{"id":30121,"date":"2021-05-26T16:43:17","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T20:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=30121"},"modified":"2021-05-27T09:06:05","modified_gmt":"2021-05-27T13:06:05","slug":"a-sustaining-vision-for-myanmar","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/a-sustaining-vision-for-myanmar\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sustaining Vision for Myanmar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">On February 1, 2021, just months after Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-54820946\">won a landslide election<\/a>, the Myanmar military <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-55902070\">seized control of the country<\/a>, arresting Suu Kyi and declaring a state of emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kaye Lin was in Yangon, the country\u2019s largest city, that chaotic day. \u201cI woke up around 7 am and the world had suddenly turned upside down,\u201d Lin (\u201908) says. \u201cThere were no phone lines working, no mobile Wi-Fi, no electricity. I didn\u2019t even know there had been a military coup until a friend from Florida messaged me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Born in Myanmar\u2014then known as Burma\u2014Lin left at age 6 when her parents fled an earlier military coup. Repatriated as an adult, Lin had spent the previous three years leading communication efforts for <a href=\"https:\/\/fmi.com.mm\/\">First Myanmar Investment<\/a>, which was working on international joint ventures and helping to develop the economy of the Southeast Asian nation of 54 million people. \u201cFMI was recruiting talent to come back to Myanmar to help rebuild the country. I returned to make an impact. To help build a democratic and economically thriving country\u2014one that would offer opportunities to its people,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among Lin\u2019s first projects for FMI was leading communication efforts on an international joint venture between FMI and global advertising giant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jcdecaux.com\/\">JCDecaux<\/a>. The venture brought \u201cbeautiful, functional and well-lit bus stops\u201d to Yangon, says Lin. She wrote speeches for the Yangon regional government ministers and FMI\u2019s leadership team related to the launch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-with-trike-rider-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"30127\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/a-sustaining-vision-for-myanmar\/myanmar-before-with-trike-rider-1\/\" class=\"wp-image-30127\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-with-trike-rider-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-with-trike-rider-1-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-with-trike-rider-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-with-trike-rider-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-with-trike-rider-1-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-with-trike-rider-1-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-with-trike-rider-1-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-with-trike-rider-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-with-trike-rider-1.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Kaye goes around Yangon, Myanmar\u2019s biggest capital city aboard a bicycle trishaw. The guide gives her advice on the local food spots to try and the colonial architecture to see. Trishaws were very popular but have begun to see a decline since the rise of cars ( and now Covid as well as the coup). <strong>( December 2020; Yangon, Myanmar &#8211; Myanmar before the coup)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-the-secretariat-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"30128\" data-full-url=\"\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-the-secretariat.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/a-sustaining-vision-for-myanmar\/myanmar-before-the-secretariat\/\" class=\"wp-image-30128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-the-secretariat-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-the-secretariat-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-the-secretariat-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-the-secretariat-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-the-secretariat-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-the-secretariat-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-before-the-secretariat.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">The Secretariat is one of Myanmar\u2019s most iconic and colonial masterpieces that sits at the heart of Yangon. It was once the home and seat of the British administration in Myanmar (then called Burma). As Myanmar goes through uncertain times, the Secretariat symbolizes British rule as well as fractured hopes of Myanmar. <strong>( December 2020, Yangon, Myanmar- Myanmar before the coup)&nbsp;<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>A Coup and <\/strong><strong>D\u00e9j\u00e0 Vu<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The military coup caught nearly everyone by surprise. \u201cI\u2019d only heard about coups from my parents, who left Myanmar because of the coup in 1988. And here we were again,\u201d Lin says. \u201cI just sat on my bed that morning thinking, \u2018So what do I do now?\u2019\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the military took control of Myanmar, demonstrators took to the streets demanding the restoration of democracy. People stopped working all across the country in defiance of the military. Meanwhile, the junta unleashed a reign of terror against its own people, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-56547381\">soldiers shot into crowds<\/a> and hundreds of people were killed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was scary, especially at night,\u201d Lin says, \u201cThe military were arresting people without warrants, using psychological warfare. After the coup, I packed a bag and moved temporarily to my cousins\u2019 house\u2026. I\u2019d sometimes hear gunshots at 2 am or hear bombs going off.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the anxiety-filled days and weeks that followed, says Lin, \u201cno place in Myanmar seemed safe. The junta arrested some of my friends just for speaking their minds. I even started deleting photos and messages from my phone and carried a second phone just in case the police stopped me.\u201d Since February 1, hundreds of thousands of people have fled Myanmar for nearby Thailand, India and elsewhere. Lin is now one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" src=\"\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-yangon-february.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"30130\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/a-sustaining-vision-for-myanmar\/myanmar-yangon-february\/\" class=\"wp-image-30130\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-yangon-february.