WOMEN OF BURMA by AUNG SAN SUU KYI

[altsean@xxxxxxxxxx]

(THIS IS AUNG SAN SUU KYI?S FOREWORD FOR THE BOOK "BURMA~VOICES OF WOMEN IN
THE STRUGGLE")

FOREWORD: WOMEN OF BURMA
by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

When I think of the women of Burma I think first not of those who are in
fact living in Burma, but of those who are living on the other side of our
borders as refugees. Women are generally regarded as home makers, tenders
of the hearth around which the family gathers, weavers of the gentle ties
that bind faster than the strongest iron chains. A home may be a ramshackle
old house, a modern apartment, a hut or a moveable yurt, but it has to
offer some degree of security, there has to be a certain sense of
possession. Refugee  centres, in general, offer little in the way of
security, and inmates are reduced to the unenviable status of the
dispossessed who have no control over their own lives. In such
circumstances how can women be expected to exercise their talent for home
making, let alone  demonstrate their many other qualities that could
contribute so much towards making the society in which they live happier
and better?

Problems that are not thrust before us are easy to ignore. Refugees tend to
be forgotten unless public attention is drawn to their plight. It is time
we brought to the attention of the world the abysmal conditions under which
so many women of Burma are forced to exist, not just for weeks or months
but year after year, deprived of comfort and hope. They are sorely in need
of material assistance that will enable them to create a semblance of
normal life for themselves and their families. But more than that, there is
a crucial need to examine the reasons why they have been reduced to the
present state of homelessness and abject dependence on the fickle charity
of others.

People unprotected by the laws of the land in which they live can be
abruptly stripped of their rights and possessions and cast out into a limbo
of existence. These are the political refugees. There are also economic
refugees, people who are compelled to leave their homes in search of a
means to scrape together a living. The worst cases are those of young girls
whose poverty has plunged them into a life of prostitution in an alien land.

The woes of dislocation are not confined to refugees across our  borders:
there are within Burma many internally displaced persons. They, like the
refugees, whether political or economic, are victims of mis-governance.
Therefore, if we are to resolve the problems of refugees and internally
displaced persons, we must resolve the  fundamental problem of
mis-governance. Unless Burma has a  government that is willing and able to
create conditions under which its citizens can live in political and
economic security (the two are indissolubly linked), there will continue to
be hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons
living out their shattered lives in uncertainty.

On this Women of Burma Day 1998*, I would like to appeal to the
international community and to non-government organisations to make a
concerted effort to bring an end to conditions that have led to the
homelessness of so many women of Burma, and to give them the necessary
assistance that will enable them to reconstruct their lives. The majority
of these refugees belong to the Karen, Kayah (Karenni) and Mon ethnic
groups and in providing them with help I hope due thought will be given to
the need for preserving their cultural integrity. Burma is a nation of many
different peoples and in this diversity lies immense potential for strength
if we can make mutual trust and understanding the foundation of our union.

To the women of Burma themselves I would like to send a message of
solidarity. Together, in full knowledge of both our strengths and
weaknesses, we can contribute towards the building of a nation that is a
safe and happy home for its peoples. Together we can overcome the troubles
of today and create a happier tomorrow for ourselves and our fellow human
beings.

Aung San Suu Kyi
Rangoon, Burma

* Women of Burma Day falls on June 19.

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