Monday, March 4, 2013

Revision of Ann Jones' Chapter on Burmese Refugees

Ann Jones' chapter on the Burmese refugees in Thailand  focuses on the processes and struggles of her project the "Global Crescendo Project" which used photography as a means of documenting the daily lives of displaced Burmese minorities in Thailand. Mainly focusing on the Karenni women, who were thought to be shy and self-contained, the GCP brought a voice to many of them, as well as bridged the "gap between women and action" that exists as a result of impunity and patriarchy. Beyond the common difficulties in the camps, such as disease that passes quickly throughout camp refugees, domestic violence is in high frequency but seldom acknowledged, as "women endure violence because they saw no other choice,". As Jones' points out, such violence is incredibly ironic because it was a similar form of GBV, or torture, that the refugees were escaping from in the first place. Most importantly, the GCP began a path to educating and teaching men "how the problem starts and how they can solve it by themselves", learning, and using their knowledge of their history of suffering to promote rights and security writhing the community and the private sphere.

Ann, Jones. "Burmese Refugees in Thailand: Someplace Else." War Is Not Over When It's Over. New York: Metropolitan, 2010. 168-203. 

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