Radostná nejistota / vernisáž výstavy Jiřího Pasze

Freedom is a joyful uncertainty. In 2013, Burma was reminiscent of the period following the Velvet Revolution. The military dictatorship began to loosen its cruel grip; free elections were held, and people were able to start businesses. Censorship was lifted; artists could create publicly, and people could demonstrate in the streets. There was both excitement and fear in the air—what if someone takes our freedom away again tomorrow! That joyful uncertainty didn’t even last ten years. In 2021, a general decided not to retire and staged a military coup. Since then, the country has once again been engulfed in full-scale civil war, with 100,000 dead and millions forced to flee their homes.

This isn’t just a report about a sorely tested country and its people, somewhere far away from us. This is a story about the eternal struggle of freedom besieged by authoritarianism. A reminder of its fragility and a stark warning that, in the end, freedom is always saved only by personal courage. Unless the culture of democracy prevails, society will fall into another spiral of violence and evil.

And that this could never happen here?

Our guest speaker will be Sabe Soe, director and co-founder of the non-governmental organization Burma Center Prague (BCP), which was founded in 2006. For 25 years, she has been actively involved in issues related to human rights, migration, and integration.
Thanks to its social and cultural knowledge of Burma/Myanmar and the Czech Republic, BCP became a partner organization in the implementation of the State Resettlement Program for the resettlement of Burmese refugees to the Czech Republic from 2008 to 2012. Since 2008, BCP has provided consultations, cultural orientation training, and interpretation services, and has also organized professional training for refugees and community events in host communities with the aim of raising awareness about resettlement and the challenges faced by refugees.
In addition to working on the integration of resettled Burmese refugees into Czech society, BCP implements projects within Burma/Myanmar and in exile, with the goal of sharing transformative experiences from other democratic countries and building the capacity and improving the skills of Burmese professionals, such as lawyers, regional lawmakers, and journalists.

The photographs were taken in 2013 by Jiří Pasz for Amnesty International—a journalist, photographer, and traveler who focuses on human rights, mental health, and the resilience of individuals and societies. He has visited more than sixty countries around the world, where he has documented life and current challenges—from child soldiers in Uganda and refugees in the Middle East to the impacts of the war in Ukraine. He is the author of the books *Normal Madness* and *Doing Good*; his photographs have been exhibited in New York, Geneva, and Brussels, among other places. In his current work, he focuses primarily on the relationship between resilience, freedom, democracy, culture, and the values that help people and societies weather crises.