SEPTEMBER 9 • 2021 | 25
T
he family of journalist and
Huntington Woods native Danny
Fenster marked 100 days since he
was taken prisoner by the Myanmar mili-
tary junta with an Aug. 31 press conference
expressing gratitude for the support received
from friends, community and government
officials as well as their continued determi-
nation to assure his release.
Fenster is the managing editor of
Frontier Myanmar. On May 24, 2021, he
was detained by the military in Myanmar
moments before he was to fly from Yangon
to Detroit to see his family for the first time
in three years. Since then, he has been held
at the notorious Insein Prison under inves-
tigation for a law criminalizing dissent that
carries a maximum three-year jail sentence.
He has yet to be charged.
The fourth foreign journalist arrested
since the military takeover in February 2021,
Danny is one of more than 70 reporters in
Myanmar who have been wrongfully impris-
oned. Their plight has drawn international
calls for their freedom.
Danny’s brother Bryan said the family has
not spoken with the journalist since Aug. 1,
when he first complained of symptoms such
as congestion and fever but had not been
tested for COVID. There has been a sharp
rise in COVID cases in the cloistered coun-
try, especially within the prison.
“One hundred days into his imprison-
ment, my fists are clenched just as tightly
as they were on the first day.
” said Bryan
Fenster, who has worked tirelessly to keep
the spotlight on his brother’s plight with the
#BringDannyHome social media campaign
and other actions. “The worst part is that
sleepless nights have become our new nor-
mal.
”
Bryan said Danny is being represented by
an attorney from Frontier Myanmar, and the
family is in touch with the lawyer through a
translator, though communication and infor-
mation has been very limited. Danny’s next
hearing was scheduled for Sept. 6.
U.S. Congressman Andy Levin, who was
also on the conference call, released a state-
ment ahead of the grim milestone. Though
he had no promising developments to report
on the journalist’s status, he said that he, with
the Fenster family, the State Department and
Congress, are “pursuing all possible chan-
nels to move Burma’s military authorities to
release Danny.
“I want to reach out to everyone because
we must not remain silent,
” read Levin’s
statement. “The urgency of our efforts has
not diminished in any way — not Danny’s
family, not our community and not the
Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage
Affairs, not any of us. We remain as commit-
ted as ever to bringing Danny home imme-
diately and unconditionally.
”
Each morning when Danny’s father,
Buddy Fenster, wakes up in Huntington
Woods, he knows another day is ending in
Myanmar that his son is not free.
“We were hoping to have him home by
Rosh Hashanah,
” Buddy said. “We celebrate
Judaism with happiness and family together-
ness but, unfortunately, there is also suffer-
ing. Danny was raised listening to the stories
of his grandmother (Lily Fenster) who is a
Holocaust survivor. We believe those stories
resonated deeply for Danny. It was what
inspired him to want to tell the stories of
other people who do not have a voice and
who have suffered as well.
”
Danny’s mother, Rose Fenster, added, “
As
a journalist, Danny has always been the type
of person to deeply care and listen and tell
other people’s stories. We are grateful for
our community as well as local government
support who continue to keep Danny’s story
alive. Hope is inherent in human nature. We
are going to stay tough and feed off Danny’s
strength.
”
Journalist Danny Fenster remains in
Myanmar, imprisoned without charges.
100 Days and
Counting
STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Danny Fenster