Information Technology

What if you were born in a country where freedom of expression doesn’t exist? A country where not only your opinions do not matter but can hurt you? Who will you become? Do you think you will have an Identity? What will be your dreams? To Burmese children, your dreams are restricted.

That’s how Burmese people live every day. I was born in Myanmar in 1993; this is the way it was before I left for US in 2004: Government does what it wants, they tell you what they want you to believe, though no one trusted them anyway, but the government knows it too. In Myanmar, we only have two television channels; both of them full of propaganda. The news and press never writes or tells what needs to be told. The schools always tell you about “Burmese past glory days” but never how to make the country better. The distant connection between the government and its people is different universes.

Though all of this is happening every day, people are always talking about democracy inside their houses; it’s always on the back of people’s minds. None-the-less however, peaceful protests never work in Myanmar. So people just keep quiet, keep their eyes down; it has to be one of the most quiet countries out there considering what is happening. In contradiction, they are freedom fighters in varies groups fighting against the government. Civilians often help them, if the government knew who they are; it can be very dangerous for them. The government often checks about 10 times in a year for family documents, guests, and to make sure freedom fighters are not under your roof.

My father Dai lo, disagrees with the government rulings. My father was a teacher in Myanmar. In Myanmar, there is this day called “Students day”; it is a celebration for students. However, the students have to pay fees for the celebration. My father knew there were poor families out there, so he disagreed with the ideas and protests it. However, my father knew how the government could have acted, so he ran away to...