Cyclist brings Burmese junta atrocities into public view

Patrick Cook-Deegan has been to Darfur and Congo, as well as 28 other countries around the world, but he's decided to live in Burma for the next year. After biking 2,800 miles across Laos, Cambodia and Burma in a campaign to raise money for schools in Burma, the graduate of Brown University has chosen to spend his time as a Fulbright scholar offering aid relief to one of the most under-reported countries in the world.

An Sang Suu Kyi, the only imprisoned Nobel Prize Winner, elected Prime Minister of Burma, and advocate of non-violent resistance to the junta government, recently brought attention to Burma when she was re-arrested for supposedly violating the terms of her house arrest, but most of the atrocities committed in eastern Burma go unnoticed by the rest of the world.

"No one knows what's going on in eastern Burma," Cook-Deegan said.

The military government, which has ruled Burma since 1962, has burned over 3,300 villages to date in eastern Burma and is building more roads through the thick jungle region, making it harder for the native Karen to hide from their attackers.

Private schools are illegal in Burma and the teachers who do manage to run schools make about $7 a month, so when Cook-Deegan witnessed the struggles an ordinary teacher faced, he decided to take action into his own hands.

He opted to bike across the country, as part of his nonprofit Cycle for Schools, in order to leave behind the foreign back-pack culture he felt was distanced from Burmese life and talk with people in small villages.

"If most people had seen what I'd seen, they'd feel not just a responsibility to do something, but an opportunity," said Cook-Deegan.

Cook-Deegan advocates for U.S. support of the International Crime Court so that the Burmese government can be tried for their human rights abuses and travels around the country encouraging students to tell their representatives to support the ICC.

His visit last week to Seattle U was part of a series of events organized by Seattle U Students for Life, which aimed at raising awareness about the various human rights abuses that occur in Burma each day.

The club raised $750 to fund the relief and advocacy efforts of three organizations-Free Burma Rangers, the U.S. Campaign for Burma and Thirst Aid-and expects more funds to roll in this week.

David Bernica, senior humanities for teaching major and the president of Students for Life, wanted to take a holistic approach to the Burma teach-in by presenting cultural dinners, films and speakers in order to highlight how many residents of Burma are still being affected by last year's cyclone and the ongoing violence.

Faith Ullom, a sophomore English major and member of Students for Life, said she learned a lot about the culture of Burma and the country's positive accomplishments before the junta came into power.

"We don't want Burma to be some kind of catch phrase for genocide, but I do want people to remember the culture and the oppression that Burmese people are facing," Ullom said.

Cook-Deegan recognizes the transition from a military regime to a democracy will involve cross-cultural discussion with a sham government, and he knows it's not a merely black and white issue, but he won't stop advocating for the country's freedom in the near future.

"I have a steep learning curve ahead," Cook-Deegan said. "But I won't stop until Burma is a free and functioning country."