"Over the past thirteen years, many Burmese exiles based in Thailand, India and other neighboring countries have received training in various fields. In most cases, trainers from Western countries have come to border areas to teach Burmese about political defiance, human rights, diplomacy, international law, health, women?s issues, environmental issues, and so on. Sometimes, exiles are sent abroad to receive training. Training is indeed helpful for Burmese who plan to one day return to their homeland and contribute their expertise to the development of a free and democratic Burma. It is a reasonable idea to encourage exiles, who are usually forced to remain within small, marginalized communities, to attend training programs where they can learn new ideas and share their views with others. As with all forms of assistance, however, it is worthwhile to occasionally examine the effectiveness of such programs, and to consider whether there have been any problems that need to be addressed..."