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Burmese woman shares escape story

Casualties and military attack mark refugee's flight from homeland

By Curtis M. Wong
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
November 19th, 2008 issue

JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST
Suizi Bawitlung, her husband and their two daughters are one of five Burmese families to be granted asylum here as part of a resettlement program led by the Interior Ministry.
From being smuggled illegally by fishing boat out of their homeland to risking suffocation while crossing additional borders in the trunk of a passenger car, Suizi Bawitlung and her family faced seemingly insurmountable odds when fleeing their native Burma, or Myanmar.
However, when Bawitlung’s plane touched down at Prague Ruzyně Airport Oct. 30, all bad memories were left behind. Along with 19 other refugees, Bawitlung and her family — including husband Thla Tawn and daughters Sui Hlei Pan, 16, and Angel Pan, 13 — received VIP treatment, being greeted by Czech officials and journalists.
“We’d never been welcomed like that anywhere,” Bawitlung said. “In Burma, we couldn’t dream about tomorrow, and to be treated like this … I’ve never been treated this way before.”
Bawitlung’s family is one of five Burmese families who will be granted asylum here within a resettlement program organized by the Interior Ministry. A second group of 17 Burmese citizens, comprising four families, is expected to arrive by the end of the year.
The flight from Malaysia to Prague was the culmination of a multiyear journey for Bawitlung and her family. Her husband left their native country for Malaysia in 1999, and she followed four years later.
Her daughters were left in the care of their Burmese grandmother until last year, when they were finally reunited with their parents after completing the tumultuous journey from Burma to Malaysia. The children traveled across these countries in small packs, first by boat, then on foot and finally in the trunks of passenger cars.
“Everything is totally circumstantial,” Bawitlung said. “If you’re lucky, the journey will take you four days … but it can be up to four months.”
When Bawitlung made the journey in 2003, three children died when Burmese soldiers sank one of the refugee boats, and 10 people died of suffocation during the second leg, crossing Thailand in the trunks of passenger cars.  
Bawitlung said the hardest part was being separated from her daughters and her ongoing concern for their safety as they prepared to take on the journey from Burma to Malaysia without her supervision. “I could not eat; I could not sleep the entire time. Mostly, I was just praying a lot.”
The mission of the Czech resettlement program is to provide opportunities for Burmese citizens caught in what authorities call an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country, where conditions have worsened in recent years.
Local humanitarian groups describe the Burmese government as repressive, militant and undemocratic. Conflicts between the country’s varied ethnic groups are common, and recent years have brought floods and harsh famine to much of the nation. Citizens allege the government has subjected them to forced labor, particularly in areas with low agricultural productivity.
Religious tension in the region is also an ongoing concern. The province of Chin, from which Bawitlung’s family hails, is predominantly Christian, and conflicts with Buddhist and Muslim groups are quite common. Bawitlung, a Christian, says her family faces regular persecution on the basis of their religion, and that crucifixes and other icons at her local parish are regularly vandalized.  
Observers say another less obvious aim of the resettlement program is to increase local awareness of Burmese issues. “Burma is a very complicated, complex nation and there are long-term, unsolved ethnic problems that remain unsettled,” said Sabe Amthor Soe, co-founder and project manager of Burma Center Prague, a local nongovernmental organization. “The situation is extremely serious.”
A new home
Shortly after their arrival in the Czech Republic, the group of refugees left Prague for the Integration and Asylum Center located in Stráž pod Ralskem in north Bohemia. There, the refugees are to receive intensive Czech-language courses, as well as a culture and social integration course, after which they hope to seek regular employment.
Bawitlung, who helped run a local NGO that schooled women and children during her time in Malaysia, said she and her family are optimistic. “We know we’re going to have to work for our survival. We came here to have a better lifestyle and gain more knowledge.”
She added that her family is not considering permanently relocating to Europe, and that they hope to return to their homeland in the future.
“It’s our dream to go back with more knowledge and education, and serve our country again,” she said, adding that she and her husband also hope to save enough money from their future earnings here to help support relatives in Burma. “Of course, it depends on the government situation.”
The Czech Republic is one of several European countries, including Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands, that are actively involved in refugee resettlement programs. In 2007, a similar project was implemented when the Czech Republic received a group of refugees from Cuba.  
Despite these efforts, officials say the refugees’ future prospects here are precarious at best.
“The reality is that integration programs for foreigners can be very difficult,” Soe said. “They’re going to need to start learning everything, from language to culture, step by step. They need to be equipped with better knowledge and working skills to proceed.”  
As she prepared for the long path to integration, Bawitlung said there was one change she will be forced to adjust to immediately. “It’s the weather,” she said with a laugh. “It doesn’t get this cold in my country.”  

Curtis M. Wong can be reached at cwong@praguepost.com


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