Our names are Esther (on right) and Siang.  We are sisters, originally from Falam town in Burma.  In Burma we lived with our mother and father, and two brothers.  Our father worked hard as a farmer to provide for our family and to pay for medicine for our mother’s heart.  We did not have a lot of money, but we were happy.  Our family belonged to Falam Baptist Church.

Burma is a beautiful country with so many natural resources.  Life could be so good there if it were not for the military regime that rules the country.  This regime forces young boys into the army, and its soldiers often choose young girls to be their brides.  Because of this, we and our older brother had to escape from our country.

Our escape to Malaysia involved a 3 day and night ride in a bus over bad roads, hiding under blankets in a fishing boat on the river between Thailand and Burma, a frightening car ride through the mountains with a few of our people in the trunk, and several days of hiding in and walking through the jungle.  Finally we arrived in Kuala Lumpur, which is a big city in Malaysia.  There we were taken in by Christian Burmese people who were also there as illegal refugees.  After spending one year illegally in Malaysia, we were given the chance by aid workers from the UN to live with a family in another country.