State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi spoke at the opening ceremony of the 1st National Education Conference for Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Myanmar yesterday morning at the Nay Pyi Taw Myanmar International Convention Center-2.
Present at the ceremony were Vice-President U Henry Van Thio, Union Ministers, Nay Pyi Taw Council Chairman, deputy ministers, departmental heads and members of the Myanmar diplomatic corps. Also in attendance were resident representatives of United Nation organisations, NGOs, INGOs, children with intellectural disabilities, the disabled, organisations for the disabled and invited guests.
In her opening address, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said all people, including disabled children, have the right to dignity and pursuit of happiness.
“The most important thing for the autistic children, youths and adults is to make them believe in the value of their lives. Concurrently, besides the persons in question, societies related with them as well as human society as a whole need to acknowledge the value of their lives, hence the need to help it to be acknowledged. Each and every one of us regarded to be normal as per psychology has weakness. There is no one void of a weak point at least, that is to say, we have deficiencies in one way or other. To overcome ours, first and foremost we need to accept that point and we must be able to decide how to conquer that weakness.”
The State Counsellor said the right to a full life and opportunity should be instilled into children at a young age to avoid feelings of frustration and inequality later in life.
Performance of children with intellectual disabilities at the opening ceremony of the 1st National Education Conference for Children with Intellectual Disabilities.
“Generally speaking, the situation of the disabled children and adults should be concluded based on a word, ‘Self.’ The first thing which will occur in the mind of the disabled is discouragement. From there it changes into grievance and grief. If it occurs in that way, I want to say that it goes on astray from the beginning. Provided that the impression — it occurs only to me among all — will go through his life, they will find it difficult to improve in their life. So as not to reach the wrong way, it is necessary for us to control and lead them.”
“The first thing I want to say is that we are required to make them believe that they have equal rights like other normal people in our society and to make them enjoy these rights, hand in hand with each other. Presently we have cutting edge technology in the world, and we have acquired opportunities to help them become strong, healthy and able ones. The most important is respect. Every individual has the right to deserve the respect once they come into the world. In term of international outlook on human rights, dignity is one’s inborn feature. Nobody can take the inborn dignity and it cannot be abolished by any laws or denunciation. Paying no respect to other’s dignity is self-destruction of one’s dignity. We are responsible to place everyone to be able to stand on their own value. Though the ministry of education and ministry of social welfare, relief and resettlement are co-operating, one ministry alone cannot carry out the task, so we all are to help hand in hand with each other.”
Afterward, Dr Win Myat Aye, Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, Dr Myo Thein Gyi, Union Minister for Education made speeches.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Henry Van Thio, Union Ministers and others posed for the documentary photos.