Kim Aris, the son of jailed Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, arrived in New York City on Tuesday to raise awareness about his mother’s upcoming 80th birthday in June and her fifth year of imprisonment by the regime in Naypyidaw, where she’s been held since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021.
“As [my mother] is now entering her fifth year in prison, having spent almost a quarter of her life under military detention for her pursuit of democracy for the people of Burma. Instead of traditional gifts, I have launched this ‘Suu 80th birthday campaign,’” Kim Aris shared on social media on Feb. 4, mentioning a new calendar featuring artwork from him and artists from Myanmar featuring Aung San Suu Kyi.
Aris plans to travel across the U.S. to meet Myanmar nationals from New York, Boston, Washington D.C., to Los Angeles, California and the states of Texas and Indiana.
The U.S. based Helping Hands for Burma (H2B) assisted Aris to raise funds for humanitarian aid for the over four million refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Myanmar since the 2021 coup, called AID2Burma.
He launched the Freedom Tattoo Campaign to assist the over 28,000 political prisoners in Myanmar. All proceeds from the “Suu 80th birthday campaign” will go to humanitarian assistance for those affected by the crisis in Myanmar.
“This is what I know [my mother] would want,” added Aris.
