It’s a world away — with around 12 hours time difference — but students in Bowden have taken up the cause of the country of Burma and political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, activist and author has been held under house arrest on and off for the past two decades in the country. She has advocated for the rights of the people of Burma, willing to sacrifice her own freedom in the process.
The Grade 10 class at Bowden Grandview School and their other classmates will join hundreds of people around the world in the Arrest Yourself 2010 event on June 11 and 12. The event highlights Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest and the plight of the people in Burma, also referred to as Myanmar. The country, located in southeast Asia, south of China, has been ruled by a military regime since 1989.
Bowden Grade 10 student Shae Blanchard said it’s important for students to show their solidarity with the people of Burma.
“In Burma they can’t really do anything about it. They’ve tried and Aung San Suu Kyi has tried to establish democracy, they’ve done voting and people want this, but they can’t do it because of the dictatorship and the voting system is rigged,” Blanchard said. “I think it’s important that even though we can’t actually go down there and help them, we can still raise awareness here.”
As part of the event, students will undergo 24 hours of self-imposed detention at the school. The Grade 10 students will start the day by informing others at the school about the Arrest Yourself 2010 event over the school announcements on June 11 and plan to hold an Arrest Your Teacher fundraiser, with teachers restricted to their classrooms.
The school’s Garage Band will also host a concert featuring a song dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi. Tickets will cost $7 per ticket, with $2 of each ticket going to the U.S. Campaign for Burma.
The concert is open to the public. Students have also created a Facebook page called Bowden for Burma.
The Grade 10 students have been studying globalization in their social studies class and they started organizing the event after their teacher Nathan Clark mentioned hearing about it at a U-2 concert.
The entire class has helped in the planning, making posters, researching recipes to make authentic Burmese foods and organizing the activities at the event.
“What I hope is that people learn that it is not like here in Canada everywhere in the world and we’re really lucky to be here and not have to worry about people coming to your house and taking you away,” Blanchard said.
sobrien@www.reddeeradvocate.com