Meet Mee Mee, a refugee from Burma.
Mee Mee with Candles made for Amnesty's 50th Anniversary
Mee Mee was born in Burma, and fled from her country to escape the violent ethnic conflict that has engulfed the country for decades. Burmese soldiers persecuted civilians and burned entire villages, prompting Mee Mee’s family to seek safety in a refugee camp. They spent four years moving continuously and hiding in the wilderness before arriving at a camp on the Thai border.
However, opportunities are limited or nonexistent in the refugee camps, which house more than 150,000 Burmese refugees in Thailand alone. If they chose to leave the camp to seek work outside, they would be put in jail.
Mee Mee arrived in the US in 2010 with her husband, four sons, and one daughter. She began working with Prosperity Candle in early 2011. And though her new life here has brought her hope for her and her children’s future, she recently experienced another tragedy: the recent tornadoes that struck western MA destroyed Mee Mee’s home, and she and her large family were forced to move to a temporary shelter in West Springfield. Though she has since found new housing, supporting her family through this experience poses new hardships.
However, Mee Mee’s quick smile and warm sprit are unfaltering in spite of the gravity of the challenges she has faced. We are grateful to provide her a flexible work opportunity that has allowed her time off while she rebuilds once again. More so, we are deeply humbled by her resilience and unyielding positivity.
