RM awardees hopeful movement for social change will prosper

Here’s a break from politics.

Asia’s leading crusaders for the common good yesterday expressed hope that the movement for social change will gain steam as they received the region’s highest honor.

Six men and women from Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India and Laos who are this year’s Ramon Magsaysay laureates were presented to the media yesterday ahead of the week-long celebration of the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award.

During the press conference at the RM Center in Manila, the honorees recognized the need for Asian neighbors to link up to bring about reforms in various sectors of society.

Thai Senator Jon Ungphakorn, an awardee for government service, noted there is not much difference in the problems facing Asian countries these days.

In thanking the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF), Ungphakorn, 58, said the most important aspect of his appreciation is how the honor "supports movements in our respective countries, not individuals."

"I think the situation (in each country) is not all that different. We are facing a lot of challenges on social justice and the rights of people," he said.

"This is a great honor, an honor for the civil society in Thailand which is struggling for a greater voice and the creation of a more just society (fighting for) civil and human rights, for greater democracy, greater press freedom and good governance," added the Thai senator who is a known champion of the underprivileged.

Sombath Somphone of Laos said he was hopeful that the Ramon Magsaysay Awards would bring about a social transformation especially beneficial to the youth.

"I cannot help but feel bad in continuing to lead the minority in a world where globalization of consumerism is getting to us, especially the young people," said Somphone, an awardee for community leadership who was cited for his "hopeful efforts to promote sustainable development" in Laos, one of the world’s poorest countries.

There is a "greater responsibility that what we have started is only the beginning," Somphone said on being named a Magsaysay awardee.

For her part, South Korea’s Hye-Ran Yoon, honoree for emergent leadership, said "smaller groups" working to change people’s mindsets "to become real citizens in a democratic society" are also needed to improve society.

Yoon, whose passion for civic work enabled Cheonan’s civil society to exercise its social responsibilities in a dynamic and democratic fashion, also noted how her fellow workers back home had been encouraged upon hearing she was a Magsaysay awardee.

Frustrations that come with the work of Teten Masduki of Indonesia are often coupled with danger.

Masduki, who is receiving the award for public service, believes he has not accomplished enough to yield the desired results as an anti-corruption campaigner.

But getting Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize proved to be a "great encouragement" for him as well as to his friends and colleagues.

Masduki, 42, is coordinator of the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW).

"Fighting corruption is by no means an easy task. I hope that this award will serve as a sort of protection for me to keep on fighting corruption," Masduki said through an interpreter.

The eldest of the awardees, Dr. V. Shanta said although it is hard to tell how much of her mission can be completed, she believes the award "has placed a tremendous responsibility to see to it that I do more."

Shanta was honored for her work in turning the Cancer Institute in Chennai, India into a "pioneer" in both specialized research and treatment of the disease.

"I am not sure if I will fulfill my journey," said the 78-year-old Shanta, "but it will be passed onto others to continue."

Matiur Rahman of Bangladesh, a journalist crusading against the vicious crime of acid-throwing, noted with pride that his newspaper had become a "symbol of hope for Bangladesh in the struggle against corruption, nepotism for the rule of law (to be upheld)."

Rahman received the award for journalism, literature and creative communication arts. He was cited for his "wielding the power of the press to crusade against acid throwing and to stir Bangladeshis to help its many victims."