This personal submission is a part of the 鈥淣o Longer Invisible: In Their Own Words鈥� project, a story series established to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month at the UW.
Name: Ta Kwe Say
Identity: Karen, Burma / Myanmar
Major: Social Welfare
Organization Involvement: 91探花Burma / Myanmar Student Association, Southeast Asian American Access in Education (SEAeD)
Personal Interests: “I like soccer and Thai food.”
“In Burma, we had to be very careful not to let people know who we are. We had to hide our identity.”
“I have more than one home. I was born in Burma. So that could be my motherland. I like to call Kent, WA my home, too, because I grew up there. I belong here. I am part of this community. I’m one of the few students from Burma attending the 91探花. Many don’t know about Burma / Myanmar. Burmese refugees are just resettled in the United States. We are invisible.
People don’t get where Burma is located. So I have to explain the whole map of Southeast Asia.
Those in the Asian American / Pacific Islander community are interdependent and we are part of each other. We should be united and care for each other. We act and live with a genuine heart.”
View mores stories from the 鈥淣o Longer Invisible: In Their Own Words鈥� project.