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-yangon-february-477x636.jpg 477w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-yangon-february-500x667.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">In early February, during the early stages of the protest, Generation Z protesters throw pamphlets with General Min Aung Hlaing\u2019s face on the ground to symbolize a superstitious belief that to walk on somebody\u2019s picture\/photo is a sign of disdain. <strong>( February 2021, Yangon, Myanmar)&nbsp;<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-sule-square-february.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"30131\" data-full-url=\"\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-sule-square-february.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/a-sustaining-vision-for-myanmar\/myanmar-sule-square-february\/\" class=\"wp-image-30131\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-sule-square-february.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-sule-square-february-636x477.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2021\/05\/myanmar-sule-square-february-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Even with internet shutdowns across the whole country and hundreds of anti-coup protesters dying due to the crackdowns by security forces, demonstrations still persist mainly led by Geration Z. <strong>( February 2021, Sule Square, Yangon, Myanmar)&nbsp;<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Bringing Positive Impact through Communications<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Lin\u2019s \u201cfirst real job\u201d after graduating from COM was with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/\">Voice of America<\/a> (VOA), the US-funded international broadcaster. She worked in Washington, D.C., for the Burmese service, developing programs for her native country. While at VOA, Lin created an edutainment show called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/AmericanBurmeseSlang\"><em>Ma Kyae Mone English<\/em><\/a>, which was broadcast to Myanmar, teaching English and aspects of American culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lin eventually departed the broadcaster after a decade. \u201cI was becoming desensitized to the news,\u201d she says. \u201cYou\u2019d wake up and it was like, \u2018Oh no, not another shooting.\u2019 Sometimes I\u2019d just have a good cry and get back to work.\u201d And then there was the pull of helping her native land. \u201cI\u2019ve always loved the strategizing and entrepreneurial side of communications,\u201d she says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter to me what job title you have, it\u2019s mainly about the impact you make.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Amid Tragedy, Silver Linings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Lin recently returned to the United States after more than three years in Myanmar. She has continued her passionate engagement with her native country. Having seen so much tragedy, she\u2019s also observed silver linings in Myanmar. Despite years of propaganda and army crackdowns against ethic groups like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-50931565\">the Rohingya<\/a>, Lin says, \u201cwe\u2019re now seeing all ethnic and religious groups in Myanmar working together against the military, recognizing that unity is essential.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She points to the growing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-56827116\">civil disobedience movement<\/a>: \u201cIt has shut down the whole country and people have decided not to return to work until democracy is restored in Myanmar.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>More Work Remains<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Living in the US again, Lin&nbsp;is now a strategic communications consultant focusing on development work through sustainable means in Myanmar and other emerging countries. She\u2019s also tweaked her YouTube and Facebook educational program (done in Burmese and English) to focus on US civil rights leaders who opposed government oppression with civil disobedience. Recently, Lin has produced videos about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oXxTCQabtZ8\">Rosa Parks<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kwArNaQg6ak\">Martin Luther King<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ix1UfXFWSVs\">Frederick Douglass<\/a>. \u201cPeople in Myanmar are downloading VPNs [virtual private networks] and sending out tweets on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar to make the world aware of the tragedy unfolding there daily,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve been spreading awareness and doing what I can to help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During these difficult days, Lin has leaned on relationships to sustain her, starting with family and including friends and colleagues. \u201cThe friendships I made at BU years ago have stayed with me.\u201d Lin describes a recent phone call when a friend reached out to check in. The friend noticed something in Lin\u2019s voice and asked if she\u2019d been crying, something Lin confirmed. \u201cMy friend then told me she\u2019d been crying too, because she\u2019d just seen two people holding hands in the park,\u201d says Lin. \u201cHearing that perspective from a friend really helped me, calmed me down. I just had to laugh, because you can mourn, but you can\u2019t keep mourning forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lin has also been sustained by a vision of the world developed at BU years ago: \u201cBU helped me understand the way the world could be, a world marked by a diverse community of people who care for and care about one another. I was so fortunate to have experienced those relationships and that vision at BU, which has helped inform who I am to this day.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On February 1, 2021, just months after Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party had won&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1654,"featured_media":30123,"template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"categories":[962,3],"tags":[],"bu-publication":[],"discipline-type":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/30121"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1654"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/30121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30135,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/30121\/revisions\/30135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30121"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=30121"},{"taxonomy":"discipline-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/discipline-type?post=30121"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=30121"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=30121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}