House Arrest…
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
“I stand before you here today to accept on behalf of my mother, Aung San Suu Kyi, this greatest of prizes, the Nobel Prize for Peace.”
The year was 1991 and their mother was under house arrest in Burma. Can you imagine how difficult it has been for the children of Suu Kyi (pronounced Soo Chee)? They have not seen their mother since 1988 when she received the call she knew would come one day – a call she warned her husband and children that would take her back to her homeland.
I imagine it went something like this…
“Suu Kyi?”
“Yes, this is she.”
“I am very sorry to tell you that your mother has suffered a stroke and does not have long to live.”
Suu Kyi is the daughter of one of Burma’s most cherished heroes – the great General Aung San who led his country’s fight for independence in the 1940s. She was just two years old when he was assassinated in 1947. She was educated in Catholic schools until her mother accepted the position as Burmese ambassador to India when Suu Kyi was in her mid-teens. After graduating from high school, she went to England to study at Oxford University. It was there she met and married Michael Aris. They had two sons, Alexander and Kim.
When Suu Kyi left England and returned to Burma in 1988 to care for her dying mother, her youngest son was just 12 years old. She had no idea how long she would be in Burma separated from her husband and children – no idea it would be for decades.
When she arrived, it was a time of political unrest which ended in a revolt against 26 years of political repression and economic decline. It didn’t take long for Suu Kyi to emerge as the effective, articulate leader of the party she founded – the National League for Democracy (NLD).
In 1990 a general election was held and Suu Kyi’s NLD won a landslide victory gaining 82% of the parliamentary seats. The NLD’s policy is one of non-violence and civil disobedience. Even so, the repressive junta, SLORC, flatly refused to recognize the election results and put Suu Kyi under house arrest as well as those who had been elected.
Despite her arrest, Suu Kyi continued to campaign for democracy – which is why her sons, Alexander and Kim, were accepting the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf in 1991. She was finally released from house arrest in July 1995 but was under severe restrictions by the government.
In 1999 Michael was dying of prostate cancer in England where he and the boys were living. He petitioned the government to allow him to visit Suu Kyi one last time before he died. The government refused his request. They suggested that instead Suu Kyi visit him in England. She refused, knowing if she left the country she would never be allowed to return.
Suu Kyi is yet again under house arrest…since 2002. Out of the past 19 years she has been in some form of detention for 13. She still exercises enormous personal political influence in the nation of 57 million. Her people are still without basic human rights. Suu Kyi asks the countries of the world not to visit Burma as tourists or support the Burmese economy in any way.
She is a fearless voice who will not give up her non-violent fight for her country’s freedom.
Suu Kyi said, “Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavor, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one’s actions, courage that could be described as ‘grace under pressure’ – grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure.”
Suu Kyi doesn’t have to remain in Burma under house arrest. She can leave any time. But she has made a commitment to the people of Burma and to herself that she will do everything she can to gain democracy for their country.
It may not seem like it, but Suu Kyi is living her Ultimate Life. The Ultimate Life isn’t one without challenges or tough times. It’s being sure of yourself and confident that what you are doing is what you need to be doing with no compromise and no regrets.
You may never live under house arrest or under a repressive government, but you can live true to your deepest convictions. You can choose to live without fear, and live with courage. Regardless of the outward circumstances, being sure of yourself, confident in what you are doing, and living in a courageous mindset means you are living your Ultimate Life!
*** Inspirations from the Ultimate Life Company ***
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