Burmese refugee and political activist Myo Myint spoke today at Ivy Tech–Northeast about his life in Burma and his work for peaceful change and freedom for Burma. He also spoke about the movie “Burma Soldier” which has been made about him and answered questions from students.

Myint joined the army when he was 17.

“This was the first time I had heard real fighting, it was terrifying,” said Myint.

He spoke in front of approximately 8,000 people surrounded by 200 soldiers and tried to persuade the soldiers in joining the pro-democracy movement. Myint asked questions such as ‘Why are we at war?’, ‘What is peace?’, and ‘What is the responsibility of the army?’ Because of his speech, Myint was arrested, tortured, and imprisoned for 15 years.

After fleeing to a Thai refugee camp, he was granted a visa for the United States in 2008.

Adjunct instructor Thomas Hey at Ivy Tech has been working with Myint in preparing him for media events and campus visits to places such as NYU and Yale in order to promote the film. Funding for Myint’s film project was provided by the Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative, which is a part of the Open Society Institute.

A five-minute trailer to “Burma Soldier” can be viewed at:
http://www.vimeo.com/7926490