Courage

Aung San Suu Kyi in her yard, 1995. 

Photo by Steve McCurry, Magnum

Tomorrow the judge will deliver the verdict on the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an American who had swum to her house. She had pleaded with him to leave, but he claimed to have been too ill to swim back. Ironically, the trial comes just as her house arrest was about to end. I admire the woman tremendously. I cannot fathom the sacrifices she has had to endure, giving up her own family to stand for justice and freedom. She seems to draw from some super natural inner strength to have lived in isolation all these years. This picture only gives a tiny glimpse of her life. I think about her often, and I hope for the best for her tomorrow. However, I fear it will mean more years of house arrest, if not worse.