Daw Aung San Suu Kyi freedom hero – Honorary Oakley

You’ve possibly read the name and thought to yourself…. is that an anime character? But the Honorary Oakley is taking a different approach this month. After months of strong female video game characters and movie characters this month we’re honoring a real woman. Although Thumb Bandits is a non political site we are a community of thinkers, so why not take a closer look at a ‘real’ female hero and share information that ‘gamers’ on the whole may be completely unaware of. It’s these reasons, and to give a voice and visibility to that rarest of human beings, the believer in peace, that Aung San Suu Kyi is entered into our Honorary Oakley archive. Please take time to read this Thumb Bandits Honorary Oakley, for you will be better educated for it.

Let’s take a closer look at the woman herself…..

Aung San Suu Kyi – A quick bio:

Name: Aung San Suu Kyi
Birthdate: June 19th 1945
Birthplace: Rangoon Burma
Resides: Rangoon (Myanmar)
Misc: Awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize

The story of Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the most remarkable in the world today. Since 1988, in a non-violent struggle to bring democracy to Burma, she has stood up to one of the most brutal and unrelenting military dictatorships in the world. In doing so, she has made great personal sacrifices and lives under house.

Born in 1945, Aung San Suu Kyi was the daughter of General Aung San, Burma’s national hero who was assassinated when she was just two years old. Daw Suu never knew her father, but his example had been a great inspiration to her. Daw Suu hopes that she will be able to complete the job that he began: to develop Burma as a democratic state.

Daw Suu’s upbringing in Burma, India, and Great Britain, gave her an opportunity to learn several different cultures and languages and to become familiar with democratic institutions in other countries. In the 1960′s Daw Suu attended college at Oxford, England where she met her husband to be Michael Aris, scholar of Tibetan studies.

After college Daw Suu went to New York, where she worked at the UN. Again and again, she wrote to Michael saying that if they married he must understand that one day she might have to return to Burma to help her people: “I only ask one thing. That should my people need me, you would help me to do my duty by them”. The couple married in 1972 and lived a quiet family life in Oxford, raising their two sons, Alexander, born in 1973, and Kim, born in 1977. At this stage Daw Suu was not actively involved in Burmese politics, but, at the age of 32 (the age at which her father died) Daw Suu became dedicated to learning everything about his life, intending to write his biography, she also travelled to Burma regularly to visit her mother. In March of 1988, Daw Suu received a phone call saying that her mother had suffered a stroke. Michael later wrote that from that moment he knew their lives would never be the same. Daw Suu packed immediately and traveled to Burma the next day.

The story from there is a long and winding one, but in essence, like the South African leader Nelson Mandela before her, Aung San Suu Kyi, has become internationally recognized as a symbol of heroic and peaceful resistance in the face of oppression.

Even whilst under house arrest (since May 2003 on this occasion) Aung San Suu Kyi remains a symbol of hope in the struggle for democracy in Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi nobel peace prizeNobel Peace Prize Winner: 1991:
July 10.
European Parliament awards Suu Kyi Sakharov human rights prize.
October 14.
Norwegian Nobel Committee announces Suu Kyi is winner of 1991 Peace Prize.
When she was awarded this honor she had been under house arrest for two out of what was to become six years.

Quotes:
“I think people support us because they are discontent with the present regime. That’s normal in any circumstances. You know, people support the opposition because they don’t like the incumbent”.

“There will be a sure change because all the military have are guns.”

“How can authorities who are so afraid to grant basic democratic rights to people build or construct democracy.”

“Myanmar is a name that this military regime chose when it took over. We don’t think that any government, especially one that is not elected by the people, has the right to change the name of the country.”

“I don’t look at this as a sacrifice. It’s a choice. If you choose to do something then you shouldn’t say it’s a sacrifice. Because nobody forced you to do it.”

Interested in more, but not interested in reading? Well lucky for you film buffs I’ve got a suggestion for a film which skillfully highlights the problems of Rangoon without becoming overly schmaltzy or didactic, you’ll learn something from this film so why not give it a rent. The film in question is Beyond Rangoon, starring Patricia Arquette.

The film was directed by John Boorman (Deliverence) who delivers an intelligent and thought provoking look at a country in trouble. The film also gives movie-goers a rare opportunity to watch a female hero.

Some of the world’s top artistes and musicians have banded together to push for the freedom of Burma’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, activists said as US legislators considered seeking UN Security Council action against the military regime in Rangoon.

Bands U2, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, Sting, R.E.M., Travis, Indigo Girls and Matchbox Twenty and several top artistes including Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton will launch an album on October 26 (2004) dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi.

“Anytime anyone inside Burma listens to my music, I want them to know that they are listening to an artist that supports their freedom,” said Clapton, the quintessential blues guitarist.

The album, entitled “For The Lady: Dedicated to freeing Aung San Suu Kyi and the courageous people of Burma” will be released by Rhino Records on October 26th (thus nicely tying in with our Honorary Oakley given this was written early October 2004)…. buy the album!!!.

We salute Aung San Suu Kyi, Thumb Bandits Honorary Oakley. Hopefully she will see her freedom soon.

Update: As we transfer our site to the new format it is the end of January 2010 and Aung San Suu Kyi is still being held under house arrest by the military junta of Burma.

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