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Burmese Muslim Refugee Women: Stories of Civil War, Refugee Camps and New Americans

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Burmese Muslim Refugee Women: Stories of Civil War, Refugee Camps and New Americans Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 8-2011 Burmese Muslim Refugee Women: Stories of Civil War, Refugee Camps And New Americans Karen Hunt Lambert Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons Recommended Citation Lambert, Karen Hunt, "Burmese Muslim Refugee Women: Stories of Civil War, Refugee Camps And New Americans" (2011). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 1008. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1008 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BURMESE MUSLIM REFUGEE WOMEN: STORIES OF CIVIL WAR, REFUGEE CAMPS AND NEW AMERICANS by Karen Hunt Lambert A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in American Studies Approved: ________________________ _______________________ Dr. Lisa Gabbert Dr. Melody Graulich Major Professor Committee Member ________________________ ________________________ Dr. Charles Waugh Dr. Mark R. McLellan Committee Member Vice President of Research and Dean of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2011 ii COPYRIGHT NOTICE Karen Hunt Lambert retains the copyright to all her work, with the exception of the newspaper articles, which are used with the permission of the Herald Journal, which retains copyright. All rights reserved. iii ABSTRACT Burmese Muslim Refugee Women: Stories of Civil War, Refugee Camps And New Americans by Karen Hunt Lambert, Master of Science Utah State University, 2011 Major Professor: Dr. Lisa Gabbert Department: English This thesis includes the narratives of three Burmese Muslim refugee mothers who made their homes in Logan, Utah, within three years of locating in the United States. Each woman’s life is written about in a different style of writing – journalism, ethnography and creative nonfiction – and is then followed by analysis looking at each piece in terms of representation. (735 pages) iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to Ma Htwe Hla, Ya He Ma and San Da whose lives I admire and whose stories I am grateful for the chance to begin to put in words. It’s also dedicated to my mother, Patricia Willis Hunt, and my father, Steven Charles Hunt, who have given me life and have encouraged me in my education and dreams, always desirous that I make the most out of that life they gave me, and my husband, Renn Sterling Lambert, who loves me for myself. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I’d like to thank the Graduate Student Senate at Utah State University for the $675 2010 GSS Research and Projects Grant, which allowed me to pay for interpretation and some transcription, making this thesis possible. In addition, I’m indebted to Ma Htwe Hla, Ya He Ma and San Da and their families for sharing their stories. Thanks to each of my interpreters, but especially to Hser Doh, whose generosity with his time enabled this thesis. Without the supportive environment created by Herald Journal editors Charlie McCollum and Emilie Wheeler I would have never started researching Logan’s population of Burmese refugees. Charlie also generously granted me use of my articles in this thesis. I also appreciate my co- workers who offered encouragement and made work enjoyable, particularly Kim Burgess who commented on an early draft of my analysis. Thanks to my chair, Dr. Lisa Gabbert, who agreed to work with me, helped shape my ideas, met with me via Skype over the summer so I could complete this project from out of state, and read numerous drafts, often at inconvenient times. She is a skilled editor and wise mentor. Also, thanks to my other committee members, Dr. Melody Graulich and Dr. Charles Waugh, for their assistance and feedback along the way. I also appreciate transcriptionist Angela Swaner. My thanks to my husband for his encouragement, support and assistance; my parents for plane tickets, reading drafts and babysitting; my sister, sister-in-law and mother-in-law who also watched Jackie; and each of my family members who believed in my talents. Thanks also to my Heavenly Father, who gave me my mind, talents and life along with opportunity to use each. Karen H. Lambert vi CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ...................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................... v LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS ................................................................................ viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Part 1. Overview ........................................................................................ 1 Part 2. The Burmese Refugees: Historical Context ................................. 10 Part 3. Burmese Refugees in Logan .......................................................... 15 References ................................................................................................ 24 2 JOURNALISM Part 1. Ma Htwe Hla ................................................................................ 27 Part 2. Journalism Analysis ...................................................................... 39 References ................................................................................................ 52 3 ETHNOGRAPHY Part 1. Ya He Ma ..................................................................................... 53 References ................................................................................................ 88 Part 2. Ethnography Analysis .................................................................. .91 References .............................................................................................. 111 4 CREATIVE NONFICTION Part 1. San Da ......................................................................................... 113 Bibliography .......................................................................................... 161 Part 2. Creative Nonfiction Analysis ..................................................... 164 References .............................................................................................. 186 vii 5 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 189 References .............................................................................................. 194 APPENDICES .................................................................................................... 195 Appendix A: Transcript of interview with Ma Htwe Hla ...................... 196 Appendix B: Transcript of interviews with Ya He Ma .......................... 217 Appendix C: Transcript of interviews with San Da ............................... 563 Appendix D: Transcript of interview with Hser Doh ............................. 683 Appendix E: Transcript of interview with Kyaw Eh ............................. 698 Appendix F: Transcript of interview with Alex Mortensen ................... 724 Appendix G: Herald Journal copyright permission letter ...................... 734 viii LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS Photograph Page 1. Ma Htwe Hla sits on her couch ....................................................................... 17 2. Ya He Ma stands outside her apartment ......................................................... 18 3. San Da holds her daughter .............................................................................. 19 4. Hser Doh “Chapter” with my daughter, Jackie, outside Riverwalk apartments in Logan, Utah ..................................................................................................... 21 5. Ya He Ma poses .............................................................................................. 53 6. The entire family ............................................................................................. 56 7. Har Be Bar carries her brother ........................................................................ 57 8. Ya He Ma (second from right) and her family ............................................... 58 9. Ya He Ma and her daughter, Mae Yan Be, peel garlic ................................... 60 10. Mae Yan Be (left to right), Har Be Bar, Maung Maung ................................. 61 11. Ka Me Din cracks a betel nut .......................................................................... 62 12. This close up shows betel leaf, ground limestone and betel nuts ................... 63 13. Ya He Ma holds her son .................................................................................. 64 14. Ya He Ma said her family prefers a light breakfast ........................................ 65 15. Ka Me Din tell Hser Doh about the posters .................................................... 67 16. Ya He Ma left Burma because the family struggled ....................................... 68 17. Ka Me Din brings the smaller rice cooker to work ......................................... 69 18. Ya He Ma keeps her cupboards stocked full of Burmese staples ................... 71 19. Ya He Ma set out this dessert ......................................................................... 72 20. Ya He Ma’s daughter, Fe Ra Da, eats dinner ................................................
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