Celebrating Independence in Real Sense
As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, reflecting on its foundational promise of liberty, democracy, and the pursuit of happiness, I find myself deeply contemplating what these words truly mean. Two hundred and fifty years ago, this nation was established on the principle that everyone should enjoy both collective and individual liberty—exercising freedom of speech, expression, and religion, participating in democratic elections, and pursuing happiness through their own unique creativity.
For me, these are not just abstract political concepts. They are the very things that saved my life. Seeing the Statue of Liberty, a lot of things that have happened to my life came into my mind.
New York City View from Cruise
Escaping Tyranny
In 2021, I migrated to the United States through a legal pathway, escaping the brutal tyranny of the Burmese military regime. At the time, the military was violently crushing peaceful pro-democracy protestors. Since that 2021 coup, official reports estimate that around 100,000 people have been brutally murdered by the regime—though the exact number may never be fully known.
Statue of Liberty Seen from Cruise
My journey to America actually began years earlier, in 2016, when I was selected to participate in a short-term youth leadership program at Indiana University, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Back then, Burma was experiencing a period of partial civilian rule. Although the military still held undemocratic, constitutionally reserved seats in the executive and legislature, I still felt a sense of personal liberty. I could breathe; I could say what I believed.
Because of that temporary freedom, my trip to the US in 2016 wasn't entirely shocking. But the illusion of safety didn't last.
Statue of Liberty View from Cruise
A Legacy of Resistance
I learned from my late paternal grandfather and my late father that the Burmese military is a brutal institution that terrorizes its own citizens to protect the wealth and power of its top generals. Both my father and grandfather were political prisoners, jailed by successive military regimes for their dedication to democracy and self-determination.
Statue of Liberty View on the Island
Burma gained independence from the British Empire in 1948. Our Declaration of Independence proudly stated: "May liberty and justice prevail in this land." Our founding fathers adopted a parliamentary democracy. Yet, since 1962, the military has repeatedly seized power: first from 1962 to 1988, again from 1990 to 2010, and now from 2021 to the present.
Despite brief windows of civilian government, my generation has never truly experienced lasting liberty or justice.
Statue of Liberty View on the Island
The True Cost of Freedom
Following the 2021 military coup, I witnessed peaceful protestors being shot down in the streets by military security forces. Even now, the traumatic echo of those gunshots sometimes rings in my ears.
I was only 23 years old when I had to flee my homeland. Throughout my life as a citizen and an activist, I had never known true safety, freedom, or happiness. Instead, I lived in constant fear. I feared the military police knocking on my apartment door to arrest me for my activism, and I feared the threats of religious extremists.
Under military rule in Burma, "liberty" has no definition, "justice" is a meaningless word, and the "pursuit of happiness" requires moral and political corruption through bribing military officials.
On the Cruise toward the Island of Statue of Liberty
A Grateful Heart in the Land of the Free
Thanks to the immense generosity of the American people—including individuals I am privileged to know personally, some of whom worked for the U.S. Department of State—I was able to find refuge.
Here in the United States, I have been able to revive my dreams. I can become who I want to be, enjoying true liberty and pursuing happiness under the rule of just laws.
No system and no government in this world is perfect. America has had its own historic ups and downs. But compared to the country where I was born—where I lived for 24 years under constant fear, racial discrimination, and political oppression—I can simply say: I have "no complaints" in this land of the free.
I want to express my deepest gratitude to the American people who gave me a safe shelter from tyranny.
On the Island of Statue of Liberty
Happy 250th Birthday, USA!
On the Island of Statue of Liberty
