Burma’s current and brutal military regime, led by dictator Senior General Than Shwe, is a severe threat to the peace of innocent civilians in Burma. Villages are burned to the ground, children are being forced to be soldiers and the military junta continue to use rape as a weapon.

This unacceptable behavior all comes from the command of Shwe, a man who lost the election in 1990 and then imprisoned or killed many of the members of the winning party. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma, was arrested and still remains under house arrest today. In 1991, she was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

On Dec. 3, 2006, IC Tzedek: Social Justice at Hillel sponsored a candlelight vigil in The Commons for The International Campaign for Freedom of Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma. At this vigil, Ithaca College staff member Han Lin proclaimed Aung San Suu Kyi’s words for the Ithaca community to hear. “Please use your liberty to promote ours,” he said. This request echoes now more than ever.

On Aug. 4, 2007, I received the sad news that Han Lin was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. He has undergone six chemo treatments and is very sick. Han once asked me to “find student leaders” because his fellow brothers and sisters back home are in dire need of help.

I think that it is about time we honor this request. Community members can help Han Lin, his wife, Htay Htay Yee, and his six children by making donations of any kind. To learn more about Han Lin or the International Campaign for Freedom of Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma, please check out www.icfab.org. To start a school chapter, check out www.uscampaignforburma.org.

Jeffrey Hellman ’07 is a Film, Photography and Visual Art major. E-mail him at jeffreyhellman@gmail.com.

View a video made by Hellman about Han Lin at theithacan.org/go/07hellman