International Alumnus of the Year

International Alumnus of the Year, Mong Marma

In 2007, he was awarded an AusAID scholarship for his Bachelor of Legal and Justice Studies at Southern Cross University.

It has been an amazing journey for Mong in his determination to overcome language, geographical and political barriers to achieve what he has.

After graduating, he began working with Peace Brigades International in Nepal as a Human Rights Field Officer where he provided protective accompaniment to at-risk human rights lawyers and defenders.

“This was such a unique opportunity for me because Nepal was just coming out of civil conflict. I was interested in studying how that conflict happened and how can I, coming from a neighbouring country, help them out,” according to Mong.

The inherent dangers involved with Mong’s studies didn’t faze him. After Nepal, he joined the Nonviolent Peaceforce in Mindanao, in the Philippines, as an International Civilian Protection Monitor. His primary responsibilities there involved monitoring, verification and reporting on ceasefire-related violence between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Mong’s focus then turned to Thailand where he joined the Indigenous Peoples Organization based in Chiang Mai as a Human Rights and Policy Advocacy Officer. He conducted advocacy work on the issues concerning Indigenous peoples’ lives and livelihoods at various regional and international forums including ASEAN and the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva, Switzerland.

In 2015, after years of contributing to the fight for Indigenous people’s rights in Bangladesh, and in Asia, Mong was awarded a Rotary Peace Fellowship.

“My long-term objective personally is to enrich my understanding of my own culture. I want to work with Indigenous communities so there can be some positive social change.”

He is now pursuing his doctoral studies in Indigenous Philosophies at Southern Cross University where he is researching the justice system for the Marma people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh.

“We are part of this global movement of indigenous people asserting our rights. It’s been a great experience in a sense of where I came from and who I am now.”