Interviews with Charm Tong

I was born in the conflict zone in Burma, in Shan state. And the Burma military still attacks, keeps attacking the people and the villagers until today. So my parents decided to send me, when I was six, to the Thai-Burma border, and I grew up in the orphanage house. And on the border, you know, I saw what happened to the people who had to come to the border and who suffered from the same, like, abuse and human rights violations and persecution from the Burmese military regime. And that’s what made me want to join the movement.

And also, at that time when I was 16, I asked many people what I could do, you know, what is something that we could do to change the situation. And I learned about the Shan Human Rights Foundation and how they document human rights abuses. And I would like to join them in this work and tell the international community what is really happening so that they can bring help and change the situation.

Interviewed August 2010

Charm Tong co-founded the Shan Women’s Action Network, when she was only 17. The organization is dedicated to stopping the exploitation of and violence against women and children in 1999.

Three years later, recognizing that their lack of education leaves the Shan young people more vulnerable to being trafficked or lured into other forms of exploitation, Tong founded the School for Shan State Nationalities Youth. The school works to empower and build the capacity of students to become leaders in their communities. It is regarded as a model for human rights education and training of young people from Burma and elsewhere.

Tong has also been instrumental in launching a campaign to bring attention to the systematic use of rape of Shan women by the Burmese military. The campaign, based on a report called “License to Rape,” has received considerable international attention.

Tong has received several international awards, including the Marie Claire Women of the Year Award and the Reebok Human Rights Award. In October 2005, she met at the White House with President George W. Bush.