A concert this Thursday, May 27, aims to raise funds for democracy activists in Myanmar. Dunedin’s small Burmese community have been working non-stop for the last two months to make it all possible.
The Solidarity Myanmar concert will be held at the Dunedin Town Hall, with a line-up including Hollie Fullbrook of Tiny Ruins, local groups such as the Dunedin Jazz Club, Marlin’s Dreaming, and He Waka Kotuia, and Nelson-based Burmese singer Van Hlei Sung, who will be performing songs from his Chin State homeland. These artists are all performing pro bono (i.e. free).
One of the organisers, final-year medical student Aye Hnin Phyu Thaung, said the concert had three goals: “To amplify the voices of the people of Burma, to raise awareness about what’s been happening and to raise funds.” Her use of the term Burma, she said, was a personal choice to show her disapproval of the military, because the name Myanmar was instituted by the military government in 1989.
Organising a concert on this scale was not easy for Dunedin’s small Burmese community, which is made up of around 20–30 people, mostly with “full-time work, study and family commitments”, said Aye.
“This is a steep learning curve for us,” she said, adding that “we have really been kept busy in the last two months.” Wrangling sound and lighting teams, seeking donors and making payments to rent the Town Hall, which is “not cheap”, was not easy. “Eventually, it does add up,” Aye said.
She is optimistic that they can sell all 800 available tickets. All funds raised will go to trusted contacts on the ground supporting protesters — many of whom, when they went on strike, lost not just their jobs but their houses too. Over three months after the military re-took power in a brutal coup, they are more violent and aggressive than ever, she says, and there’s no sign of them letting up.
“Every dollar counts,” Aye said. A previous fundraiser with food on Union Lawn raised enough to pay for ten families’ living costs for a month, as well as protective equipment for protesters.
Tickets are on sale for $20 each (student price), and can be bought at Regent Theatre, or online at Ticketmaster. For people who can’t make it or want to be further involved, a Givealittle page “Solidarity Myanmar Concert” is also accepting donations.