A year ago today our father was killed by agents of the military regime in Burma. He was killed because of his belief in freedom and democracy for our people. He dreamed of a land of peace, without poverty, where people of different cultures were accepted as different, but equal.
We would like to thank everyone who has given us support and encouragement in the past year. We miss our father terribly, but are determined to carry on his work.
We have established the Phan Foundation in memory of our father, and also of our mother, Nant Kyin Shwe, who also dedicated her life to her people.
The Phan Foundation will promote education, preserve Karen culture, and fight poverty in Karen state. In January 2009 Naw Paw K’Bla Htoo became the first recipient of the annual Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award.
We welcome Zipporah Sein’s election to replace our father as General Secretary of the Karen National Union. We call on all Karen to give her their support and loyalty.
Our Karen people face many challenges. The military dictatorship in Burma is trying to destroy our culture and our people. It drives us from our homes, leaving hundreds of thousands of people internally displaced, uses us as slaves, rapes and kills our women and children. We face one of the worst health crises in the world, as aid is blocked by the dictatorship. Our children die from preventable diseases, the schools we build are burned, our language banned. For 60 years we have been suffering in this way.
Despite this we have survived, and even thousands of miles from their homes, Karen people remember their culture, and dream of returning.
Our father stood for unity and reconciliation of all the people of Burma. He knew that we must all work together, regardless of our race or ethnic nationality. On this day we must also remember and pay tribute to the courage and sacrifice of our fellow citizens of Burma. We must remember the monks and others who lost their lives and freedom when the regime so brutally crushed the uprising in 2007. We also remember the thousands of political prisoners in the generals’ jails.
Our father always said that freedom won’t be given to us, we will have to work for it. We pledge ourselves to the struggle. No matter where in the world we are, we will never give up. We call on all Karen people and all the people of Burma to keep hope, and to keep struggling for our freedom, so that one day we can live in peace in our land, without hunger, and without fear.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.