By Megha Azzi

Daniel Tonnesen of Los Altos, has taught in Burma for the past four years. He lives in a southeast Asian country engaged in an ongoing civil war in which the ruling military government has jailed the opposition leader who won the last election. Despite the oppresiveness of the current regime, Tonnesen prefers his life in Burma to his time in Los Altos.

The son of Roger and Diane Tonnesen, Daniel, 42, grew up off San Antonio Road only two blocks from downtown Los Altos.

On a recent visit to his parent’s home, Tonnesen said he developed an interest in international affairs when he participated in “Semester at Sea,” a study-abroad program that incorporated global travel with an on-board curriculum.

His teaching career, something he felt he was “just good at,” began within the United States. He had also taught international students in Japan and Sri Lanka. The prospect of teaching abroad once again arose when Tonnesen and his wife were recruited at the International School Services (ISS) teaching conference to take up positions in Burma. “We chose it over teaching in the Dominican Republic,” he said.

In 1999, the Tonnesens moved to Yangon, the capital of Burma, to take teaching posts at the International School, (preschool through grade 12). Their daughters attend the same school. Most teachers are predominantly of white and Burmese ethnicity, while the

students are mostly upper-class Burmese and Koreans (from the aristocratic and diplomatic communities).

“I teach English and history to seventh-graders, and Karen teaches kindergarten,” Tonnesen said.

He graduated from Los Altos High School in 1979 and continued his undergraduate education at Foothill College and California State University at Chico. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California at Berkeley and a master’s in education from Stanford University.

Burma was not a culture shock for daughters Daniel and Julia, or wife Karen, as they both had experience teaching abroad; nor for youngest daughter Anika. A baby when they moved there, she easily adjusted to the different environment.

Interaction with the local culture and community has been limited and allowed for little room to become fully acquainted with some aspects of Burmese society because their driver and nanny take care of city shores for them, Tonnesen said. This has prevented most of the Tonnesen family from learning the local language fluently, with the exception of Anika, who picked up the language fairly quickly at age 4. However, Daniel and Karen feel they communicate well, as they both teach at and attend the International School.

During their spare time, the Tonnesens find recreation at the local “country club,” a center for the elite of Yangon’s society. Here they participate in activities such as baseball. This lifestyle, however, is not available to many in Burma.

Burma has been in political turmoil for almost two-and-a-half decades. In the 1990 multiparty elections, the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Secretary-General Aung San Suu Kyi, emerged victorious. However, the ruling military regime, State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), refused to hand-over power despite the results of a democratic election. Aung San Suu Kyi was detained under house arrest from 1989 through 1995. She was placed under house detention again from September 2000 to May 2002, and has been detained since May 30. Citizens who openly support her or speak against the ruling regime are routinely harassed and jailed. Censorship of the press hinders the Burmese from being fully informed of the events occurring at government level.

Tonnesen and his family are not directly affected by the political turmoil. On the contrary, Tonnesen enjoys their lifestyle in Burma to the extent that he favors it over that of the U.S. He said the lifestyle is “innocent” and is a better environment for Julia and Anika to grow up in than California. There is no pressure for girls to be “sexy,” nor is there instability in the school system, he said. Tonnesen doesn’t expect the political climate will be any different, despite recent sanctions placed by the US on Burma due to the detainment of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Tonnesen and his wife use their skills and resources as international teachers to educate their students on the true social and political atmosphere.

“When the children of the aristocracy and diplomatic community are educated on the brutal and undemocratic regime of the ruling military, a democracy stands little chance of being suppressed in the future,” he said. “We feel like this is our contribution as teachers.”

The Tonnesens try to enlighten the community on current events through a local writing group, the Inya Writers’ Association, they formed. A few teachers from the International School and other interested writers in the vicinity produce stories that shed light on social and political situations in Burma. The Tonnesens are trying to have the group’s collective works published.

Despite the political disorder, the They doubt that it will escalate to the point that they will be required to take drastic action. Should guerrilla warfare break out, they intend to prioritize their family’s safety and move back to the States.

They don’t feel pressured to move back to the United States anytime soon. “Both of us have contracts that are renewed yearly … so we may want to move to South America sometime. We have friends who teach at an international school in La Paz, Bolivia, … so we may teach there in the future,” Tonnesen said.