Passing of My Father

Passing of My Father, U Kyaw Shein

May 2, 2009

On the day of the one year anniversary of the Cyclone Nargis, May 2, 2009, my father U Kyaw Shein (84 years old) passed away at 1:05 PM at our family home in suburban Rangoon.

He was not only my father, but also my mentor and my hero, who had fought for independence from the British and Japan during the 1940s, and challenged the military dictatorship in his entire life. As a member the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), leader of Trade Union, editor and journalist, he worked hard to help his country for better future, stood for the abused and poor and confronted the injustices.
Therefore,

he spent more times in Insein prison and Ye Kyi Aing interrogation center of the Military Intelligence than with family.

He taught me to stand for the truth and fight for the truth. He was the major driving force of me when I started to join in anti-government activities in 1980s. When I was in prison, he was detained twice, 14 days each, by military intelligence and interrogated for the letters that I smuggled out from the prison to my colleagues.

Now, he left us without seeing the freedom of his beloved country from the military dictatorship, which he lad longed and fought for.

I lost two of my family members in less than two years. My younger brother Taryar Min Wai passed away on August 5, 2007 and now my father passed away on May 2, 2009. I couldn’t see them before they died. I hope they will forgive me for not being with them at their last days.

I appreciate my friends who are now around my mother, consoling her on my behalf, and helping her to make the funeral. All I can do is making good things more and more and sharing merits to my father and other unsung heroes, who sacrificed their lives for the people of Burma during the long and difficult journey to democracy. I believe my father will rest in peace.

I wish no one suffers such a tragedy anymore.

Aung Din