Four
words come to my mind when I think of Kay Danes, they are, Strength,
Integrity, Justice and Courage. She is an exemplary speaker who
heightens the frequency of the human conscience through her
presentations. Kay Danes is engaging from the moment she speaks and
immediately takes her audience on a journey into the deepest thoughts,
feelings and experiences of people, the world over, who have been
silenced through fear, injustice and those who have been disempowered by
traumatic events.
Kay's
experiences as a former political prisoner give her an insight that few
have and because of this, Kay is obviously compelled to offer
assistance to others in need. It is apparent that human right
violations and social injustices affect her profoundly but she speaks
with authenticity and conviction whilst at the same time, allows her
audience to draw their own conclusions. Kay has a quiet strength, an
incorruptible sense of integrity, a profound sense of justice and
fearlessness in seeking to build a better world.
Kay's
diplomatic efforts have earned her the respect, and the ear of, some of
the world's most prominent individuals and government figures. She has
put the face on human rights in both Australia and Internationally. The
manner Kay presents herself ensures the gentle truth behind her words
can be heard - striking at the hearts and consciences of people who
could not otherwise be reached. The amount of advancement in human
rights Kay has been able to achieve in the 5 years since she gained her
freedom from communist Laos has been nothing short of astounding.
I
convened a Community Forum: Transcending Abuse, for which, Kay kindly
agreed to be our opening speaker. Within minutes, Kay captured the
audiences' attention and held it throughout. She set an exceptionally
productive, constructive tone for the entire event. I was not at all
surprised, when after the event I was contacted by numerous audience
members who were deeply affected by Kay's life-changing,
thought-provoking messages, wanting to know more about what they could
do in their community to help others. Kay stimulates community spirit
and arouses the determination to make the world a better place for all.
I believe Kay Danes is destined to continue to change the world in very positive ways.
Cassandra Steer
President of the Redland Family Support Initiative
During
2005 and 2006 I have been in occasional contact with Kay Danes in
relation to advocacy issues. In November of 2006 I met with Kay Danes
personally and attended a Tertiary institution seminar in Queensland,
Australia where Kay was an invited guest speaker. It was clearly evident
that Kay Danes' dedication for the deliverance of equitable justice for
human rights, is testimonial to her determination to advocate and
personally assist individuals and communities whom are at risk of harm
at an international level.
Kay
Danes voluntary commitment and dedication extends to those incarcerated
in foreign prisons and who suffer deprivation of rights and may be
subjected to abuse. This voluntary assistance and support Kay extends to
the families of those persons held in a foreign prison.
I
encourage humanitarian sectors and Tertiary institutions to invite Kay
Danes as a specialist speaker to increase knowledge of foreign
humanitarian processes and to heighten the awareness of humanitarian
issues that many people may not know exist. Kay has credibility,
integrity and represents the epiphany of human spirit and personal
courage that she has earned through personal experience.
Russell. S. Treweek
Dip. Community Welfare Work (Aust)
Advocate for Child Protection.
Kay
Danes is testimony to resilience, dedicating a great deal of her life
to advocating human rights for people all over the world. Her
experiences in the Laos jail changed her life forever but in helping
others, Kay accepts her vulnerability in reliving her trauma. She has
learned that coping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), can be a
daily challenge.
Kay
has turned what for many would have been a totally debilitating
experience, to a reflection of strength and determination to make a
difference. She is an example of the power of one, of intelligent
advocacy and dogged determination to make change.
Dawn Spinks
Queensland Safe Communities Support Centre (QSCSC)
Many
thanks for making yourself available to talk to our staff about some of
your unforgettable experiences and of the work that you are now
dedicated to for the benefit of all people, particularly those in
unfortunate circumstances of oppression and fear. We wish you well and
in our own efforts to help the poor in our neighborhood, we feel a
certain amount of empathy and concern. Hopefully those in need, be it
political, material even spiritual, will feel the helping hand of good
people. May your work be a constant challenge as well as a source of
great satisfaction.
