A child of revolution

Htet Maw knows about the protests and conflict happening right now in Burma (also known as the Union of Myanmar). He was there when a similar kind of revolution happened in the country 20 years ago.

Now, reports are surfacing internationally of the arrests and deaths of activists who are protesting for democracy in Burma. Maw, currently a junior at Portland State, said protestors today have the same goal that protestors had in 1988, when he lived in Burma: democracy.

Maw grew up in a small town in Burma, a two-hour drive from Thailand. (Because his parents still live in Burma, Maw asked that the town’s name and some of his political beliefs be omitted from this article.) It was in this small town during the 1988 revolution that Maw has one of his earliest memories.

“I remember I’m on my dad’s shoulders and I’m wearing a red bandana,” he said, adding that the red bandana was a sign of revolution.

The revolution in 1988 brought about elections, but the winner was put under house arrest and no election has been held since.

Maw said he always wanted to study abroad. In Burma, colleges are separated from society to prevent student-led protests, Maw said. Maw studied computer science at a school in Burma, but said he soon decided he did not like it.

Then, his cousin was offered sponsorship for a student visa by an aunt living in Portland and turned the offer down. Maw jumped on the opportunity. Getting a student visa wasn’t easy at the time, especially because it was just after 9/11.

When Maw arrived at the U.S. embassy in Yangon (the former capitol of Burma), he said there were 50 others trying to get student visas. Only two were given out and Maw got one.

“You have to make them think you are coming back,” said Maw, who is a member of the Portland State table tennis team.

After earning an associate’s degree from Portland Community College in 2005, Htet transferred to Western New England College in Massachusetts, but said he didn’t like it. He came back to Portland to study electrical engineering at Portland State.

“I love this school,” he said. “I like the city life and the more experienced, older students.”

Although Maw said he likes Portland, he said he never thought life in Burma was bad.

“There is less stress. Even though there is a dictatorship, people are more relaxed,” Maw said about Burma. “You don’t have to hide anything. Here is a little competitive and you don’t want to express weakness.”

Maw said he wants to return home some day, but he would want Burma to become a democracy first.