When visiting Burma (aka Myanmar) in 1996 my traveling companion and I found it to be a repressive state. We were limited in where we could go and what we could do, but the historic attractions and the resilient people made it a worthwhile destination. Aung San Suu Kyi, the winner of the 1990 general election, had not been allowed to take office and had been under house arrest since then. While we were there, the authorities were overlooking her occasional brief appearances standing behind the fence surrounding the compound. There was no real source of information about when that would happen, but the rumors would fly around the community and find their way to the tourist hotels and guest houses.
One day we heard about a sighting, got directions, and made our way there. Hundreds if not thousands of people were flocking to the edge of the leader’s property. There were a crew of young people serving as her protectors, mostly women wearing large traditional straw sun hats, managing the scene. They were fresh faced and energetic and when they saw us and other Westerners with cameras, they ushered us to the front of the mob, telling us, “We want the world to see this.” They then joined arms to make a human chain to prevent locals from occupying the prime real estate at the front.
The crowd waited excitedly for some time until Aung San Suu Kyi appeared, standing on something high to put her above the fencing. Then she began to speak animatedly. We of course had no idea what she was saying, but the crowd quieted and listened in rapt attention. There were representatives of the government all around, both uniformed and in plain clothes, noting who the attendees were among the Burmese people. These people were endangering their lives being there, but their passion for their leader and for democracy was more important to them than their security. In recent years there have been some controversial events which have discredited this leader, but seeing her address her people at that time and place was a very impressive sight, and one which is not easily forgotten.