From the years 2001 to 2015 a total of 146,037 Burmese people have immigrated to the United States (“Burmese”). As of today, there are about 200 Burmese immigrants in the town of Monmouth, Illinois (Niceu). Of all of the available places in the United States, why did these immigrants choose Monmouth? What are their lives like in this small town? To answer these questions, it must first be answered why the Burmese immigrants left their country.
“Burma” is a disputed name, because technically the name of the country is Myanmar. Cinzah Niceu, a religious refugee living in Monmouth, explained in an interview that “[t]he military government changed [Burma] to Myanmar. The people never say Myanmar. They say Burma. Our people don’t accept the government” (Neal). Niceu also explained that “[t]he military government says the religion [of Burma] should be Buddhist,” and that the junta, a military group that takes power by force, often breaks up Christian services in Burma (Neal).
Because Niceu is a Christian, this oppression drove him to register as a refugee in 2006 with UNICEF, an organization that provides aid to those in need (Neal). Niceu was transferred to the United States in 2009. Upon arrival, Niceu lived in Moline, Illinois, but he found work in Monmouth at Farmland Foods, a pork-processing plant. Living and working in two different locations was difficult, so Niceu eventually moved to Monmouth. When he first came to Monmouth there were no other Burmese people there; Niceu was alone until the available jobs at Farmland beckoned more Burmese immigrants (Niceu).
By 2011, there were about 60 Burmese people living in Monmouth. Most of the Burmese people living in Monmouth are from two separate states in Burma; about 95% are from Chin state, and the other 5% are mostly from Karen state (Niceu). Most of the Burmese people living in Monmouth are Christians, so Niceu and other Chin Christians began the Monmouth Christian Chin Church, where Niceu now guides them as their pastor (Niceu). Unfortunately, because Chin and Karen people are from different states in Burma, there is a language barrier that makes it difficult for the few Christian Karen immigrants in Monmouth to attend Niceu’s church.
One of these Karen immigrants is a Monmouth College student named Priscilla Tun, who is in the class of 2016. Priscilla is a Christian, but the main motive for her family’s immigration to the United States was the political, rather than religious, state of Burma. Priscilla explained that, even though they do not want to fight, the Burmese people are rebelling against their government because they want their freedom (Tun). “We don’t have any kind of freedom . . . We can’t talk about anything. If they catch you, you get in trouble . . . The whole country had a curfew . . . You can’t walk in [groups] of three people; you have to walk alone and [there are only] certain times you can't go out. You can’t have any assembly” (Tun). An article in The American Spectator calls the oppression in Burma: “a brutal military dictatorship,” and explains that “the government has jailed democracy activists in the cities, controlled access to the rural areas, and killed guerrillas and civilians in the more distant eastern hills” (Bandow).
To escape this oppression, Priscilla and her family left Karen and went to a refugee camp on the Thailand-Burma border when Priscilla was about 10 years old. After a few years there, Priscilla’s family applied for transfer to the United States. They arrived in Chicago, Illinois, when she was 14 years old. Near the end of Priscilla’s high school career in Chicago, she had her sights set on attending a college in Michigan. However, Priscilla realized that to do so she would have to take out a loan, which was something that she did not want to do. A friend suggested she attend Monmouth College instead, where she would not need a loan because of grants and scholarships, so at the last minute Priscilla applied. Priscilla said that, when she went on her first visit, the town of Monmouth reminded her of her home in Karen. She mentioned that Monmouth’s curving, grass-covered hills reminded her of the green mountains in Burma. “I love it . . . This is where I belong.”
Some Burmese immigrants came to the United States for religious freedom, others for freedom of speech. Some came to Monmouth for work, others for education. At the core of all of these motives is the desire for freedom. Immigrants from Burma are now free to worship their God without oppression, speak their mind without fear of punishment, and make a life for themselves without a military regime dictating what they must and must not do. The Burmese immigrants in Monmouth have found a home where they are free to live their lives however they wish to.
Works Cited Bandow, Doug. “Military Rule in Burma.” The American Spectator. The American Spectator Foundation. 2 Aug. 2011. Web. 8 Oct. 2015. http://spectator.org/articles/37187/military-rule-burma
“Burmese Refugee Population in the U.S.” Baci-indy. Burmese American Community Institute, n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2015. http://www.baci-indy.org/resources/burmese-refugee-population-in-the-us
Niceu, Cinzah. Personal interview. 24 Sept. 2015.
Neal, Ryan. “Burmese Refugees finding sanctuary in Monmouth.” Daily Review Atlas. Gatehouse media, 18 May 2011. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.http://www.reviewatlas.com/article/20110518/News/305189956/?Start=1
Tun, Priscilla. Personal interview. 25 Sept. 2015.