So That None Need Be Alone
VOLUME 25, NUMBER 5, NOVEMBER 2003
 Dr. Cynthia Maung being recognized in Canada's Parliament. |
On a sunny afternoon in early June, a remarkable event unfolded in Canada's Parliament. The sitting members, women and men elected from all across the country, from all parties and political stripes, stood and applauded a slight woman sitting in the visitor's gallery. The woman was Cynthia Maung, a medical doctor from Burma, now living as a refugee in Mae Sot, a sprawling border town in Thailand where she operates a centre to protect and treat refugees from her homeland.
The multi-party gesture from these parliamentarians was a gesture of recognition, of homage, and of political support - a gesture that will help ensure Cynthia's safety and that of her life's work.
Why was Cynthia Maung, a stateless exile who lives every day at risk, being acknowledged in such a rare and profound way in the highest chamber of a country half a world away from her precarious life in Mae Sot? The answer is in relationships, and the connections of social solidarity that Inter Pares is committed to building among our counterparts around the world.
Sitting with Cynthia Maung that June afternoon was Rita Morbia, our colleague at Inter Pares, who is responsible for our program of support to Cynthia and her clinic. Since 1991 when the clinic was only a shelter, Inter Pares has been contributing financial and political support to Cynthia, sustaining her health programs and helping establish the connections that today have become a network of solidarity that extends around the world. It is these links that eventually brought Cynthia to Canada's Parliament, which protect and support Cynthia and her work, and give hope that she and her compatriots will one day be able to return home to rebuild a country devastated by a murderous military regime. It is these links that demonstrate to the world that Cynthia and her fellow Burmese exiles are not alone.
Similarly, these links demonstrate that neither are we alone, that we count with myriad others around the world, including here in Canada, in a network of social action. Our connection with Cynthia is a two-way relationship. Cynthia inspires us, challenges us, and encourages us to acts of humanity and courage. As part of our common cause, Cynthia has also hosted Inter Pares, along with our counterparts from places as diverse as the Philippines and Guatemala, as well as from Canada, to share lessons and resources to deepen each other's work, as part of a growing global network of mutual support.
When Inter Pares talks about such connections, we are speaking of an element that is indispensable to the change process that we promote. Isolated instances of creativity and courage can achieve marvelous things. We see this everyday. But to ensure that these initiatives are durable and lasting it is important that they become visible and are supported by colleagues and companions working as part of a common effort worldwide. It is such connections that protect and sustain when energy temporarily fades, when the risks seem too great, and the challenges feel too large for the resources at hand.
Inter Pares makes connections so people can achieve together what they could not do alone, augmenting the efforts of those involved, supporting their local activity, while building something valuable beyond their individual contributions and local work. Such connections bring with them mutual support, learning, shared resources, and collective power, while promoting diversity of experience and ideas, and a genuine momentum and durability to our collective action globally.
We truly are not alone. Neither Inter Pares, nor the thousands of Canadians who support our work and are committed to the cause of building a better world. Connections among people around the world - people such as Cynthia Maung and those we have linked with her work - allow us to achieve and sustain each small victory in the struggle to promote dignity and security in the world.
This Bulletin offers examples of such connections and introduces you to people engaged in collective action to make our shared world a safer, more humane and more secure place for all.
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| Reviewed June 1, 2004 |  |
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