Blinded by landmine in Myanmar, refugee pours heart into music
Saw Wee (left), a blind refugee from Myanmar living in Milwaukee, has collaborated with Jonathan Burks (right) and other local musicians to put together an album in his native language dedicated to his people and their plight.
In the night, Saw Wee
said he could see them. In his dreams he'd see his lifelong friends.
He'd see his home in Kler Kee, a jungle village in Karen State, near the
Thailand border in Myanmar.
But then he'd wake up.
"In the day, I cannot see anything," he said.
On Jan. 26, 2004, Saw Wee, 38, triggered a landmine outside his village, losing his vision and becoming another casualty of a conflict that ravaged his homeland for decades.
As a coping mechanism, Saw Wee channeled his suffering into music, writing the song "Day is Night, Night is Day."
Nearly a decade later, Saw Wee found a new home, and new hope, in Milwaukee. He also found a new friend in musician Jonathan Burks, who along with other local musicians, volunteered to record Saw Wee's song, and nine others, for "Raise the Flag," an album finished last fall.
Saturday, Saw Wee will perform some of those songs at Hope Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, which has become a sanctuary for refugees from Karen State by hosting religious services in the basement.
"The worst things that can happen to a human happened to him and his people," Burks said. "Knowing someone who has been through all that makes it a lot more real.. ...It was important to do a good job."
Burks was born less than a month before Saw Wee, in Racine. But their lives couldn't have been more different.
Saw Wee was born in relative isolation, in a village that to this day has no electricity, in a country born in civil war. Once a British colony, Myanmar achieved independence in 1948, but government rule by the Burmese people, the nation's largest ethnic group, prompted the formation of the Karen National Union and the Karen National Liberation Army, insurgent factions that sought the independence for the Karen people, an ethnic minority.
Government reforms, including a ceasefire with the KNU, began in 2011, but the peace stands on shaky ground after so many years of turmoil. Innocent civilians have suffered heinous acts including torture, killings, forced labor and rape, according to reports by the U.S. State Department and Human Rights Watch.
"They do many bad things, but in the jungle there's no computer technology or cellphones, so people don't know," Saw Wee said.
When Saw Wee triggered a landmine, he lost not only his vision, but his home. He and his wife, Ah Gay Paw, relocated to Mae Ra Ma Luang, a refugee camp across the border in Thailand. Food mostly consisted of rice, beans and fish paste. He stayed confined in the camp for six years.
"When I went blind, I felt like (committing) suicide," Saw Wee said. But he made a new friend inside the camp: a keyboard.
"I had played a little bit of guitar, but not keyboard," he said. "When I play keyboard, I feel a little bit happy....Music saved my life."
In 2010, through a United Nations program, Saw Wee began a new life, immigrating to Omaha, Neb., where his brother-in-law and friends lived. The following January, he moved to Milwaukee, where some other friends lived. Through the International Learning Center and Catholic Charities, he's been learning English. Through IndependenceFirst, a local service provider and advocacy organization for people with disabilities, he's learning how to interview and apply for a job.
But then he'd wake up.
"In the day, I cannot see anything," he said.
On Jan. 26, 2004, Saw Wee, 38, triggered a landmine outside his village, losing his vision and becoming another casualty of a conflict that ravaged his homeland for decades.
As a coping mechanism, Saw Wee channeled his suffering into music, writing the song "Day is Night, Night is Day."
Nearly a decade later, Saw Wee found a new home, and new hope, in Milwaukee. He also found a new friend in musician Jonathan Burks, who along with other local musicians, volunteered to record Saw Wee's song, and nine others, for "Raise the Flag," an album finished last fall.
Saturday, Saw Wee will perform some of those songs at Hope Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, which has become a sanctuary for refugees from Karen State by hosting religious services in the basement.
"The worst things that can happen to a human happened to him and his people," Burks said. "Knowing someone who has been through all that makes it a lot more real.. ...It was important to do a good job."
Burks was born less than a month before Saw Wee, in Racine. But their lives couldn't have been more different.
Saw Wee was born in relative isolation, in a village that to this day has no electricity, in a country born in civil war. Once a British colony, Myanmar achieved independence in 1948, but government rule by the Burmese people, the nation's largest ethnic group, prompted the formation of the Karen National Union and the Karen National Liberation Army, insurgent factions that sought the independence for the Karen people, an ethnic minority.
Government reforms, including a ceasefire with the KNU, began in 2011, but the peace stands on shaky ground after so many years of turmoil. Innocent civilians have suffered heinous acts including torture, killings, forced labor and rape, according to reports by the U.S. State Department and Human Rights Watch.
"They do many bad things, but in the jungle there's no computer technology or cellphones, so people don't know," Saw Wee said.
When Saw Wee triggered a landmine, he lost not only his vision, but his home. He and his wife, Ah Gay Paw, relocated to Mae Ra Ma Luang, a refugee camp across the border in Thailand. Food mostly consisted of rice, beans and fish paste. He stayed confined in the camp for six years.
"When I went blind, I felt like (committing) suicide," Saw Wee said. But he made a new friend inside the camp: a keyboard.
"I had played a little bit of guitar, but not keyboard," he said. "When I play keyboard, I feel a little bit happy....Music saved my life."
In 2010, through a United Nations program, Saw Wee began a new life, immigrating to Omaha, Neb., where his brother-in-law and friends lived. The following January, he moved to Milwaukee, where some other friends lived. Through the International Learning Center and Catholic Charities, he's been learning English. Through IndependenceFirst, a local service provider and advocacy organization for people with disabilities, he's learning how to interview and apply for a job.
Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/musicandnightlife/blinded-by-landmine-in-myanmar-refugee-pours-heart-into-music-b99206935z1-246631501.html#ixzz2u94WX2UM
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In verband met geldwolven die denken geld te kunnen claimen op krantenartikelen die op een blog als deze worden geplaatst maar na meestal een dag voor de krantenlezers aan leeswaardigheid hebben ingeboet terwijl wij vreemdelingenrecht specialisten ze soms wel nog jaren gebruiken om er een kopie van te maken voor een zaak ga ik over tot het plaatsen van alleen het eerste stukje. Ja ik weet het: de kans dat u doorklikt is geringer dan wanneer het hele artikel hier staat en een kopie van het orgineel maken handig kan zijn voor uw zaak. Wilt u zelf wat overnemen van dit weblog. Dat mag. Zet er alleen even een link bij naar het desbetreffende artikel zodat mensen niet alleen dat wat u knipt en plakt kunnen lezen maar dat ook kunnen doen in de context.
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