Fwd: Several Burma Events Coming Up!!!

[Burma Action Committee]

Friends,

We have several very exciting events coming up.  They are detailed below.

First however, with a heavy heart, I have to report that a good friend of the Burmese people, Walt Ratterman (co-founder of SunEnergy Power International) is still missing after the Haiti earthquake.  It's believed he was in the Hotel Montana when it collapsed.  Walt travelled to Burma (among many places) to set up small scale solar electric systems, and is a hero to many people around the world.  See http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17619 for more info.

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FREE!! -- Tomorrow, Saturday, January 23rd, from 3-8pm, the Theravada Buddhist Sasana Organization will host a fundraiser at North Seattle Community College, 9600 College Way N, in Seattle.  The goal is to establish a Seattle Mahasi tradition monastary in the North End.  There will be tons of excellent Burmese food, a lucky draw, and Burmese karaoke.

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FREE!! -- Monday, January 25th, starting at 9:30am, at the Panama Tea House, 605 1/2 So Main St. in Seattle, a presentation by Quentin Hewitt, director of Thabyay Education Network, a foundation in Thailand that works to build civil society in Burma by providing higher education to social activists from marginalized groups within Burma. (Please see www.thabyay.org for more info).  If you'd like to attend, please rsvp to pb...@iletter.net, 206-569-4438.  Tea and pastries provided.

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FREE!! -- Sunday, February 7th, from 11am-3pm on the Seattle University campus, as part of the "Exiled Voices for Justice" series, we are honored to be screening the acclaimed documentary "Burma VJ", which follows the monk-led "Saffron Revolution" uprising in Burma, and the video journalists who risked their lives to tell the world about it.

We are further honored to have one of the key leaders of the monks, U Pinya Zawta, as a panelist for the post-film discussion.

U Pyinya Zawta is Director in Exile of the All Burma Monks' Alliance.  We are looking for donations to help cover his travel expenses to Seattle. If you can help, please contact bu...@u.washington.edu.

Here is the official information from http://exiledvoicesforjustice.org/:

February 7, Sunday, 11am-3pm, at Pigott Auditorium, Seattle University BURMA VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (85 min) http://burmavjmovie.com/

Moderator

*Sharon Suh, Director of Academic Salons Program and Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University (confirmed)

Panelists

*U Pyinya Zawta, Director in Exile of All Burma Monks Alliance, the organization that led Burmese Buddhist monks against the military junta in 2007, and the commanding voice behind the scenes of BURMA VJ (confirmed)

*Larry Dohrs, Co-Chair, US Campaign for Burma, Founder, Seattle Burma Roundtable (confirmed)

*Pwint Htun, witness to 1988 massacres in Rangoon, recipient of the first Prospect Burma scholarship, and a leader of the PNWs Burmese refugee community (confirmed)

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BURMA  ACTION GROUP
SAO Box 119, HUB
University of Washington http://students.washington.edu/burma/
Seattle, WA 98195