Portrait: Robert from Burma

Robert C., a Chin refugee from Burma, survived death threats, an abduction and torture before escaping to freedom. His boyish good looks hide an unmistakable pain at the mention of those horrific memories. But ask him about January 28, 2008, and he shows off a smile that seems to swallow his face. On that day, he proudly attended President Bush’s State of the Union address.

“It was like I was living in a dream!” says Robert, now in his 30s and living inTrenton, N.J. “It was the most amazing day of my life.”

Our resettlement partner Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey (LSMNJ) helped Robert begin the process of rebuilding his life. Rep. Rush Holt (DNJ), whose district includes parts of Trenton, met Robert at a refugee dinner and invited him to be his guest in attending the president’s speech.

While living in Burma, Robert was abducted one day after returning home from work as a tour guide. He was blindfolded, driven to an unknown location and placed in a nondescript cell, where he was stripped and repeatedly tortured. Falsely accused of selling information to foreigners, Robert finally gave in. “I didn’t want to die, so I signed a paper saying I would never talk to foreigners again.”

His captors released him, but their threats continued.“They told me ‘We’re always watching you.’ I knew that if I did anything to displease the government—anything—I'd be tortured again. My life,” Robert says emphatically, “was over.”

His escape plan was risky—he could be shot while trying to cross the border—but “I didn’t care,” he said. “By then I would have chosen death over life in my homeland.” A local smuggler helped him cross into Thailand, and from there he made his way to Malaysia. For the next seven years, he scraped by, and was close to death several times. Finally, he was admitted to the United States, and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service resettled him in partnership with LSMNJ.

Finally free and thriving with a good job, Robert overflows with gratitude for those who welcomed him: “I never knew people could be so kind—people who didn’t even know me. It is a great honor for me to live here.”

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