BIOGRAPHY
"I don’t know if courage comes from power or from pain...The suffering that I have endured is nothing compared to theirs. These peoples’ needs are greater than my own." -Ka Hsaw Wa
"Ka Hsaw Wa." Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Hum...
Above Image: Ka Hsaw Wa in Burma, where he spent seven consecutive years confined in its jungles, isolated from the outside world, somewhat safe from government repercussion, yet absorbed in the sufferance of the villagers, understanding their stories personally.
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"Ka Hsaw Wa is the founder of EarthRights International, a nongovernmental organization that filed a precedent-setting lawsuit against a U.S. corporation for torture committed by its agents overseas. Ka Hsaw Wa knows about the abuses committed by the military regime firsthand. He has spent years walking thousands of miles through the forests of Burma, interviewing witnesses and recording testimonies of victims of human rights abuses. He has taught hundreds of people to investigate, document, and expose violations of international human rights." |
Account of Torture: |
Ka Hsaw Wa was born in 1971 in Rangoon, Burma under a different name, which was changed to protect his identity and his family. Being a member of the Karen minority, he experienced discrimination under the strict conditions of the military junta. At age 17, he fled to live in the Thailand jungles, freed of military control, until 1994.
Above Image: Initially pursuing a future in business, Ka Hsaw
Wa's dream changed dramatically after hearing and relating to the horrid stories connected to the pipeline. In 1988, he became a student leader, participating in political protests where he was arrested and tortured for three days. The adjacent quote describes his experience. |
Ka Hsaw Wa understood that any oppressive regime opposed intellectuals who would question
and protest human rights abuses. His job was a nonviolent one: to write down the violations and expose them internationally. Many men teased him for not fighting in the jungles with the student-created army; however, he
advocated for those who were not brave enough or lacked the resources to speak up for themselves, and with a sense
of empathy and duty recorded over 1000 cases.
Wa, Ka Hsaw. Personal Interview. 9 Oct. 2014.
and protest human rights abuses. His job was a nonviolent one: to write down the violations and expose them internationally. Many men teased him for not fighting in the jungles with the student-created army; however, he
advocated for those who were not brave enough or lacked the resources to speak up for themselves, and with a sense
of empathy and duty recorded over 1000 cases.
Wa, Ka Hsaw. Personal Interview. 9 Oct. 2014.
"They [Burmese villagers] live in the jungle. They are hiding. That's why they need people like me, to link them with the people who know justice, the people who know the law, the people who could represent them." -Ka Hsaw Wa
EarthRights International. Case Study: Doe v. Unocal. EarthR...
Understanding the importance of education, in 1995 Wa ingeniously co-founded with wife Katie Redford, EarthRights International, a non-profit organization whose mission is to teach the indigenous people. By 1996 he formally issued a lawsuit against Unocal in U.S. courts.
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"He's a visionary. He's always got ideas, and as a visionary I think his ideas come to him, just... naturally. And so I think he can sometimes be so full of energy and ideas that sometimes it's hard to keep up with him."
Doerner, Billy. Student-led Interview. 9 Dec. 2014.
OBSTACLES
"When you do human rights work when you're young, you want to see results...we knew the difficulty of the situation, but if we wanted to help the people, we had to make big sacrifices. At times we felt dumbfounded because we had committed a great deal of time without seeing significant results." -Ka Hsaw Wa
"Ka Hsaw Wa." Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Hum...
Kaneva, Milena, dir. Total Denial. MK Production, 2007. Yout...
Above Video: Ka Hsaw Wa traveled as a vagabond through the jungle, living on only banana leaves and rice. The risk of malaria was high, and the excessive amount of walking was physically exhausting. Self-doubt was ever present as well as the emotional
challenges, rarely spending time with his children and family.
challenges, rarely spending time with his children and family.
AWARDS
Despite his achievements, Ka Hsaw Wa continues to risk his life and undertake this brave work for the people of Burma.
1999- Goldman Environmental Prize
1999- Conde Nast Environmental Award
2004- Whitley Fund for Nature Award for Human Rights and the Environment
2009- Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership
1999- Conde Nast Environmental Award
2004- Whitley Fund for Nature Award for Human Rights and the Environment
2009- Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership