Health Care Political Refugees
Working with the Burmese Political Refugees Community in the U.S.
Burma Relief is currently supporting the community of Burmese political refugees and former Burmese political prisoners who escaped to the United States seeking political asylum. These mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers are bound to remain in exile and may never see their families again.
There are currently 2,250 political prisoners in Burma, often serving lengthy, illegally-imposed prison sentences, like Zarganar (59 years), Man Myint Than (Shan National Leader, 79 years), U Kaylatha (35 years), Mee Mee (65 years), and the Generation 88 Members (65 years). Those who were fortunate enough to escape to the U.S. are often alone without their families and have difficulties adjusting to living in our fast-paced American society. Free Burma Alliance is committed to supporting these brave souls who suffered – and are still suffering – because they dared to speak up for democracy and human rights.
Our approach is to address the individual needs of each person, which very often include healthcare issues. For example, one of our projects is full-mouth dental rehabilitation for a former political prisoner whose teeth deteriorated during his lengthy imprisonment. Nay Tin Myint was one of Burma's NLD (Youth) leaders and 88 Generation Students. This Freedom Fighter was imprisoned for 15 years because he gave a public speech about Human Right & Freedom in Burma. During his years in confinement he went through unthinkable acts of torture, interrogation, poor nutrition and lack of medical or dental care. Today, Nay Tin Myint resides in New York, but he will always be a victim as long as the political prisoners back home remain in custody and the People of Burma suffer silently in fear of oppression. It will take several months to fix Nay's dental problems and the sooner he starts, the faster he can be free of pain and feel like a functioning human being. Thanks to our donors, Nay will once again have a healthy smile – and, hopefully, more and more reasons to show it!
Please join us on April 14, 2011 for the next Burma Relief Fundraiser!
Fortunately, most of us can use our mouths and wallets to support others, like Nay Tin Myint, who can’t speak freely in their own country.
And Please Take Action Today!
- Sign our petition for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners of Burma by clicking here
- Put Real Peoples’ Faces on the Stories of Horror and Shame: View a gallery of political prisoners by clicking here
- Most importantly, help us help the heroes of Burma as they struggle to restart their lives in our wonderful, free country!