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 Free Burma; Free Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners in Burma
8th Annual Burma Human Rights Day Benefit
(For BADA Children Education Fund, actions and campaigns to free Burma)

Saturday, March 8, 2008
 6:00pm-10:00pm
 Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Hall,
1924 Cedar (at Bonita), 

Berkeley, CA 94709-2022, USA


Burma, once known as the “Golden Land”, is now a land of terror and despair, due to more than four decades of military dictatorship. The Burmese junta has denied human rights of its citizens and has been widely condemned by nations and institutions as one of the most brutal regimes in the world. Join us to see the featured film and to hear the dynamic speakers focusing on the courage and the suffering of the people of Burma and updates on the latest situation in Burma and how the Saffron Revolution is continuing amid the brutal crackdowns and regime's continued push for its illegal brutal 46 year long rule. We will also discuss future actions and strategies to free Burma. Your support will help bring attention to the imprisoned democracy activists of Burma, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is again under house arrest in Rangoon.

 

Come enjoy Burmese style dinner, speakers, film and performances. Also meet Burma Activists including those who were on the ground in Rangoon during the last year saffron revolution and those who were just back from the Thai Burma border providing providing relief assistance to hundreds of thousand of refugees.

 *** SPEAKERS ***

Ven Dr. Ashin Nayaka: "Burma's Hidden Dimensions: Symbol of freedom"; Dr. Nayaka is a leading member of  the International Burmese Monks Organization (Sassana Moli), and the founder and director of the Buddhist Missionary Society in New York. He wrote various articles on Burma’s Saffron Revolution and also testified at the US Congress and Japanese senate on Burma. He is currently a Visiting Scholar in the Department of History, Columbia University of New York and his research on the role of Buddhism in conflict resolution of contemporary Burma will be a critical contest to address Burma 's compelling dilemma. http://www.columbia.edu/~an2201/default.htm

 

Chinese dissident Harry Wu: “Taming the beast: confronting the real China”; Harry Wu spent 19 years incarcerated by the Chinese government in the Laogai--the “Bamboo Gulag”--as a political prisoner -- in 12 different labor camps. In 1995, Wu was arrested in China, found guilty of “stealing state secrets,” sentenced to 15 years in prison, and was then expelled. The executive director of the Laogai Research Foundation (LRF), a non-profit organization committed to documenting the Laogai system and exposing other human rights abuses in China such as the death penalty, organ harvesting, and the One Child Policy. He also heads the China Information Center (CIC), an online Chinese-language news and commentary website directed at mainland Chinese readers. He received numerous awards for his activities. He would explore how China’s own Human Rights violations and irresponsible policies are causing the prolong dictatorship in Burma and other regional instabilities. He would shed light on the right way the world should deal with Communist China. http://www.laogai.org/

 

Performer/Speaker: Mary Win, "My life and my music"; Mary Win is an eighteen year old Burmese-American, downtempo rock singer-songwriter from Seattle. She was born in Bangkok, Thailand in 1989 during the time her Burmese parents were fleeing the military dictatorship in neighboring Myanmar (formerly Burma). Shortly after her birth, her parents immigrated to the U.S.A., settling in Seattle, Washington.  Visit:  http://www.youtube.com/marywinmusic ;  www.marywinmusic.com

 


*** Film ***
Prayer of Peace: Relief & Resistance in Burma's War Zone; 28 Minutes Color
 

Filmed on relief missions with the Free Burma Rangers, this short film takes you to the frontlines of the conflict deep within Burma. With millions of people displaced due to an ongoing civil war, Burma has been rendered one of the world's poorest countries. As this film shows, the people have not given up, maintaining their dignity and hope for peace despite the odds.  http://frontfilms.com/

 

*** Video ***

15 minutes video of real footage of Monks and people of Burma peacefully marching on the streets of Rangoon crackdowns highlight


 ** Q&A/Discussion:  **

Future actions and strategies including Olympic Torch visit to San Francisco on April 9
 

$15-30 sliding scale donation to benefit BADA
(Online donation accepted at www.badasf.org)
Burmese Traditional Dinner (6-7 pm) (Vegetarian friendly),
Speakers, Performers (7:00- 9:00 pm), Film (9:00-9:30), Q&A (9:30-10:00)

Organized by Burmese American Democratic Alliance; Co-sponsored by Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee, Buddhist Peace Fellowship.

Contact: 510 220 1323; 510 485 3751 info@badasf.org; Website: www.badasf.org

Directions

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists
1924 Cedar Street (at Bonita)
Mailing address: 1606 Bonita Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94709-2022
510-841-4824
Email: office@bfuu.org

  • Online map and directions are available from http://tinyurl.com/2wnqos
     

  • By car: there is plenty of on-street parking near the Fellowship. (Please do be courteous to our neighbors and your fellow parkers.)
    From I-80 take the University Ave. exit.
    Go east (toward the hills) on University.
    Turn left on Martin Luther King (MLK).
    2 traffic lights to Cedar. Turn right on Cedar.
    1 block east of MLK, at Bonita.

  • On foot: We are located within a few minutes walk of the Downtown Berkeley and North Berkeley BART stations.

    From the North Berkeley BART:
    Walk north on Sacramento. Pass Virginia and Lincoln streets. Turn right on Cedar street.
    Heading east on Cedar, cross California, Magee, Edith, Josephine, and Martin Luther King streets. There is a traffic light at Martin Luther King.
    BFUU is one block east of Martin Luther King, at the corner of Cedar and Bonita.
    http://tinyurl.com/2wnqos
     

  • From the Downtown Berkeley BART:
    Walk north on Shattuck. Cross Center, Addison, and University. (University is a major street with a traffic light.) Continue north on Shattuck. Cross or pass Berkeley, Hearst, Delaware, Francisco, Virginia, Lincoln. Turn left on Cedar, at the Andronico's.
    Heading west on Cedar, pass Henry and cross Milvia street.
    BFUU is three blocks west of Shattuck on Cedar, at the corner of Cedar and Bonita.
    http://tinyurl.com/2wnqos