yearsold from Nakhon Si Thammarat, Southern Thailand and nd out from

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her. With a political science background, she worked for the NationalLegislative Assembly in Thailand and is currently working as a generaladministration staff member at the Research Center for Peace Building,Mahidol University.

Inspiration for her poster is driven from the recent political violence

in Thailand. For what happened in previous May this yearI dont thinkThailand is a democratic country for real at all or people from each class inthe Thai society have different perspective on what democracy is all about.

Though Poos perspective, politics are connected to almost everything.If Thailand is a democratic country, why people are still living withpoverty? Why people are killing each other? Why injustice is there and soon? Thailand should rethink that democracy is not only for an electionday and all people should have rights to monitor everything that thegovernment do. she said.

In her poster, there are three key principles to share with people.First, people should have more critical and analysis thoughts about thesituation. Im afraid that Thai people will learn nothing from this politicalchaos. said Poo. Secondly, society should rethink and create learningprocess and spread knowledge to everyone in the society equally thatis why education is most important for us. Finally, we need to gure outwhat is a real democracy, and come up with specic goals? Together,I guess we all have to seek for answers.

Poo has a strong interest in learning and studying about conicts.She believes that if we have analytically and critically learned aboutthe conict, then we can learn how to resolve it. Thats when nonviolencewill start and peace will grow.

Poster for Peace is one of the workshops available in the Schoolof Peace that helps participants raise issues among communities ofmarginalized people more effectively, and to raise awareness of importantissues among the broader society. We learned in this workshop that itis not important to be a good artist in order to make effective posters.The important thing is to understand your issue and to be clear what youwant to communicate. said Max Ediger, a School of Peace coordinator.

SOP hopes that its participants will return to their communities witha clearer vision and strategy to confront conict and violence throughnonviolent means. We hope they will be more open to people who aredifferent in ethnicity, religion, gender, etc and will work to bring all peopletogether in one common human community. he added.

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SOP is a living and learning opportunity that brings together youngpeople in Asia who come from conict areas and represent differentfaiths and cultural backgrounds, to live, learn and dream together, aboutcommunities of just peace where religion, language, ethnicity, gender andculture cannot be used to divide people.

Participants learn from each other by sharing their experiences,visiting communities that are struggling for their rights, consulting resourcepersons with experience and expertise in different elds, and from a variety

of activities where they can learn from an action and reection process.Training in a variety of skills such as drama, art, and public speaking are

provided for participants, who can then share their learning with others.

Visit SOPs website at http://daga.dhs.org/icp/index.html

Its blog at http://sop2010.wordpress.com

Email can be reached at [email protected]

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by Alexandre Sattler

Peace is a State of Mind: It is an emotion comingfrom the higher-self and has various tools to be foundin human consciousness. I think peace is an abilitythat we all can develop; the taste of peace can help us,people, nation, and Mother Earth. People are ignorant;we forget about our emotion and focus too much onour external life. How about observing, analyzing andnding out how and why we are controlled by our mind.If we let go of our ego, and try to understand universal

love, we can clearly see that all of us are not dependentor independent but interdependent, and then othersbecome our brothers and sisters.

Peaceful Mind: It has a lot of inuence on ourexternal world...many ways to this powerful attitudelike meditation, vegetarianism, organic farming, andchanging our conception of ego, then we might be readyto live in peace. May all the alive being nd peace!

Peace and Art : Art is an expression of ourintuition, emotion and ideas; humans are creativecreatures. By letting this creativity get out, I think weneed to not focus on external world but on our innerdivinity. Developing art is one of the tools we all haveto walk on a peaceful path.

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See the world through eyes of children,and express your emotion; peace is near.

Mekong river, water is golden blue, its the life itself, just look at thispicture and feel it, you might be in a peaceful state of mind.

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Knowledge comes from learning. Wisdom comes throughletting go of what you think you know.

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Harmony can easily be observed in nature, oncewe face the beauty of life, our mind is lled with

serenity, tranquility and peace.

About Alexandr e Sattler

Alexandre Sattler is a freelance photographer based in Alsace, France.He is a founder of the French association, called RegardAilleurs. Heworks for a radio company, producing video documentaries and photoreports. He loves travelling and sharing the joys with people he meets.For him, photography is a way to get closer to others and connect peopletogether. Photography is not only what the eyes can see, but its also whatthe heart can feel. He also does audio and video reportage during his trips.

Learn more about his work at www.regardailleurs.org.

Find him on Facebook at [email protected].

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The Collaboration for Young Generationin Mekong Region or CYM, Thai VolunteerServices regional program has just released theMekong Youth Diary for Peace: Listen to OurVoices, Join the Change. Over 2,000 copieshave been given away to thousand of youths

across the Mekong region in Burma, Cambodia,China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

The goal of this diary for peace is to tell thestory of peoples alternatives through the eyes ofthe young generation and to raise awareness about

sustainable development to the public. In doing this, it aims to increase thedialogue between young activists and across country borders, in an attemptto nd a more sustainable solution to development for the entire region.

Through this work, CYM has realized the importance of peacebuilding to overcome prejudices, biases and nationalism that have createdhostilities throughout our history. We believe that this Mekong YouthDiary for Peace will be one of the creative channels to bring the voices ofMekong youth together to be heard for change.

We hope that this collective piece of work will lead us to join handsand develop mutual understanding, trust, friendship and solidarity as weseek to build a better society together.

Read more about the online diary and raise your voice of peace, be

sure to check it out at www.mekongyouthdiaryforpeace.wordpress.com

A Chance to WIN a copy of the MekongDiary for Peace!

CYM Team has ten copies of the diary to

give away. Raise your voice for peace on the

topic of My Dream about Mekong Region,in no more than 100 words. The ten most

interesting entries will receive a diary and have

their words published in our website. Send

your entry to cy m _ t h a i v o l u n t ee r @y a h o o .co m

HURRY UP! October 31, 2010

Who knows? You might be the winner of

a cool diary from us!

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Get involved, learn and share, through New Media

at ASEAN Youth Movement

Documents

AYM Newsletter - Young Peacemakers Riding to Peace_June-August 2010