HUNTINGTON WOODS (WWJ) Today marks one painful week since a Huntington Woods mother learned her son, a journalist, was taken into custody in Myanmar.
Danny Fenster, 37, was arrested at Yangon International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Kuala Lumpur, his first stop in his journey back to metro Detroit for a surprise visit with his loved ones.
His mother, Rose Fenster, spoke live on WWJ, saying she and the rest of their family are aching for answers.
“It’s been surreal,” Fenster said. “And emotions are just everywhere. Trying to stay positive and let my mind, all of our families’ minds not go to the worst place.”
Fenster was working as the editor of Frontier Myanmar, a news magazine that publishes in both English and Burmese.
He is currently being held in Insein Prison in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. However, his family has no idea what kind of condition he’s in.
“We know that the embassy and the state department is pushing for a visit. We have not heard a reply currently. It’s been seven days.”
Danny, a graduate of Berkley High and Wayne State University, worked in Myanmar for two years.
“Danny has always been a free spirit, a creative guy. And he’s lived in many different places. He loves to speak the truth, and to write and to help the underserved,” Fenster said. “He started out in Thailand. Then he got a job offer in Myanmar that interested him, where he felt he could help over there to get the truth out.”
Widespread protests have been sweeping across the southeastern Asian country, which had been under strict military rule since its independence in 1948. However, the relatively recent election of a pro-democracy leader had shaken its military rule, eventually leading to a coup.
Myanmar’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says more than 4,300 people have been arrested or detained since the coup, and more than 300 have been killed.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports a record number of journalists, at least 274, were detained around the world in 2020.
Both Rep. Andy Levin and Senator Gary Peters are urging the Department of State to ensure Danny is released “immediately and unconditionally.”
In the meantime, Fenster is asking all of metro Detroit to keep fighting for her son and to never give up on his safe return.
“Write letters, make phone calls, keep posting things on social media,” Fenster told WWJ’s Mike Campbell. “And prayers…”
Efforts to bring Danny home, and how you can help are chronicled on this Facebook page
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