[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 161 (Thursday, December 15, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13651-S13652]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           DR. CYNTHIA MAUNG

  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I rise today to call attention to the 
heroic efforts of Dr. Cynthia Maung and her Mae Tao clinic to provide 
hope on the border of Thailand and Burma. Dr. Maung, herself a Burmese 
refugee, has dedicated her life to helping those fleeing political and 
economic turmoil in

[[Page S13652]]

Burma. Few Burmese refugees are granted official refugee status in 
Thailand, making it almost impossible to obtain healthcare, employment 
or education.
  On the outskirts of the town of Mae Sot, Dr. Maung started a 
makeshift facility to treat her malaria stricken fellow refugees as 
they began crossing by the thousands into Thailand, following the 
Burmese junta's brutal crackdown on the democracy movement in 1988. Mae 
Tao is now a thriving clinic treating around 70,000 people a year. From 
providing maternity care and family planning to treating infectious 
diseases and fitting landmine victims with prosthetics, the Mae Tao 
clinic represents hope, safety and a brighter future for some of the 
most vulnerable people in the world. This is a mission we should do 
everything we can to support.
  Dr. Maung's tireless efforts have not stopped with the Burmese 
refugee population in Thailand, as she trains medical teams to deliver 
health services to remote villages in Burma. Unable to return to her 
homeland, Dr. Maung continues to be a fearless advocate for democracy 
and justice for the people of Burma--on both sides of the border.
  We can and must do more to support this courageous woman, and her 
work to ensure that the refugee population in Thailand is granted basic 
rights, including healthcare and education, for all.

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