"When the female judge read out their sentences — 47 years for her father, 17 for herself, her mother, sister and brother — she asked herself: “Is this really true?” Wai Wai Nu’s father was sent into solitary confinement... she, her mother and sister were jailed at Yangon’s notorious Insein prison. There, they were held in the same room as more than 100 other women — prostitutes, thieves, murderers, drug dealers and illegal gamblers. Once the shock of the filth and discomfort wore off, Wai Wai Nu began to talk to the other women and listen to their stories. Some were indeed hardened criminals but others were victims of circumstance... In 2015 she launched the #MyFriend campaign, meant to showcase love and tolerance among Myanmar’s diverse communities through social media... The aim, says Wai Wai Nu, is “to bring a positive narrative to the public to promote tolerance”."
January 1, 1970