Young Burmese rapping for change

 If a picture paints a thousand words, then a Burmese democracy group is hoping graffiti can awaken a nation.
A house inside a small compound on the Thai-Burma border is home to about 10 young people who listen to hip hop, ride scooters and do some mad graffiti.
These men and women – many of them university graduates – also talk openly about democracy.

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Unlike their neighbours, the graffiti-stamped walls of their tightly guarded safe house are bright with democracy slogans.

Tagged ... Generation Wave's trademark.

This is the secret residence of Generation Wave, a group of young Burmese democracy activists.
Inside the carefully swept living room, the television cabinet is overflowing with posters and a copy of Time magazine, featuring the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, affectionately called the Lady by her Burmese supporters, on the front cover.

Bo Bo, a member of the group, says they use false names to protect their identity and spare their families from arrest, intimidation or harassment from the Burmese government.

In Burma, renamed Myanmar by the regime, speaking openly about democracy can get you arrested, beaten and imprisoned. It has already happened to some of these young men and women; others say they're prepared to face it.
Despite recent reforms by President Thein Sein's government, including the release of Suu Kyi, which have earned it cautious praise from Western leaders, many Burmese are still sceptical of their government's intentions.
Twenty-two members of Generation Wave have been arrested by the regime since the group formed in 2007, including founders Aung Zay Phyo and Zayar Thaw.
Phyo and Thaw were among a few hundred of what human rights groups estimated to be thousands of political prisoners languishing in Burma's primitive and abusive jails who were released in 2010 as part of the newly elected government's amnesty pledge. A further 650 prisoners were released in a mass amnesty in January this year.

Generation Wave members Bo Bo and Aung Zay Phyo.  

Phyo was released in May 2010 after serving more than four years of a five-year sentence for being part of what the regime called an illegal organisation.
At the time of his arrest, he was organising a 20th anniversary commemoration for a popular student activist, one among thousands of Burmese killed in the 1988 uprising against the repressive junta.
After his arrest, Phyo was detained at an interrogation centre inside Rangoon's notorious Insein prison for several days and was beaten and tortured before his sentencing.
He says the prisoner amnesty was a publicity stunt by the junta and, despite being free for more than a year, he is still a target for persecution. He fears he could be arrested at any time.
“So far we cannot say that we are free. All the people in our country, their lives are not safe,” Phyo says.
“We're still trying to get freedom. But so far nothing has happened . . . we are constantly under watch. Our activities are monitored and the police keep tabs on which people are associating with us.”

Aung Zay Phyo with his Lady.

However, he says this is an important time for Generation Wave and the group is working harder than ever to deliver its policy of educating, uniting and mobilising young people to understand and demand democracy.
“Of course I worry about being imprisoned, but I cannot stop. It's my responsibility to do something for my country. That's why we are activists.
“We're trying to mobilise people, educate on human rights and democracy, collaborate with other student groups and improve the situation for our country.”
He says young people are the victims of the junta's repressive regime which has brought various trade and economic sanctions.
“Most of the youth in our country have lost their future. Even if we've gone through university, there are no job opportunities for us. We don't want this situation, not just for ourselves, but for the future of other young people in our country.
“We want their future to be guaranteed. As youth, we'd like to take responsibility for our country and improve the situation. That's why we founded this organisation.”
Zayar Thaw is a hip-hop artist and one of the key founders of Generation Wave. He's also the mastermind behind the catchy lyrics which are also the group's slogan.
“We're the left hand of the boxer but the people do the knockout. We will facilitate and agitate and motivate the young people,” Thaw says.
Despite being imprisoned for more than three years, he says there's no point in him being scared of the regime.
“If you're afraid of something, in your mind, you can't do anything clearly,” Thaw tells me across the table of one of the few Western coffee shops in Rangoon.
“I am a political activist, a Generation Wave member," he says.
"Right now the government didn't arrest me, but they can arrest me whenever they want because our group is deemed an illegal organisation.”
Through the window behind him, the sun reflects off the shiny barrel of an M16 machinegun carried by a Burmese soldier patrolling the perimeter of a five-star hotel, which Thaw tells me is frequented by high-ranking members of President Thein Sein's government.
Despite the heavy military presence which has become a way of life for the citizenry, Thaw says young people are becoming interested in politics and want to be involved in shaping the political future of Burma.
“We just want to live a normal life. We're not greedy or aggressive – we just want to live a simple, normal life,” he says.
“We are doing this for our birthright, our inherent rights. The government has stolen from us and we're going to ask them to give it back. That's all.”

Published: http://www.smh.com.au/world/inside-burmas-democracy-movement-20120305-1ucod.html#ixzz1rnMD7zbs