For a majority of us, it has never been easier to grab the reins and create the life you want. It’s easy to say when you have a dream, all that stands between you and achieving it is yourself—and that’s why I write this blog: for anyone born in the West, into a middle-class family, with decent education, if you can dream it, you can make it real with enough hard work.

But unfortunately, the reality is that not everyone is so fortunate. We live in a broken world where children are abandoned or orphaned—even worse forced into sex slavery or child armies—entire communities fall victim to genocide, and all kinds of people are deprived of their basic rights to freedom.

Governments haven’t caught up yet—they pose challenges and restrictions on those of us who choose to travel and live beyond the borders of our home countries, and more importantly, they don’t provide enough protection or allowances for those who are forced to leave their homes either.

My good friend Ryan is a Chinese refugee who’s been living in Bangkok for nearly four years waiting to be relocated by the UN. He’s originally from Xi’an province, where his family faced religious persecution and was forced to flee.

“We were persecuted by the government because our faith in Christianity and my father’s association with Christian organizations outside of China, combined with his involvement with the house-church movement in China. We were constantly harassed, mistreated and interrupted in China. We were forced to move from place to place, living like exiles in the country we’re from. It was unbearable living like that.

The reason we chose to come to Thailand, was because we heard on the Radio Free Asia (an U.S. government founded non-profit radio station) that in Thailand some organizations could provide international protection to people who are persecuted in their own country. We didn’t know they were referring to UNHCR at that time. Another reason was because coming to Thailand from China was financially affordable and the distance was relatively short.”

Over the last year, Ryan has lived with my friend Dwight and spent considerable time with us—nearly every day—working with us, traveling with us, learning from us, as well as teaching us and opening our eyes to another perspective on life.

“A refugee will never have a real life in this country, the only hope for them is to rebuild their lives elsewhere.”

Ryan is 21, and because his family fled China when he was just 17, he was never able to finish high school. He has been working and supporting his parents while they’ve unfortunately stayed cooped up in their apartment fearful of being caught by police.

“Every day, living on the edge of bankruptcy, is how I would describe the general financial condition of a refugee in Bangkok. Because refugees are not allowed to work, it is particularly hard to find a way to sustain yourself in this country. Fortunately, I was able to work as volunteer at the Bangkok Refugee Center because I could speak English. As a refugee we also receive a monthly allowance from UNHCR, but this income only allows a very limited living standard.”

You can read more about Ryan’s background and his experiences in this interview on In Search Of Sanuk. (also part 2)

After long awaiting approval and word that he and his family would be relocated, Ryan will finally be moving to Los Angeles, California, in about three weeks. We have two more weeks with him, business-as-usual, before he and his family have to go spend 7 days in a detention center and pay a hefty fine before Thai immigration authorities will let them leave the country.

Ryan wants to go to college and excel, and I know he can. He’s the brightest young kid I know—he was a top 5% student in his province (tens of thousands of students). Before coming to Thailand, with it’s large expat population, he didn’t know any English. But he taught himself to speak the language fluently within three years. He is working on his GD and SATs. Being restricted from traveling freely, not being allowed to work, and many other challenges take a huge toll on the human spirit after so much time, but so far Ryan has had the tenacity to overcome these disadvantages.

He has a ton of potential, but also will face many challenges. It’s one of my biggest goals to see that he can one day live a normal life like you and me and actually experience the freedom he deserves.

So why am I telling you this? I wanted to see if I can call my community to action to help make someone’s life better—to somehow start to build a support network for when he arrives. The family already has a sponsor who will be receiving them when they arrive; they have housing; they have a small stipend for a short time. But Ryan is already working hard to find employment (he’s worked as a Mandarin/English interpreter in legal cases, document translator, language tutor, fundraiser, coordinator of volunteer programs and events, medical assistant, and more). He wants to find a great school where his parents can learn English quickly and effectively, so that they can also seek employment and start to support themselves. And he would benefit from any networks or groups in Los Angeles—Asian American student groups, networking groups, church groups…

If you have any ideas or feedback, please leave your comments below. And if you or any friends live in the LA area and would be willing to talk with him if he ever has questions, please contact me at cody at thrillingheroics dot com and I would be very happy to introduce you.

Sincere thanks for your help and generosity.