A refugee (left) speaks passionately about his experiences in Burma as his aquaintance translates. (Photos by Jaclyn Snow/Guardian)

Normally, UCSD students make dozens of decisions every day:
which dining hall to eat at, which classes to take, which party to go to. But
what if they didn’t have the right to decide the way they live their own lives?
For the citizens of the Union of Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia formally
called Burma
and plagued by military coups and control since the 1960s, such restrictions
are a part of everyday reality.

Earl Warren College senior Camela Nitollama mans a booth where students were able to sign a petition, write letters to the United Nations and pick up a “Free Burma” pin to show support.

The country’s current leader, Senior General Than Shwe,
assumed power from its original socialist dictatorship and has since
implemented strict laws, choking the civil liberties of the Myanmar people
and placing them in grave danger.

Currently, more than 1,400 political prisoners remain under
arrest, and thousands more continue to disappear from their homes each night.
Internet access has been cut within the country, phone lines are monitered and
journalists are threatened with violence for reporting any information to
outside governments or agencies.

Three refugees, Sein, Keh Heh and Donoo, came to UCSD as
part of the Free Burma teach-in that took place Nov. 19 in Great Hall. They
were part of a speaking panel that also included Karma Lekshe Tsomo, a
professor of theology and religious studies at the University
of San Diego, and Tim Hardy, a Myanmar civil
rights activist and former refugee.

A collaborative teach-in sponsored by International Affairs
Group, Amnesty International, Coalition of South Asian Peoples, Coalition of
Asian and Pacific Islanders, Art of Living and Sixth College Residential Life,
Free Burma was comprised of a panel of speakers and presentations which
informed students about the current conflict in the country, and included
several petitions and resolution stations at which students were encouraged to
participate with their new awareness of the issue. The event was also
affiliated with International Rescue Committee, an organization dedicated to
the resettlement of refugees like Sein.

Students were also given a chance to ask the panel’s
speakers questions. And although hesitant at first, many students were eager to
discuss the conflict with the educators to learn more and find out what they
could do to help.

“Most students don’t even know where Burma is,” said Harrison Seung, a Revelle College senior and member of Asian
Pacific Islanders. “I don’t think students know what’s going on there, and for
a school with such a large Asian population, it’s a big deal, even if the news
isn’t covering the conflict anymore.”

While Hardy discussed the country’s history and the swift
political changes that have recently occurred, Tsomo addressed the religious
and social aspects of life for the citizens of Myanmar. Residents live in fear of
political persecution by their own government. About 90 percent of the
villagers of Myanmar
are Buddhists, and the ideology of nonviolence and peace associated with the
religion has left them helpless in the hands of cruel military regimes.

Buddhist nun and USD professor Karma Lekshe Tsomo answers student questions.

“It’s important for students to be aware of justice and
injustice in the world,” Tsomo said. “As young adults, their energy and passion
can be effectively channeled to change trouble spots, like [Myanmar] or Tibet. It’s the responsibility of
every human being to correct injustice, especially those people who have a
voice and can use that voice.”

Although Free Burma’s main focus was its panel of speakers
that offered revealing information about the current situation and historical
significance of the civil conflict in Myanmar,
many students came early and stayed late in order to write letters to the U.N.
Security Council, or to sign electronic petitions as part of the U.S. campaign for Myanmar.

Students attending the event were also given buttons to
demonstrate their support, and many felt strongly about the political and
social conflicts occurring in a country so far from San Diego.

Sixth
College senior Tara
Ramanathan supervised the petition stations and informed students of the nature
of the resolutions that were being sent to both local and national security
commissions.

“Students, as citizens, need to become aware of this issue
and take action,” Ramanathan said. “The point of the [Free Burma] event is to
get people concerned, make them aware, and to inspire and motivate them. We
would need hundreds of thousands of signatures to really make an impact, but
this is a good step in the right direction.”

The petition tables remained full of students both before
and after the teach-in, and Karen Yang, an Eleanor Roosevelt
College junior and member
of Amnesty International, said she was pleased with the turnout.

Enlarged photographs of Buddhist monks, the populous’ chosen
leaders of revolution, stood at the hall’s entrance and captivated attendees
with their shocking nature.

The monks were seen peacefully protesting in front of armed
soldiers, and the series of photographs told the rest of the story: brawls and
riots; sandals and shoes left behind in the bloody cobblestone streets; one man
face down in a river of blood and monks refusing religious alms and ultimately
bribes from the military regime.

These photographs were shocking to some students but
informative for others.

“You see that life isn’t just black and white, but still a
lot of people don’t care,” Thurgood
Marshall College
sophomore Lawrence Lau said. “But if students don’t care about this, what do
they care about?”

While Sein’s speech marked the end of the Free Burma
teach-in, his words summarized the
importance of the discussion for all people.

“When you are happy, don’t forget those who suffer,” he
said. “Don’t forget about us.”