After the Last Border:Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America

Finally on Monday, a woman speaking Burmese came to Mu Naw’s apartment. After hearing about the lack of food, she arranged to have the appliances fixed and immediately got the family a meal at a fast-food restaurant. The woman, Rita, then drove them to the resettlement agency where they signed papers and were assigned a case worker. Mu Naw experienced nausea when in the cars and buses. The next day, a case worker taught Mu Naw how to use bus passes and took her to the grocery store where she purchased a rice cooker and familiar foods. Although the family spent the following Friday with Karen people, Mu Naw felt a sense of profound loneliness once back in her apartment.

As a child, Mu Naw spent time first in a small refugee camp, Nu Po, across the border from Myanmar. Her mother left Mu Naw’s father, who then left the camp to find her. Mu Naw was with her great-grandmother when the camp came under attack; they had to flee with no possessions and not enough food. They snuck back to the camp for the delivery of food from the UN and then had to cross back into Myanmar.