Brother Brian Cunningham
Boystown Family Care (Qld)
For
Laotians all over the free world Kay Danes is a household word. We
speak of her with affection, a sense of gratitude and hope. The sad and
frightening story of how Kerry and Kay Danes fell victims to and
suffered under the lack of justice and rule of law in the Lao People's
Democratic Republic [Lao PDR] is familiar to many of us who care about
human rights. It is a story of arbitrary arrest, detention without
charge, trial without due process, horrendous prison conditions, brutal
inhumane treatment of prisoners and torture, which has, over the last
three decades under a one-party dictatorship, grossly violated the human
rights of thousands of people, Laotians and foreigners alike.
The
interest of the international press in the Danes case did raise public
awareness but it was not until Kay launched herself wholeheartedly to
right those wrongs that the human rights situation in the Lao PDR became
visible on the radar screen of world policy makers. No sooner than she
regained freedom, Kay began helping her fellow political prisoners
through a the Foreign Prisoner Support Service. It is a major link among
human rights movements around the world.
Despite
the risk of personal safety and the personal expense of energy, time
and money and despite the painful memory of her ordeal, Kay travelled to
Washington DC [2002] to help Lao freedom and human rights organizations
around the world to establish our Organization, ULAC, as a coordinating
center. Through the US and international media, Kay let the world as
well as the US Congress in on the terrible secretive abuses going on in
Laos. One year later, Kay travelled across the world to follow up with
the US Congress to plead the case for victims of human rights abuses in
the Lao PDR. She tirelessly presented the case with the State
Department, including the US Ambassador to the Lao PDR, Mr. Douglas
Hartwick. She went knocking on doors of members of both the House and
Senate. Apart from Kay Danes' tenacious commitment and personal
sacrifice, what is so extraordinary about her advocacy is that she is
dedicating her energy, efforts and activities totally to other victims,
those she has bonded with whom she calls 'kin and friends' as well as
those she never met.
In
her public statements as well as private conversation, the words she
spoke were often accompanied by tears. They were tears of compassion and
tears of urgent concern for others who are languishing in the Lao
gulags without any future. Those of us who have come in touch with her,
love and admire and think of her most for this. Kay Danes is not a
fire-breathing podium-thumping advocate for human rights. She tells it
like it is, quietly, and straight from the heart. To her, victims of
human rights are not statistics for debate and analysed in public
forums, hearings, and the media. To her they are, each and everyone,
persons, human beings with dignity, capable of feeling pains and
humiliations. They all are her brothers and sisters. For lack of a
better phrasing, Kay has put the faces on human rights abuse in the Lao
PDR.
I
and my fellow Laotians both in and out of Laos, firmly believe that Kay
Danes is the most effective mover we have as an ally in our
long-standing struggle to give back the dignity and fundamental rights
of our fellow Laotians.
Dr. Sin Vilay
Executive Director
United Lao Action Centre [ULAC]
Washington DC
We
of the Lao Nationalist Reform Party, offer our profound thanks and
grateful appreciation to Kay Danes for traveling to the United States,
Washington DC, and giving such a moving testimony at the US
Congressional Forum for Democracy and Economic Development for Laos, Oct
1, 2002.
Lieutenant Colonel Khambang Sibounheuang
Party Leader Lao Nationalist Reform Party
As
we know, Kay Danes has personally experienced unlawful imprisonment in
Laos. From her personal experience, and her commitment to help others in
similar situations, Kay contributes greatly to the awareness and
understanding of people suffering throughout the world, particularly
those behind the razor wire and prisons without bars. Kay's message will
pierce through even the hardest heart and the soul of her audience.
Dr Pao Saykao (M.B.; B.S.)
Victoria Australia
Our
thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible.
And in this spirit we say, simply but sincerely thank you and best
wishes. Thank you very much for your kind regards and good wishes for
our democratic movement. For us here in the US, we are following up on
the new sanctions against the military regime, and other tough measures,
such as bringing Burma issue before the UN Security Council. We deeply
appreciate your support and solidarity. Thanks a lot.
Best wishes,
Steven H. Moe
National Coalition Group for the Union of Burma - Washington, DC
Kay
Danes writes about the foul and appalling conditions in the jail
inhabited by both Laotian nationals and foreign prisoners. She recounts
witnessing the effects of senseless and brutal psychological and
physical torture and the complete disregard for human rights. This
information is unsettling with its implications of the lack of
assistance and justice for foreign prisoners. The desperation of many
of the inmates, whose crimes were often minor or manufactured, lends an
urgent intensity to the writing.
