From half a world away,Aung San Suu Kyi spoke with a class of Virginia Tech students.
Suu Kyi is a political activist and a leader in the National League for Democracy in Burma. For 15 years she was held as a political prisoner; just released last year. For her peaceful fight for democracy, she's won countless awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize.
Last week, she met with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in an historic meeting. Monday night, she spoke with students from Virginia Tech.
"This is a very special, crazy moment. I can't believe this is about to happen," Virginia Tech professor John Boyer told his students. "I may pass out and fall into the pit, and in that case, proceed with the interview without me!"
Professor John Boyer's 3,000 person World Region's class at Virginia Tech doesn't settle for just learning from the text book.
Earlier this year, when the class was learning about the Camino de Santiago, they convinced actors Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez to stop at Tech and talk about their latest movie, The Way, which took place at the Camino.
Now, for the last class of the semester, a student asked Professor Boyer if they could hold a live interview with famous political activist Aung San Suu Kyi.
"I just laughed and said 'Yeah sure, we'll talk to Barrack Obama the same day, we'll get everybody together, we'll have a UN meeting," said Boyer. "Because that is how important this woman is."
But after a convincing YouTube video and some connections in the right places, from the other side of the world, Aung San Suu Kyi agreed.
The Burmese political leader joined the class via skpe and spent 45 minutes patiently answering question after question from students. Her answers reflected the wisdom she's gained from her experiences in the fight for democracy.
"Many times when I felt our movement for democracy had been forgotten, suddenly there was proof from another country that we had not been forgotten," Kyi said. "And that is so, so strengthening, to know you have not been forgotten. And if you will all make sure you do not forget those who need your help. This is a great lesson to take with you, you can always help others, no matter how far away they may be."
When asked how American college students could help in her fight for democracy, Kyi said just having the interview was a step in the right direction. She also said she's optimistic about the future of Burma.
"I think it’s not a question of why now; it's something we’ve been working on for the past 20 years. I think it’s our efforts are bearing fruit now. People think everything happens so quickly, it’s not like that. It’s like the first blossom opening up, it’s a long time coming. If you asked me, it couldn’t have come sooner, it's rather late not early," said Kyi.
