On September 22, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi returned to New York
City for the first time in about 40 years. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the
Nobel Peace Prize for her courage to continue to take a stand against a
repressive military regime in Burma, was impressed with the progress that the
city had made in that time. She really loved the diverse city at the time, but she also found it a bit frightening because of the prevalent poverty and
high rates of crime.
Today things have changed. Along her route through the city, she gave a talk at the City
University of New York’s Queens College, a borough that is now a bustling immigrant neighborhood. She also stopped at Columbia University, where she appeared to glow as she talked about the support that she received from those
who struggled for Burma’s freedom both within and outside her country. She made
15 years of house arrest seem easy, contrasting her struggles with those who
suffered under harsh conditions as political prisoners in Insein Prison in
Burma. (She was too humble to mention that she herself spent time there, or
that her health suffered as a result.) But she also believes the suffering of Burmese dissidents worldwide was
worth it, noting that the courageous dissidents encouraged other nations to
pressure the junta with economic sanctions. See feels that the economic
sanctions placed on Burma by the United States and other nations helped bring
about democratic reform.
Her trip coincided with a visit by the current leader of Burma, President
U Thein Sein, who has ushered through many of the political and economic
reforms that brought Ms. Daw Aung Suu Kyi her freedom (and to office as a member of parlament). Together, they pushed for, and won, further lifting of sanctions against
their nation just a few days after their visit.
Burma, it seems, is solidly on a path to participating in
the global economy. Unfortunately, there are very few people within Burma’s
borders who have a formal education in politics, business, or science to help
the nation flourish. Organizations like the Burmese Refugee Project are working
hard to help put Burma back on the track of human and economic development. Perhaps
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi will live not just to see New York transformed from an
impoverished city to the flourishing metropolis it once was, but to also see
Burma grow into the healthy and wealthy nation it once was.
