On December fifth, I met up with Kam Li, the director of the Kachin Development Organization, to talk shop. The KDO started about two years ago, but have had an office and drop-in center for less than a year. When I met up with them last year, Kam Li wasn't working as the coordinator yet. A Kachin friend of mine in Chiang Mai put me in touch with his brother who lives in Malaysia; he works in a swanky restaurant in KL, but is also involved with the KDO. Kam Li came to meet me with a tape recorder, and as we sat in the tea shop he asked me about how they should organize, and what activities they should do.

Now, as the coordinator, he's as busy as anyone here at the CRC, with his phone ringing every five minutes about arrests, medical emergencies, meetings with NGOs and the UNHCR, employment referrals, and any number of other things. There are about 2000 Kachin now in Malaysia, and he's now their point of contact for anything they need assistance with. He's also the only one at the KDO with a UNHCR card, which means he's the only one who can accompany people to places like the hospital, or visit the lock-up when someone is arrested.

We sit in his office as he tells me more about their projects. They've been having radio training and are starting a Kachin radio program. He tells me the programs will run 15-30 minutes, covering news relating to Kachins, and will have interview segments with Kachins, on topics such as Kachin State and life in Maalysia. They hope to be able to do some or most of it in English when they have more time to prepare scripts. They are broadcasting on an Indonesian frequency, and will also be posting the shows online.

They've also been working on income generation projects, and received a grant to purchase a sewing machine and start up handicraft production. They've been getting Kachin textiles from Burma, but will soon be receiving some from the Kachin Women's Association in Thailand, which has also started up a small weaving project. When they first started their handicraft projects, they had one man making small kachin manau poles, for hanging on the wall, but have since stopped that as they take too long and the man has little time outside his job to work on them. They are still making anchovies though, which are apparently quite popular. Fortunately, they weren't making any batches during the times I visited.

While I'm there, he tries to print out a copy of their project proposal for me, an unusually long process. The computer monitor appears to be about 10 years old, and who knows how old the computer is. It caught a virus from a thumb drive used at an internet cafe, as they don't have their own phone line or internet yet, and everything was frozen.

They have a couple of volunteers who are helping by teaching classes there, Bahasa Malayu and computer training for the adults, and English for the children. There are about 30 Kachin children in Malaysia.

Towards the end our meeting Kam Li got up to answer the door, and came back looking a bit stressed, telling to stay there and not go out. It felt like I must have waited for an hour or more, but it was hot and I had to go to the bathroom, so my perception was probably skewed. It turns out a high-ranking special branch officer had shown up asking about the Karen New Year celebrations scheduled for the next Saturday. The Special Branch is roughly the equivalent of the FBI or CIA, I believe, so it's understandable that he would have been nervous, although there was no real need. I had met that same officer last year at the CRC.