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NEWS - Seattle Times Reporter Paula
- Subject: NEWS - Seattle Times Reporter Paula
- From: BurmaJapan@xxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 30 Dec 1997 14:16:00
Seattle Times Reporter Paula Bock Wins Human Rights Award from United
Nations Association
LA Times
29-DEC-97
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 29,
1997--On International Human Rights Day,
December 10, 1997, Seattle Times
journalist Paula Bock received a human
rights award from the Seattle chapter of
the United Nations Association for her
article "A Land of War, A Journey of the
Heart."
The Seattle Times and photojournalist
Tom Reese also received recognition for
their contributions to the story, which was
published in the newspaper as a separate
special section on September 28.
Bock's article chronicled her return to the
war-torn Thai-Burma border in search of
two little girls whose village had been
overrun by the Burmese army earlier this
year. Bock had met the children during an
earlier visit to Burma, when she had
accompanied her husband during his
tenure as a volunteer doctor with the
refugee population. Much of Bock's story
focused on the valor of physician and
refugee, Dr. Cynthia Maung, who has
spent the past eight years establishing
and running medical clinics for thousands
of Burmese refugees.
In accepting the award, Bock said, "It is a
great pleasure to accept this human rights
award on behalf of Dr. Cynthia and the
brave families of Burma, who struggle so
hard to live lives of peace despite the war.
Telling the story of Dr. Cynthia Maung was
a real honor, both inspiring and
heartbreaking." Larry Dohrs, a Burma
specialist with the Seattle Burma
Roundtable, noted that "It is crucial that
the refugees be kept in the international
spotlight. Otherwise they can be raped,
tortured and killed with impunity. Paula
Bock, Tom Reese and The Seattle Times
have saved lives by telling this story."
Reader and community reaction to Bock's
story also has been powerful. More than
400 readers of The Seattle Times have
donated over $24,000, as well as clothing,
antibiotics, medical equipment and
supplies to Dr. Cynthia's work.
Bock and Reese will present a slide show
of their trip on January 13, 7:30 p.m. at the
Elliott Bay Book Company at 1st Avenue
South and South Main Street in downtown
Seattle. The entire section of "A Land of
War" is available in The Seattle Times
lobby, downtown Seattle; and for viewing
on the World Wide Web at
http://www.seattletimes.com/burma/ .
The Seattle Times is a locally and
privately owned newspaper. Its family
shareholders represent the fourth
generation of family ownership since the
newspaper was founded by Col. Alden
Blethen in 1896. The Times is the winner
of two 1997 Pulitzer Prizes for Beat and
Investigative Reporting, for a total of
seven Pulitzer Prizes.