Rena Pederson, a former vice president and editorial page editor of The Dallas Morning News, came to Southern Methodist University Thursday night to speak to students, faculty and members of the Dallas community about the corruption in Burma, specifically the story of Aung San Suu Kyi.

When Pederson first heard about Aung San Suu Kyi she knew she had to meet her. For a woman who was under house arrest for forming a Burmese opposition politician group, Pederson considered Suu Kyi to be a very interesting political prisoner.

“To me [Burma] is like the garden of good and evil,” Pederson said. The people aspire to a spiritual life but face evil every day.

Suu Kyi is a Burmese woman who has had to face the evils in Burma. Forming the National League of Democracy, Suu Kyi has promoted the need for change in Burma. After numerous speeches calling for freedom and democracy Burma’s dictator, Than Shwe, had Suu Kyi placed under house arrest.

When Pederson arrived in Burma she discovered Suu Kyi’s extreme measures of security and had to convince a diplomat to smuggle her in. After listening to the struggles Suu Kyi was going through Pederson decided to write a book, “The Burma Chronicles: The Story of Aung San Suu Kyi and the War for the Soul of Burma,” in hopes of informing people of Suu Kyi’s story and the tragedy people face in Burma.

“[People] do see some signs of hope,” Pederson said, but the Burmese people live in fear of the government.

“People cling to superstitions because they are covering their basis,” she said. “They are going to try everything they can to protect themselves.”