Burmese refugees rebuild community through a garden

Yu Sup, a 50-year-old Muslim religious leader, left neighbors and relatives behind in the war-torn country because the Burmese government confiscated their land and drove him and his wife away.

Thaung Hlaing left because his small farming village was caught on the battlefield between the army and rebel militias.

These people, and approximately 300 other Burmese refugees in the Lansing area, had to leave behind everything and everyone they knew to seek a new, peaceful life. But a gardening project near Mason is helping them rebuild a sense of community.

The 60 families who work this three-acre plot of land are refugees from Myanmar, the Southeast Asian country that is still called Burma by those who don't recognize the legitimacy of the ruling military junta.

"In Burma, people were persecuted and discriminated against on the basis of their religion or ethnicity," said Zo Kunga, a case manager with Lutheran Social Services, who left the country in 1996. Because he speaks fluent English, Kunga acts as an unofficial liaison between the new arrivals and the surrounding community.

An oasis

The garden is meant to be a different sort of space.

"In the garden, we are one people," Kunga said. "There is no more discrimination, no more lines of religion or ethnicity."

Kunga also is a refugee. He had to flee the country after organizing a social welfare agency and documenting civil rights abuses there and smuggling the evidence out of the country.

He's still organizing on behalf of his people. Now, he works to help other Burmese create a new life in Lansing.

"It is a manifestation of faith," Kunga said. "It's my passion in life."

The garden itself is a lifeline of sorts. By Kunga's estimate, there are about 300 Burmese refugees in the Lansing area. Most have arrived in the past three years. Most are still learning English. Many are unemployed. As of last year, only six adults had a driver's license.