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CAITLIN K ELLY News Editor Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, who has been recognized for her efforts to move her native country toward democracy, wants to empower youth to take part in the peacemaking process. “To this generation of young people in high schools and universities, with your computer and social media skills, you are ideally placed to share ideas and projects with each other and with the world,” she explained. Suu Kyi came to Hawai‘i to receive the Hawai‘i Peace Award and to speak at the Rotary Global Peace Forum, the second in a series of three conferences sponsored by Rotary International. The first conference in Berlin began in November and the final conference will take place in Hiroshima in May. This was her first visit to the islands and the second time in America since being released from house arrest in 2010.
people of Burma are lacking basic resources like fresh water and food. Inadequate funding of health care has led to high child mortality rates and tens of thousands of deaths every year from common communicable diseases. “The large majority still has to depend on state hospitals, which do not currently provide free services, so the poorer you are, the poorer your health is bound to be,” Suu Kyi said.
E D U C AT I O N As a graduate of Oxford University, Suu Kyi recognized the importance of proper education in a peaceful world. She explained that years of military dictatorship have left the children of
Burma at a disadvantage. “Like health care, education is another critical component for long-term peace building and nation building processes,” Suu Kyi said. “Education is the key to the future, particularly the future of a country like Burma; the young people in Burma do not have the same educational opportunity as those in other parts of the world.” W hile Suu Kyi was living in England, she was appalled at the number of people who would not utilize their education to participate in the democratic process. “If you don’t use your vote, you don’t use your democratic rights and are failing in your democratic responsibilities,” she said. “And everybody has a responsibility to uphold the kind of On society that they want
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to live in, so I would urge everybody to take their vote seriously.”
ʻG E N U I N E WA R MT H AND KINDNESSʼ Though Burma is thousands of miles away from Hawai‘i , she believes that the two areas are similar in certain respects. “We benefit from a rich diversity of ethnic groups, our traditional culture is one of hospitality and warmth,” Suu Kyi said. “We have experienced a period of extreme suffering and are in need of healing. We can look to Hawai‘i’s progress as a beacon of hope to ourselves.” Suu Kyi marveled at the harmonious interactions she observed on a regular basis in the Aloha State. “This [Hawai‘i] is one of the most racially diverse places in the world,” she said. “In fact, there’s no majority, everyone is part of a minority. As I’ve already found, there’s genuine warmth and kindness in every day relations.”
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H E A LT H C A R E The dismal state of the health care system in Burma was a topic of discussion, and Suu Kyi believes that student can help. “While talking about health care, I thought that there would be students that would like to contribute generously to our project to try and renovate the Yangon General Hospital so that our public can get better health care: genuinely free health care,” Suu Kyi said. Suu Kyi explained that the
On Jan. 29, Suu Kyi met with South Korean President-elect Park Guen-hye to discuss ties between their countries. ALEX BITTER KA LEO O HAWAI‘I
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