BOGYOKE BO MYA IN MEMORIAM

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December 24, 2007 will mark the first anniversary of the passing of Bogyoke Bo Mya ……

In February of 2005, I travelled to Mae Sot to honour the general with a sculpture I had created of him. The occasion became an opportunity to assemble members of the KNU and the KNLA along with friends and family to honour the lifetime service of Bo Mya to the liberation of the Karen people.
The creation of the sculpture of Bogyoke Bo Mya was a great challenge and a great pleasure. I tried to incorporate the many different facets of his character into the portrait.

His is the face of a warrior of great strength, focus and determination. In Bogyoke Bo Mya I see a man driven by his insistence on the freedom and independence of his people. Bo Mya is a man who is not daunted by the superior size and armament of the Tatmadaw and not fooled by the deceit and lies in their negotiations.
He is a man made weary by internal struggles and the rigors of nearly a half century of jungle fighting and a man who has never lost sight of the just cause of his life-long struggle.
Bo Mya has a vision of a country where the Karen participate equally with all the citizens of Burma and who have the right to determine their own lives and futures.
He is a man who believes that anything less is unacceptable.
Finding strength in his devotion to his God, to his family and to the destiny of the Karen people, Bogyoke Bo Mya has dedicated his life and efforts to securing freedom and independence for the Karen.
In 1999 I did a sculpture of Aung San Suu Kyi. Although there is an enormous difference in their method, both she and Bo Mya share similar goals. Daw Suu Kyi, Bo Mya, and the Karen all struggle to rid themselves of the tyranny of military dictatorship.
Bo Mya, like Daw Suu Kyi reminds us that there is no such thing as neutrality; that if one person’s freedom is denied, the freedom of all people is in jeopardy. He reminds us of our responsibility to each other; a responsibility that must be honored and acted on. Bogyoke Bo Mya reminds us that the battle for human freedom and dignity is never over. It requires our commitment and demands our active participation.

So it is with great sincerity that I present his sculpture to Bogyoke Bo Mya and all the Karen people to honor their courageous struggle to own their own lives and be the masters of their own destiny.
_ Jim McNalis