AsianScientist (Nov. 13, 2013) – Dr. Cynthia Maung, founder of the Mae Tao Clinic in Thailand, has received the 2013 Sydney Peace Prize.
Dr. Maung founded The Mae Tao Clinic on the Thai-Burmese border in 1989, which continues to treat up to 150,000 refugees, orphans and migrant workers each year.
The clinic has grown from a one-room hut – where Dr. Maung used a rice cooker to sterilize instruments – to a veritable village with a hospital, school and canteen. About 500 meals are served daily and there are more than 600 members of staff.
“The prize is a way of bringing international attention to the plight of Burma. It highlights that the peace process needs to be monitored by the international community,” Dr. Maung said.
Jane Singleton, director of the Sydney Peace Foundation, drew urgent attention to Dr. Maung’s work as the Mao Tao Clinic will be severely affected by the cessation of annual funding from AusAID.
“What Dr. Maung has achieved against the most appalling odds is extraordinary,” Singleton said. “Her selflessness and the conviction that health care must be available to all, regardless of their poverty, race or political conviction, is central to the realization of human rights and meaningful peace. Without her clinic, many thousands of Burmese would have died and many more would face a lifetime of disability and disease.”
The Sydney Peace Prize is Australia’s only international award for peace.
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Source: University of Sydney.
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