On trek to U.N. to protest abuses by Myanmar junta
By Angela Mapes Turner , The Journal Gazette 
Wherever Athein and Zaw Min Htwe stop on their cross-country trek, two flags announce their arrival.
That red-and-white striped one, with a field of 50 stars over blue? No explanation necessary.
The second flag – a yellow peacock on a blood-red background, running toward a white star – leaves many Americans stumped.
“Some people say, ‘Oh, it’s a turkey,’ ” said Athein, 35, as he unfurled the flag Thursday morning at Fort Wayne’s Triangle Park. “Some say, ‘You a Communist, or what?’ ”
Not even close. Burmese refugees Athein and Zaw Min Htwe, 27, are pro-democracy protesters who wear military camouflage but carry a message of peaceful protest.
They quit their jobs and embarked from Portland, Ore., on March 1 to raise awareness of human rights abuses in their homeland, hoping to reach New York City and the United Nations by Aug. 8. The date marks the 20th anniversary of Myanmar’s most famous pro-democracy uprising, in which Athein participated.
The men set out Thursday morning for Ohio, joined by a small group of local supporters who planned to walk a leg with them.
Raising awareness of abuses and hand delivering letters of protest to the United Nations were the trip’s original purposes. Just two months into their trip, Cyclone Nargis made landfall and added new urgency to the mission.
The cyclone caused 78,000 deaths and left 56,000 missing, according to Myanmar’s military government, which drew new criticism by at first refusing aid. The U.N., which estimates that more than 1 million storm survivors still need aid, said Thursday it has received less than half the money it needs.
Athein’s three daughters – an 8-year-old born in a refugee camp in Thailand and 6- and 1-year-olds born in the U.S. – don’t understand why he’s walking across the country. They may never see their parents’ homeland except in pictures.
But they understand him when he says he’s trying to help people, Athein said.
The men’s walk has taken them through snow in Oregon and driving rain in Nebraska. They stay with volunteers, try to walk 30 miles a day, shed a few pounds and carry petitions for supporters to sign along the journey.
May Shein, 40, a Fort Wayne factory worker who has been in the city a decade, showed up Thursday in a white T-shirt printed with a photo of imprisoned pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
May Shein still has family in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Her sister and two brothers lost their homes in the cyclone, she said.
For Min Min Htwe Nge, 33, the opportunity to walk a few miles in the name of democracy with two pilgrims was reason enough to show up Thursday morning.
“They’re heroes for me,” she said. “I cannot walk 3,000 miles.”
aturner@jg.net
That red-and-white striped one, with a field of 50 stars over blue? No explanation necessary.
The second flag – a yellow peacock on a blood-red background, running toward a white star – leaves many Americans stumped.
“Some people say, ‘Oh, it’s a turkey,’ ” said Athein, 35, as he unfurled the flag Thursday morning at Fort Wayne’s Triangle Park. “Some say, ‘You a Communist, or what?’ ”
Not even close. Burmese refugees Athein and Zaw Min Htwe, 27, are pro-democracy protesters who wear military camouflage but carry a message of peaceful protest.
They quit their jobs and embarked from Portland, Ore., on March 1 to raise awareness of human rights abuses in their homeland, hoping to reach New York City and the United Nations by Aug. 8. The date marks the 20th anniversary of Myanmar’s most famous pro-democracy uprising, in which Athein participated.
The men set out Thursday morning for Ohio, joined by a small group of local supporters who planned to walk a leg with them.
Raising awareness of abuses and hand delivering letters of protest to the United Nations were the trip’s original purposes. Just two months into their trip, Cyclone Nargis made landfall and added new urgency to the mission.
The cyclone caused 78,000 deaths and left 56,000 missing, according to Myanmar’s military government, which drew new criticism by at first refusing aid. The U.N., which estimates that more than 1 million storm survivors still need aid, said Thursday it has received less than half the money it needs.
Athein’s three daughters – an 8-year-old born in a refugee camp in Thailand and 6- and 1-year-olds born in the U.S. – don’t understand why he’s walking across the country. They may never see their parents’ homeland except in pictures.
But they understand him when he says he’s trying to help people, Athein said.
The men’s walk has taken them through snow in Oregon and driving rain in Nebraska. They stay with volunteers, try to walk 30 miles a day, shed a few pounds and carry petitions for supporters to sign along the journey.
May Shein, 40, a Fort Wayne factory worker who has been in the city a decade, showed up Thursday in a white T-shirt printed with a photo of imprisoned pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
May Shein still has family in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Her sister and two brothers lost their homes in the cyclone, she said.
For Min Min Htwe Nge, 33, the opportunity to walk a few miles in the name of democracy with two pilgrims was reason enough to show up Thursday morning.
“They’re heroes for me,” she said. “I cannot walk 3,000 miles.”
aturner@jg.net
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