An Unexpected Life

The year two thousand nine was an unforgettable year. Many things happened to my family. Shortly after Burma achieved independence from Britain in 1948, Karen which is also known as Kayin, declared war on Burma in January 31st, 1949 because Burmese treated Karen people horribly and wanted to conquer the Karen State. Ever since then, there has been a conflict between those two ethnic groups and also with Kachin, Rakai and Kayar until now. There were several wars constantly happening in Hpa-an which is near my village, but in 2009, the conflict finally arrived in Parpon village. It was not safe for our family to live in Parpon anymore, so we moved to another safe village. After a while living there, my father heard about Karen refugees living in Malaysia and that was when my family realized that we still have hope. My father was brave enough to make this decision because we had never been to another country. The war in my village caused my family to move from Myanmar to Malaysia and to the United States for good. 

First, the war let my seventeen-year-old eldest brother to flee to Malaysia without the rest of the family. At that time, my father didn’t have enough money for the transportation fees for the rest of us. The reason why my eldest brother was sent to Malaysia first because if Burmese military saw him, they would arrest him and force him to serve for them. Other than that, the working conditions in Myanmar were terrible because workers worked more hours but paid less. When we lived in Parpon, my dad was a missionary and only my eldest brother was working, so there wasn’t enough money for him to support the whole family. After he fled to Malaysia, he arrived safely, and the Karen Organization helped him find a job in a restaurant. While working and living alone in Malaysia, he heard about the Karen, Chin, and Kachin refugees that were getting the opportunity to go to the United States, so he started saving money for the rest of the family.  

Furthermore, my eldest brother arranged the whole family to come to Malaysia in 2011. My parents and siblings were joyful, glad and our eyes were filled with tears and happiness. As a Christian family, my family believed that God made a way for us. My father was able continue his missionary work, and my second brother, youngest sister and I were able to continue our education at Malaysia Karen Organization (M.K.O). At first, it was hard for my siblings and me to learn English, but we eventually getting a lot better in communication and able to help translate for our parents when they need help. There were a lot of Karen Christian families, so my dad went to their homes, did fellowship and prayed for them. Although my eldest brother was the only one working, he was able to pay the rent and provide our necessities. For the first time in my life, I felt at ease and didn’t have any word to express my gratitude and happiness for having this amazing life in Malaysia.   

 

Finally, after five years living in Malaysia, my family and I immigrated to the United States for better opportunities. When we first arrived, we had some difficulties like many other immigrants, but as went passed, we got familiar with the American culture. Before my family came to the United States, my eldest brother got married and now he has a one-year old son. My father continued his missionary work in the first two years, and now, he is a pastor because North Shore Baptist Church needed Karen Pastor and my father was chosen. My mother is a choir leader and plays the piano at the church. For my second brother, he will graduate with a Licentiate of Theology in this month. Last year, my sister and I graduated from Amundsen High School, and now we are in Harold Washington to pursue our goals.   

In my life, I have never thought that my family would have faced that terrible war and left our country. However, it turned out that my family has more opportunities waiting for us, and we are blessed to have this unexpected life in the Untied Stated. I have never dared to dream of going abroad to study because it cost a lot of money which something I could never imagine. Sometimes I thought if my family didn’t end up in the United States what would we be doing either in Myanmar or Malaysia. Would we have the same opportunities as here in the United States to follow our goals.