The Journal Gazette - Burmese celebration ‘shows we are united’

Last updated: January 26, 2009 10:48 a.m.
The Journal Gazette - Burmese celebration ‘shows we are united’
Jeff Wiehe

Writing a poem can land you in jail, they tell you, or even worse. It can get you beheaded.

Aung Naing and Maugn Soe say that back home, in the southeast Asian country they still call Burma, there is no such thing as the free sharing of ideas.

You don’t say what you really want to say; you can’t always get together and dance or celebrate how you want; you’re lucky to get your daily intake of bread; and you definitely can’t criticize a military government that now calls the country Myanmar.

You don’t even risk jotting down something very simple on a piece of paper – like a poem.

So, it was a special moment Sunday for both men as they watched several ethnicities of Burmese come together – a rarity in Myanmar – at the downtown library in a celebration of that country’s culture. There was dancing, pomp, music, genuine dress and food, all for anyone who wanted to take it in.

“This would be very unique,” Naing said of such an event in Myanmar.

Mapped out by the local Phi Theta Kappa chapter of Ivy Tech Community College, the event was designed to celebrate the mixed culture of the more than 5,000 Burmese refugees who now call Fort Wayne their home and to educate a curious public who may be critical of why any Burmese are here at all.

“Our goal became to raise awareness,” said Sheri Dunlavy, coordinator of the Indiana Region for Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society of the Two-Year College.

For Soe, who said he came to the United States in 1997 and became an American citizen in 2003, the event showed a unity he hopes will one day help his country out from the shadow of a military regime that has drawn criticism from many developed countries around the globe – including the U.S.

“This is important,” said Soe, instrumental in bringing together the different ethnicities and affiliations in the area for the event. “This shows we are united.”

Soe said he was part of a 1988 pro-democracy uprising that some national news organizations have reported led to the deaths of 3,000 protesters at the hands of the country’s military. He said for a pro-democracy movement to succeed, there needs to be financial support from the United States, like the $1 billion America pledged to the Republic of Georgia after its fight against Russia last year.

Plus, he and Naing said, there should be a concerted effort to free Myanmar from its current regime instead of constantly finding homes for refugees.

“We need to end the regime,” Soe said. “Day 1, we end the regime. Day 2, we make democracy.”

With President Obama taking the reins in the United States, Soe said he hopes the end of the regime in Myanmar can happen soon. He said he liked President Bush, but found where that administration stood on issues hard to fathom based on the history of his secretary of state.

Condoleezza Rice, who served in that position for Bush, spent about 14 years on the board of energy and oil giant Chevron Corp., which has done lucrative business as one of the few Western-based businesses operating in Myanmar.

The United States at one point banned new investments in Myanmar, but Chevron was allowed to operate there because it was there before the ban.

Though Rice left the board when she accepted her position as secretary of state, Soe still couldn’t understand how an administration that talked tough on making democracy for Myanmar did not press harder for Chevron to leave the country.

“We stay confused about U.S. policy,” he said.

Amid criticism about its presence there, Chevron last summer did donate $2 million for relief in the wake of a devastating cyclone in Myanmar, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.