Private Story
Advocate and Survivor
Summary
The Wei family fled from their native Burma in 1997, lived in a refugee camp for 9 years and then in 2006 moved to the United States. Now they live in the Triangle as leaders of their community with a completely Karen, Chin, Burmese run farm called Transplanting Traditions. Their story of survival and strife is one of perseverance and immensely difficult odds.
The ramifications of British colonization have had far-reaching effects upon Southeast Asia, as seen in the development of Burma. These actions would ultimately lead to a mass migration of refugees resulting in the refugee communities we see in America today. Focusing specifically on North Carolina’s Research Triangle, my documentary work follows the story of Paw Paw Wei as she navigates transitioning to life in America.
Myanmar’s Parliament was scheduled to hold its first session since the country’s Nov. 8, 2020 elections, coinciding with when the National League for Democracy (NLD), the liberal democratic party in the country, won 83% of the body’s available seats. The Tatmadaw, the now-ruling force of the military, refused to accept the results of the vote and became concerned about Aung San Suu Kyi’s popularity with the public. She was elected as state counselor in Myanmar’s first openly contested elections in 2015 along with President Win Myint, the de facto leader since the elections in 2015.
On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, staged a coup and brought Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) back into civil unrest, a decade after the end of 49 years of strict military rule. Detaining San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other senior government members, they handed the power over to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and declared a state of emergency for one year.
North Carolina's Research Triangle area is home to more than 8,000 resettled refugees from Myanmar of various ethnic groups including Chin, Karen, and Burmese people, according to the University of North Carolina, Carolina Demography in collaboration with the Carolina Population Center. The local refugees who fled from Myanmar and Thailand, which housed many refugees after the war broke out in the 1980s, as well as those who were relocated in 2006 during the Bush administration, have made a home here. The Triangle is home to one of the largest Karen, Chin, and Burmese communities in the United States.
After people are processed, which usually takes around 18-24 months, different agencies are in charge of finding housing and ensuring they have the support they need. Because of the existing community of Mynamar refugees, and knowing people in the area that can speak their language and can assist in translation services, North Carolina’s Research Triangle’s infrastructure will likely continue to attract refugees.
I have been documenting the Wei family, Paw Paw particularly, beginning in October 2021. I documented her throughout her difficult pregnancy, as well as documenting other members of her family like her mother, sister (who is now the Executive Director of Transplanting Traditions, a community farm dedicated to Burmese, Chin, Karen farmers), and her grandmother who made the move from Myanmar in 2017. Documenting their process as they work towards their goal of going home to visit the great-grandmother of the family and the remaining aunts, uncles, and family who still live in Myanmar today, our work will illustrate the struggles, victories, and the long-term after-effects of British colonialism within contemporary American communities.
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