2008 Woodie Awards
Burmese student struggles with memories of oppressive past
Phil Graybiel
Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: College News
- Page 1 of 1
Nawl Lian fled his native Burma in June 2001 and came to Indiana as a refugee. The 29-year-old IUPUI student belongs to an ethnic minority known as the Chin people, and like most Burmese who seek asylum in the U.S., he is linked to pro-democracy groups in his homeland where mass killing and torture have become commonplace.
For Lian, a second-year accounting major at IUPUI, life has been hard since moving to the U. S. His limited knowledge of English has been a roadblock to socializing. He also stays busy juggling school and jobs, working in the IUPUI library and as a sushi chef at night while taking 12 credit hours.
Lian said that in Burma people can't make negative comments about the government. Protesters are shot in the streets and information in the state-run media is either about sports or entertainment. If journalists publish a disparaging word about the country's rulers, they can be arrested and put in prison.
Since childhood, Lian has been an eyewitness to the violence in Burma. He recalled one particularly horrible experience on Aug. 8, 1988, in the town of Pegu in southern Burma. Around 8,000 students were massacred during a pro-democracy demonstration. He was a fifth-grader.
"They made us run and when the students came in they started shooting," Lian said, "I was very young but I can't forget the moment when I saw someone killed."
The massacre, also known as "8888" because of the date, got little publicity because it happened around the same time as the killings in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Although more people were killed in Burma, the events in China still received greater attention.
Knowing the possible consequences, Lian took part in a protest against the government as a freshman at Rangoon University in 1996. He was one of many students arrested and held overnight. Locked in an enclosed van, the protesters did not know where they were being taken or what their fate would be. The next day a professor from the university was sent to pick them up.
In May 2000, Lian flew to Guam and applied for asylum at an American military base. Applicants must file an application as well as a written portion describing their situation. If conditions in their country put their life at risk, they are interviewed and possibly granted asylum.
For Lian, the worst year of his life was waiting for the decision on asylum in Guam. He lived with 20 other Burmese in a two-bedroom apartment with one bathroom. There were 17 men and three women. The men slept in one room; the women in the other. Because of limited space, they took turns sleeping.
Lian said more than 1,000 Burmese refugees live on the south side of Indianapolis in his community near Southport Road. Many religious organizations, part of the Church World Service, have welcomed them to Indianapolis. Lian credits this organization with helping him financially since he arrived.
Since coming here, he has had to make a lot of adjustments to a new culture. In Burma, life is centered on family - people live with their relatives for most of their lives. When Lian came to the U.S., he left two brothers, two sisters and both of his parents behind. His living situation is dramatically different now. He lives with one roommate, who is more than 10 years older than him.
Another adjustment is how he behaves in the workplace. In Burma, he learned never to speak directly to an employer. If a lower employee speaks to a boss, the employee can be fired. Now, when Lian he has a problem at work, he forgets that it is acceptable to ask his manager about it.
Nothing in Lian's homeland indicates relief from the repression that has created a massive humanitarian crisis.
The Chin Human Rights Organization reports that the Chin, along with other opponents of the regime, face not only gross human rights violations, but they are also losing their culture, literature, customs and traditions. Religious persecution is a major concern among China Christians, according to the human rights group.
Contact Phil Graybiel at pgraybie@iupui.edu.
Click here to go to forum
For Lian, a second-year accounting major at IUPUI, life has been hard since moving to the U. S. His limited knowledge of English has been a roadblock to socializing. He also stays busy juggling school and jobs, working in the IUPUI library and as a sushi chef at night while taking 12 credit hours.
Lian said that in Burma people can't make negative comments about the government. Protesters are shot in the streets and information in the state-run media is either about sports or entertainment. If journalists publish a disparaging word about the country's rulers, they can be arrested and put in prison.
Since childhood, Lian has been an eyewitness to the violence in Burma. He recalled one particularly horrible experience on Aug. 8, 1988, in the town of Pegu in southern Burma. Around 8,000 students were massacred during a pro-democracy demonstration. He was a fifth-grader.
"They made us run and when the students came in they started shooting," Lian said, "I was very young but I can't forget the moment when I saw someone killed."
The massacre, also known as "8888" because of the date, got little publicity because it happened around the same time as the killings in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Although more people were killed in Burma, the events in China still received greater attention.
Knowing the possible consequences, Lian took part in a protest against the government as a freshman at Rangoon University in 1996. He was one of many students arrested and held overnight. Locked in an enclosed van, the protesters did not know where they were being taken or what their fate would be. The next day a professor from the university was sent to pick them up.
In May 2000, Lian flew to Guam and applied for asylum at an American military base. Applicants must file an application as well as a written portion describing their situation. If conditions in their country put their life at risk, they are interviewed and possibly granted asylum.
For Lian, the worst year of his life was waiting for the decision on asylum in Guam. He lived with 20 other Burmese in a two-bedroom apartment with one bathroom. There were 17 men and three women. The men slept in one room; the women in the other. Because of limited space, they took turns sleeping.
Lian said more than 1,000 Burmese refugees live on the south side of Indianapolis in his community near Southport Road. Many religious organizations, part of the Church World Service, have welcomed them to Indianapolis. Lian credits this organization with helping him financially since he arrived.
Since coming here, he has had to make a lot of adjustments to a new culture. In Burma, life is centered on family - people live with their relatives for most of their lives. When Lian came to the U.S., he left two brothers, two sisters and both of his parents behind. His living situation is dramatically different now. He lives with one roommate, who is more than 10 years older than him.
Another adjustment is how he behaves in the workplace. In Burma, he learned never to speak directly to an employer. If a lower employee speaks to a boss, the employee can be fired. Now, when Lian he has a problem at work, he forgets that it is acceptable to ask his manager about it.
Nothing in Lian's homeland indicates relief from the repression that has created a massive humanitarian crisis.
The Chin Human Rights Organization reports that the Chin, along with other opponents of the regime, face not only gross human rights violations, but they are also losing their culture, literature, customs and traditions. Religious persecution is a major concern among China Christians, according to the human rights group.
Contact Phil Graybiel at pgraybie@iupui.edu.
Click here to go to forum
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