WOMEN OF BURMA by AUNG SAN SUU KYI (r)

[enmasse_1@xxxxxxxxxxx]

           We wish Daw Aung San Suu Kyi a "Happy 53rd Birthday"
           on 19 June 1998.

          "Together we can overcome the troubles of today and create 
           a happier tomorrow for ourselves and our fellow human 
           beings."


   

           Minn Kyaw Minn
           ==============
           



>From notes@xxxxxxx Thu Jun 11 19:04:54 1998
>Received: from cdp.igc.apc.org (root@xxxxxxxxxxx [192.82.108.1])
>	by igc7.igc.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id SAA26938;
>	Thu, 11 Jun 1998 18:50:24 -0700 (PDT)
>Received: (from notes@localhost)
>	by cdp.igc.apc.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) id SAA01691;
>	Thu, 11 Jun 1998 18:50:17 -0700 (PDT)
>Date: 11 Jun 1998 18:22:51
>Reply-To: Conference "reg.burma" <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>From: altsean@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: WOMEN OF BURMA by AUNG SAN SUU KYI
>To: Recipients of burmanet-l <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19980612060412.0310e374@xxxxxxxxxx>
>X-Gateway: conf2mail@xxxxxxxxxxx
>Errors-To: owner-burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx
>Precedence: bulk
>Lines: 78
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by igc7.igc.org id 
SAA26938
>
>(THIS IS AUNG SAN SUU KYI=92S FOREWORD FOR THE BOOK "BURMA~VOICES OF 
WOME=
>N 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 
ou=
>r
>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 
ramshack=
>le
>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 
whi=
>ch
>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 
nee=
>d
>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 
lim=
>bo
>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 
gir=
>ls
>whose poverty has plunged them into a life of prostitution in an alien 
la=
>nd.
>
>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 
t=
>o
>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 
t=
>o
>the need for preserving their cultural integrity. Burma is a nation of 
ma=
>ny
>different peoples and in this diversity lies immense potential for 
streng=
>th
>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 
trouble=
>s
>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.
>
>-----------------------------------
>A L T S E A N - B U R M A
>Alternative Asean Network on Burma
>Tel/Fax: 66 2 693 4515 * <altsean@xxxxxxxxxx>
>
>


______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com