 Photo Courtesy of Han Lin Han Lin and his family stand outside their home in the early 1990s when they were forced to move to the jungle. |
Democracy teacher ends long journey |
In order to let the world know what is still happening today in Burma, Han Lin told his story through his friend Soe Hlaing, whom he met in Ithaca. Since his English is still broken, Han Lin needed Soe Hlaing to translate the words he did not know how to say.
Han Lin said in 1988 he was a school teacher in the Burmese township of Palaw. He taught democracy to his students and led a pro-democracy demonstration from Aug. 8 to Sept. 18, 1988. At the same time, the military attacked a similar protest in the capital city of Rangoon.
Under pressure from the military to stop teaching democracy, Han Lin fled into the jungle. His wife, five sons and one daughter continued to live in the township for two years.
In the jungle, Han Lin joined the Korean Revolution Army and helped establish the All Burma Student's Democratic Front. He and his students had to train with weapons to defend themselves against the military.
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For two years, the military pressured his wife, Htay Htay Yee, to bring Han Lin back to Burma. Htay Htay Yee said she could not, because she did not know exactly where he lived and she would not have anyway because Han Lin would not live for somebody else's ideas. After two years, the pressure became too great and Han Lin's family found him and joined him in the jungle. Living in the jungle, the family faced diseases, like malaria, without sufficient food and clean water for nourishment. Seven years old at the time, his daughter, May Lin, faced seemingly insurmountable odds. "[There was] no hope for me to continue my education," May Lin said. "I was very sick too with malaria sickness." While in the jungle, Han Lin said, he took care of 60 orphaned children from at least nine other families whose parents had died in the jungle. He tried to give them education and protection. By 1996, Han Lin took his family to the U.N. refugee camp in Bangkok, Thailand, because the military had grown too strong. Several resistance camps in the jungle had already been lost and many students killed, so to stay seemed futile to their cause. Their new mission was to educate other countries about the Burmese situation. |
Han Lin applied for refugee status for his family with the United Nations. After living in the refugee camp in Bangkok for a year, his family was placed by the United Nations in Ithaca, N.Y.
As part of the program, Han Lin does volunteer work packing food for Food-Net, Tompkins County's program that aids countries with similar conditions to Burma. With his part-time job at Ithaca College, Han Lin can financially support his family.
 Photo Courtesy of Han Lin Han Lin (left) stands with students in Burma. Lin trained his students for combat and decided to educate others on the struggles of his people. |
"He said he is very poor in English, so that's why he has to work this kind of job," Soe Hlaing said on his friend's behalf. "But he's happy because for their children, [the] future is very sure." In Burma, there has been no education available for three years. Here, the children can continue their education. Their healthy nuclear family is adjusting to American life slowly. The children are trying to keep up with the American school system and Htay Htay Yee has a job at the Drop-In Center as a day-care worker. Han Lin hopes to eventually become a teacher again, once his English improves. Right now, he does the best he can to share his experiences and educate the public about the conditions he lived through, and still hopes to improve in Burma. |