ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to express our deep gratitude to the narrators, who devoted an enormous amount of time and careful reflection in sharing their stories; the trust and courage they embody is an inspiration to us.

We thank all of our loved ones for their boundless support and encouragement throughout the process of compiling this volume, especially Susan, Gary, John, Jeannie, Dora, Lisa, Marc, Kika, and James. And for their commitment to social justice, we honor Eve, Dena, and Andrew; three friends whose lives continue to be measured in impact, not years.

We thank our Associate Editor, K’pru Taw; this book would have never come to fruition without his incredible commitment and his kind and sensitive way of engaging everyone he meets. We are deeply thankful to Michael Haack for giving so much of his time and detailed attention to the appendices as well as to each story. We are grateful to Emily Hong, Thelma Young, Debbie Landis, Cindy Choung and Soe Ling Aung for contributing their energy and vision to this project and supporting us in crucial ways, at critical times.

We are grateful to Amazon, the Open Society Institute, and Not On Our Watch, without whose support this project would not have been possible.

We thank the following experts for their continuous guidance throughout the process of compiling this book. Their advice and feedback played a critical role in shaping this project: David Scott Mathieson, Amy Alexander, Matthew Smith, The Arakan Project, Mike Paller, Josh Machleder, Christina Fink, Patrick Pierce, and Liz Tydeman.

We are extremely grateful to the following people for their support and generous assistance: mimi lok, Chris Ying, Juliana Sloane, James Robert Fuller, Min Zin, Ari Schindle, Ashin Sopaka, Greg Constantine, Alec Knuerr, Kim Jolliffe, Bill Berkeley, Po Po, Win Win, Jack Healey, Annie Tritt, Katrina Jorene Maliamauv, Professor David Steinberg, Professor John Dale, Casey McNeill, Brianna Townsend, Jared Hall, Marisa, Patrick Cook-Deegan, Nadi Hlaing, Molly Norris, K2, Khine Pray Thein, Latheefa Koya, Kanchana Thornton, Katie Camarena and Michele Bohana.

We are also indebted to all of the community and political organizations that took the time to advise us, guide our interviewee selection, and offer their support and encouragement. The interpreters deserve special thanks in particular for being consistently patient and gracious, and generously volunteering their time to support this project. Their work was critical to the completion of this book.

In particular, we would like to thank the people at EarthRights International, the Chin Refugee Center, the member groups of Coalition of Burma Ethnics–Malaysia, the Chin Human Rights Organization, Tenaganita, the US Campaign for Burma, Grassroots Human Rights Education and Development, the International Burmese Monks Organization, the All Burma Monks’ Alliance, Generation Wave, Burma Children Medical Fund, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), Zomi Service Center, the Network for Documentation–Burma, the National League for Democracy–Liberated Areas, Democratic Party for a New Society, and Burma Refugee Organization.