A few years ago I was asked the question: if you could invite anyone in the world to a dinner party, who would that be? Without hesitation my response was Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
It was during a dinner with some university friends that one threw out that question. The responses from others around the table included Nelson Mandela, Hilary Clinton, Paul McCartney and JK Rowling. Imagine that dinner party for a minute. My preferred guest at that fantasy event was someone I had become fascinated by since I first learned about the selfless life she had chosen to lead. In 1988 Suu Kyi left her two young sons and husband in London to return to Burma to fight for the freedom and democracy of the Burmese people who were being persecuted by a dictator.
To my mind there is no bigger personal sacrifice in life than choosing to be away from your child. A year after returning to Burma, Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest for 15 years and only saw her husband and children a couple of times during this period. She was free to leave the country but it was her passion for freedom and equality for all that kept her in Burma at such a huge personal cost.
If faced with the same choice I am certain that I could never be that strong and courageous. I spend at least a night every week away from my sons due to business travel and it kills me. I can’t even begin to fathom where Suu Kyi found the strength to make the sacrifices she has made in her life.
Suu Kyi’s famous Freedom From Fear speech from 1990 offers some insight into her determination: “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it..” In the most dangerous of circumstances Suu Kyi has stared down fear for 25 years and in doing so has offered incredible hope for her people.
My fascination with Suu Kyi and what drives her has meant that I have watched countless videos of her speeches over the years. I have imagined what it would be like to be in her presence.
So it was with childlike joy that I accepted an invitation to Government House in Victoria last weekend to a reception for World Aids Day at which the Leader of Burma’s National League for Democracy was due to speak. I arrived to a packed ballroom and quickly made my way through the crowd to the front of the room where the television cameras were setting up. I wanted to be as close as possible to one of the world’s extraordinary people.
Suu Kyi is Global Ambassador for AIDS zero discrimination. While she waited patiently for those before her to speak, Suu Kyi sat elegantly and with the discipline of quiet. For much of the time she looked down humbly, but every now and then she would look up briefly. On a couple of those occasions my gaze caught her eye and she smiled at me shyly. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. And racing through my mind was the bewilderment that the fragile woman before me had sacrificed her personal needs for an entire nation of people.
When the Nobel Peace laureate was called on to speak, her eyes changed from gentle and shy to fierce and determined. She walked purposefully to the microphone and delivered an impassioned speech about equality for all that gave me goosebumps. She had agreed to support the AIDS cause for zero discrimination because she believes that no person should ever be treated with less value because of the way they look, the beliefs they hold, the people they choose to love. “The fight against discrimination is an extension of our fight for freedom from fear,” the democracy icon told the crowd.
“My simple message as the global ambassador for zero discrimination is it all starts in the mind and in the heart. There must be less calculation and more warmth, more love, more affection, more compassion.”
When she called for freedom from fear, as she has done on many occasions before, she brought a tear to my eye. To my right was Greens leader Christine Milne and I could swear she had moist, red eyes by the end of it too. Suu Kyi’s speech was stirring and I got a first-hand glimpse of the determination that this woman has. Not surprisingly, she received the loudest and longest applause from the crowd. It was clear I was far from being the only member of her fan club in the room that day.
There is nothing more compelling than passion with a sense of purpose. And that’s why I can’t imagine a more interesting dinner conversation partner than this inspirational leader.