Burmese woman speaks for peace

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 1996	Burmese woman speaks for peace By LISA HAARLANDER Collegian Staff Writer In 1988 when she was still in high school, Naw May Oo fled with her mother and father from persecution by the government in Burma.
`Students fast, protest to call attention to Burmese plight`	"My father was arrested three times. They beat him. They persecuted him," said May Oo, a speaker at the Free Burma Fast yesterday. "Friends suggested we leave." The government arrested her father because her older brother was involved in the pro-democracy movement. They feared eventually the government would kill her father, she said. About 30 students started fasting and camping out between Willard Building and Schwab Auditorium at noon yesterday to protest human rights violations. Along with groups across the nation, the students will demonstrate until noon tomorrow.
`Free Burma home page`	They left their hometown of Toungoo for the liberated areas in Burma. Traveling with the rebel army for more than a month, they finally made their way to the area often called "the jungle." "We were in the jungle, the liberated area, for five years," she said. "We came to the U.S. and live in California." During that time in the liberated area, May Oo completed her high school education, but life was not easy. There was no running water or electricity. Houses were mainly built from bamboo.
*"Our reason to be here today is to demonstrate to the world that supporting the dictatorship of Burma is not right."* - Naw May Oo, who fled Burma	May Oo was able to speak at the demonstration yesterday because she is currently an intern at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In January, she will return to the San Francisco State University where she is majoring in journalism. During her speech at the demonstration, May Oo emphasized her own personal experiences and working together for a peaceful and democratic Burma. "I came here today to join with you hand in hand for a free and peaceful Burma," she said. "Our reason to be here today is to demonstrate to the world that supporting the dictatorship of Burma is not right. If you say you need evidence or proof, I have no other than myself."