She’s soft-spoken, diminutive, and has the willpower of a warrior.
It’s also a miracle she’s alive.
Aung San Suu Kyi is now Myanmar’s poster child. In a dramatic turnabout, she has gone from political prisoner to political leader. For more than 15 years she was imprisoned for speaking out against the dictatorial government, actions protected under our First Amendment. In 2010, she was released. In April, she was elected to the Myanmar National Assembly where she now continues her fight for democratic reform.
Today she is on a tour of the United States, in part to belatedly accept the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award Congress gives for valor.
Suu Kyi’s release also has opened the floodgates of U.S. humanitarian aid to her impoverished country, which the United States still calls Burma.
Sanctions are being eased, Burmese leaders are being recognized, trade relations are improving.
Suu Kyi is proof democracy remains the beacon of hope for many around the world who suffer injustice sometimes by just the fickle hand of fate.
In short, she’s a real-life heroine.
— Susan Lynn