Kay
Danes writes of the unwavering resolve of her husband, and of her
frustrated but gritty manoeuvring to improve conditions in the jail. All
of this occurs during a desperate time, of isolation far from children,
family and friends. Kay gives due credit to the efforts of her father,
the diplomatic approaches by the Department of Foreign Affairs in
Australia and the Herculean task of the senior members of the Australian
Embassy in Laos, which eventually brought about their release.
In
the conclusion, Danes writes of the promise made to prisoners to work
for their rights after she has gained her freedom. She relates some of
the successes she has had since that time and of some of the
extraordinary reconciliations brought about by her efforts on behalf of
foreign prisoners.
Gina Louis, Author and Talent Agent (Australia)
Reader Book Reviews
‘It’s a shame so much reporting is done on
Afghanistan and so little of
it is from the Afghans’ point-of-view. Thank God for brave people like
Kay Danes who dare to venture beyond the safe zones to tell the stories
of those who matter most in Afghanistan’ – Josh Rushing co-host Al
Jazeera’s Fault Lines Series, bestselling author Mission Al-Jazeera
Beneath the Pale Blue Burqa: "A brave book written by a brave woman, but it is the courage of the
Afghan women in the face of so many social atrocities that tugs at the
heart and makes one reflect on the many aspects of the desperate
situation that exists in that country. Nothing brings it home more than
the words of those that are living the nightmare. Kay brings the
confronting issue of what is happening to the Afghan people, and most
particularly to its women, well and truly to the fore in a way that’s
not been done before. A very thought provoking book" – Yasmine Grey, Director, Gray Media Services
“In a country with few paved roads, a dirt poor, illiterate population
blighted with poverty, disease, and violence, it is rare to find foreign
reporters who will work outside the safe bubble of Kabul. As a result,
Afghanistan’s people, culture, and traditions remain unknown to the
world, or reduced to crude stereotypes. Kay Danes is one the few
internationals who are determined to make a difference and brave enough
to go outside the international “security bubble” to see for herself how
the ordinary Afghans are fairing in post Taliban Afghanistan. She
brings us back a delightful, informative story with wit, charm, a little
humour and a lot of important information. One can only hope there are
more people like her setting their sights on making a difference in
difficult lands like Afghanistan.”
– Tim Lynch, Vigilant Strategic Service Afghanistan.
"Kay writes from the heart, and her experience of life as a prisoner in Laos makes compelling reading."- Margaret Reynolds, National President United Nations of Australia
This book
reinforces the belief shared by a number of Western embassies here that
the Lao regime includes some ugly figures, not much better than the
generals in Rangoon. A book like this, exposing the dark underbelly of
Laos, is a stark contrast to the country's tourist promotions and the
gentle manner of the bulk of its people. In the beginning one gets the
impression that Kay Danes is playing a game with soldiers, blissfully
unaware of the risks. At the end of the 10-month confinement and
separation from her young children, she seems close to emotional
breakdown. But you fully understand why she is campaigning on behalf of
those suffering such outrageous cruelty and neglect in Asian jails.
Paul O'Brien, United Kingdom
What
a compelling story. It is the realisation of every parent's worst fears
and nightmares--being taken away from your children and left in a place
that seems alien and cruel. The horrifying accounts of cruelty and
suffering shocked me. I felt that one of the strongest elements of the
book was the author's realisation of the extent to which the people
suffer, particularly the Hmong, and the determination that grew in her
to help tell their story. This book appeals to anybody who has ever felt
fear--and that is everybody. It's about losing everything but the
support of family and friends, and realising that that is the most
valuable thing any of us can have. It has drama, action, political
intrigue, tension, sorrow and joy, and is at its centre an inspirational
story about never giving up, and fighting for what you believe in. I
thoroughly enjoyed it!
Jenny Robertson, United Kingdom
Kay and Kerry
Danes story is an extraordinary journey. What they experienced as
innocent people is dismaying. What other people incarcerated with them
on false or no charges, was disturbing. As was the plight of political
prisoners who simply, for having an opinion, are made to suffer through
the most awful treatment; and for those prisoners who are guilty of
crimes, there is still no excuse for denying them basic human rights. I will not
forget this story or the wonderful characters that Kay encountered. I
hope one day that there will be a time when no-one has to suffer, as
they are, such violations of human rights.
Liza S.
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
