The Republic of the Union of Myanmar has been in political and economic turmoil for decades. Formerly known as Burma, the country had been under military rule until the beginning of 2011.
In 2008, Aum Phe attempted to smuggle his family out of the country, to escape religious persecution. Though he and his wife were able to get out of the country, Thailand border agents discovered the van transporting their five children and sent them back to Myanmar.
Since their separation, Aum and his
wife, Shwe Pai, have been living in Washington state where he had, at least,
found peace tending his backyard garden.
All of that changed on the night of
Tuesday, July 18th when the couple’s children landed at the Tri-Cities Airport
in Pasco, Washington. The children were greeted with hugs, strawberries, and
bottles of Sprite and Coca Cola.
The two boys and three girls range in
age from 7 to 16 years old. Om Phe, the oldest son, is now nearly as tall as
his father. Speaking through a translator, Aum Phe, thanked everyone who made
the reunion possible.
Before escaping, Aum Phe had to work
for years to save enough money to get his family out of the country. He worked
in India and Malaysia, taking whatever work he could find, including working
for a pig farmer, where he slept in a field inside a makeshift tent made of
newspapers and plastic tarps while earning little to no money.
When his children were prevented from
fleeing the country, he had to bribe border agents to learn where they were and
again to buy the release of his children, so they could return to their uncle’s
farm.
Fortunately, Aum Phe’s story is
uncommon with fewer than 6 percent of families becoming separated during their
relocation, according to World Relief. The process to reunite the family took
years of paperwork, an immigration attorney, DNA relationship testing, and a
lot of worrying.
Over the years, the Phe’s sent money
to Myanmar for their children to rent a home and for the two oldest to go to
school and take English lessons. Now they look forward to sending all their
children to school, and if all goes as planned, Aum wants to send Om Phe, 16,
to college, and maybe take classes himself. □
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