Zoya Phan | A Story of Life and Death

Zoya Phan speaks at Oslo Freedom Forum 2011
The Aid Debate
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Zoya Phan, Burmese refugee and human rights activist, opens her remarks on humanitarian with the declaration that she cannot be opposed to foreign assistance, based on her own life experience. Without aid, she would be dead. However, Phan argues that while aid can help deal with the symptoms of a dictatorship, it does not address the ultimate cause of the problem: the dictatorship itself. A major problem now in Burma is the regime's blockade of international aid. But this barrier simply means that the international community must find other ways to help the people of Burma. Unfortunately, finding a real solution seems difficult to foreign governments, and "instead they throw aid money at the problem, so that they can say, 'We are doing something about...Burma." Phan does think aid is important, but only when administered correctly. The money must benefit the people, not fall into the hands of those in power who will use it to perpetuate the status quo. Learn more about #OsloFreedomForum:
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Please read "UNDAUNTED" by ZOYA PHAN
heartbreaking, illuminating, inspiring