Dear Friends: This is the last call. If you have an article that you would like to submit about the Akha for the 3rd Akha Journal of the Golden Triangle / Akha Voices, please send it to me now, even a rough draft. Also if you have any photos or video (will place link for video etc) please let me know quickly. I am on the downhill side of a bad uphill horsepower problem, many tasks, many responsibilities, setting up here in the US after 16 years away. When I have the full rough draft assembled I am going to have a beer. I am procuring two printing presses to handle the printing production. I have two other presses, they are in need of repair, more extensive, and they are parked in Oregon. Thus the two local presses that I will set up in my garage and hammer out what is looking like at least 5,000 copies of a book that will be between 700 and 1200 pages in length with as many as 500 or more photos. Ok, the deal is this, there are not many opportunities when a person can assemble so much information one one ethnic group, their joys and traumas, on human rights activism, on international law, all in one place. The first and second Akha journal continue to distribute and sell I might ad, and have become sort of legendary and historic, and the second one is in the Dewey Decimal system in the US now, so that is an accomplishment, and this one is going to be packed with everything, and I hope it lives a good long time. We have waged war. We have won many a battle, we can can see the white of the Queen's eyes, and we are bringing it on. We have friends, we have partners, we have partner websites, we have agents, we have volunteers, we have video people, photo people, observers, writers, editors, press mechanics, lawyers, indigenous friends, UN legal experts, and a hell of a big hammer. We have only one rule, to defend the Akha at all cost. We and partners have battled ACF Action Contre Le Faim and NCA Norwegian Church Aid. What they claimed was our groundless accusations, they claim no more, the scandal is spreading on the world map, the problem on their hands, all the Akha woman sexually abused which they admit happened but didn't happen. Their reports not ours. We have bought and sold land and worked to pay bills, debts, procure, save, scrimp, anguish and pour money into this project. We have been poor, we have been beggar, but we have never given up. We have run investigations in Laos and at missions in Thailand, documentation after documentation. We have demanded that it will never be ok to take Akha children away from their families, villages and culture. We got it written into resolutions at the UN. We print business cards for the Akha, excellent pamphlets, a website that is getting 200,000 hits per month, and we publicize the Akha case where ever we go. Spurn us and we will never go away from your door step. Help us and we will never cease to say "Thank You!" We have gotten websites which spread racist disinformation against the Akha to finally take them down. We have gotten websites to do their own write ups to promote the Akha. Our energy and connections and effort have launched numerous other projects including an Italian Aid project to the Museum in Maung Sing. We have joined in support of the Akha with UWIP website FPCN of UK and Germany. We run increasing numbers of movies on youtube.com with increasing hits, which means more and more people are coming to know who the Akha are. We continue to persue the case of the Akha of Sacramento. We did all in our power to publicize the case of Ms. Wongsa in the Singapore prison. We have made connections with Indigenous Organizations in the US. And all of it, every last drop, is documented in the 3rd Akha Journal. Watch www.akha.org for our upcoming report on the removal of Akha children from their villages and culture, to CGT Children of the Golden Triangle Mission in Thailand run my an Australian David Stevenson, who apparently ran out of Aboriginal children to take away. We have highlighted the fact that UNESCO designs projects in Laos which are not Free Prior and Informed Consent but rather patronizing and exploitive. We voiced those concerns to Robert Tizard when we were on the ground in north Laos. We have expressed our concerns to UNESCO in Bangkok that they not cooperate with missionaries but rather build network and capacity with traditional Akha organizations in Thailand which battle to defend Akha culture instead of destroy it. Unfortunately, David Feingold at UNESCO can not answer to this issue and continues to host a number of partner organizations on its website, which are missionary organizations. Not the least of which is New Life Foundation, formed by Paul W. Lewis, the same man who ran the sterilization progrom on the Akha. We have added one camera to our project in part by donor dollars. We have added one new computer to our project by my blood, sweat and tears. Plenty of all. We have added friends along the way, and continue to enjoy the advice of these, people like Hunter Gray and others. We are hoping for more articles and pics, from places like Myanmar, Laos, Thailand. And on occasions we get donations. Thank You. Matthew McDaniel
The Akha Heritage Foundation. http://www.akha.org Akha Heritage Site. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Akhaweeklyjournal Discussion http://groups.yahoo.com/group/akha Donate Via Credit Card Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=akha%40akha.org PO Box 6073 Salem, OR. 97304 USA. --------------------------------- Be a PS3 game guru. Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at Yahoo! Games.
