Burmese refugees seek new life in US
Updated
There are more than 100,000 refugees from Burma living in camps strung along the Thai border.
This year, US officials say they're planning to resettle around 14,000 of them, as they did in 2008. Visiting the area, Jay Lamey met one young man waiting for his turn. And he says when the chance comes, he'll be heading straight for the US Army's recruitment office.
Presenter: Jay Lamey
Speakers: Min, a Mon refugee from Burma; Tim Scherer, Refugee Coordinator for Southeast Asia at the US Embassy in Thailand
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LAMEY: Street-soccer in the Thai town of Sangklaburi. One of the players is 20-year-old Min, a refugee from nearby Burma who has lived almost his whole life in Thailand, arriving when he was a baby.
MIN: It's been a long time now. We couldn't live in Burma because it's not a democratic country. When people work, the government takes too much from them. And sometimes they force children to be soldiers.
LAMEY: Min's own father was a soldier with the rebel Mon National Liberation Army, who fought a long civil war against the Burmese government. Now, Min wants to follow in his footsteps. He doesn't plan on being a rebel however - he's intent on joining the world's most powerful army.
SCHERER: I've attended a number of these information sessions, and a common question is, 'Can I join the military?'
LAMEY: Tim Scherer is the refugee coordinator at the US Embassy in Bangkok. He says that after Min and his family are resettled to America this year, he can sign up for the military, but not straight away.
SCHERER: And then after approximately one year their legal status becomes that of a Legal Permanent Resident, which is commonly known as a Greencard holder. Once they get the Greencard, they can volunteer for the US military, if they're interested.
LAMEY: Why is that a lot of the young refugees from Myanmar find the prospect of joining the military appealing?
SCHERER: I think it's an interest of young men worldwide to join the military, that's part of it. Part is because it's a secure job for them. Some of the feedback they may have received from refugees that have gone before them is that, particularly in the slowing economy, it may not be as easy to find entry level jobs as it was in the past. But it's a young man's interest in military service, and some come from camps where there is a background of military resistance to the regime, so there's some pride I think in being a man of arms.
LAMEY: Min's family live in a nearby refugee camp, which the Thai authorities forbid them to leave. Min should be there too, but he snuck out, preferring to live under the radar in the nearby town, amongst people of the same Mon ethnicity.
LAMEY: Min says he hides when the camp guards come through town. The rest of the time he hangs out with friends, sometimes helping a relative run a stall at the local temple, while he waits for travel arrangements to be made. When he does arrive in America he'll have to find a job fast, and without much English and only a primary school education, his options will be limited.
SCHERER: What we call voluntary agencies, typically community organization, churches, sometimes state governments, they all provide resettlement assistance to the refugee when they arrive in the US. They assist in finding the refugee their first job, and this is a critical step for a refugee to the US, because unlike other resettlement countries the US doesn't really have a strong social welfare system for refugees.
LAMEY: Since 9-11, the US Military has also been providing faster citizenship to Greencard-holders who sign up, with some being naturalized after just 6 months of service, instead of the normal 5 year wait. But Min has another motivation, possibly stemming from his background.
MIN: Undemocratic people, we'll battle them. I want to be a soldier the most, but I'd also like to be a mechanic. I'd like to work modifying cars.
LAMEY: Min says his father was offered the option of resettlement some time ago. Now that his children are becoming adults, he wants to make the big move, to offer them a better life. In the end, Min may or may not end up a soldier like his dad, saying he can't really imagine what his future will be like. After 20 years with not much to do, it will be a totally new start.
