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.
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Twitter Updates
27 January 2010 at 1:00 am
Hey Cody!
Thanks for sharing. I can’t imagine how it would be to live like your friend, constantly on the run and fighting for survival. The world is a strange place. Some people have billions while others have nothing and yet we are all people.
Ciao
Diggy
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January 27th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Thanks for your comment. That is exactly right. Can you imagine how the world will be like if everyone have the same opportunity to achieve their dreams! That is my dream.
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27 January 2010 at 3:36 am
Great post about Ryan, I hate seeing so many with nothing and to hear a moving story like this one really raises my admiration and respect for anyone in his situation. I posted in the website column my facebook where I can be contacted, I live on the East Coast but if there is any help I could provide that he needed I will try my best. If anything else let him know I said good luck!
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January 27th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Thanks for the comment! I will let you know if anything you could help out with.
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27 January 2010 at 7:33 am
The more I travel, the more empathetic I become to refugees and immigrants. It’s one thing to travel to a foreign country on your own terms as my husband and I have done as expats or travelers. It’s another to arrive with almost nothing, with a small stipend, new language and a huge amount of insecurity.
My grandparents were involved with Korean refugees to the States years ago and the Korean church was a huge source of support and practical help (business connections, how things are done in the States, etc.). I hope his family gets connected quickly through a Chinese or Asian church – the community can offer a nice transition by having people around of the same culture and language. I am not from LA so I don’t know where to get started, but hopefully the sponsor can help them get involved in a group quickly.
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January 27th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
Hi Audrey, thanks for leaving the comment and giving your advices. Cody has been helping me a lot as far as pulling contacts. Appreciate!
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27 January 2010 at 6:09 pm
Thanks for sharing this story Cody. I wish Ryan the best of luck.
It is a great reminder of how lucky we are just to be born or living in developed countries. Many of us are worrying about where we are going to travel next or what business we are going to start while others are worrying about where their next meal will come from.
Most of the world is not as fortunate as we are. We shouldn’t take our affluence and endless opportunities for granted.
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January 27th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Great comment! Thanks
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27 January 2010 at 8:16 pm
Cody,
I admire your passion and efforts with helping others. Your are providing an opportunity that will go beyond just helping Ryan; it will touch everyone who gets involved.
Best of luck, always.
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27 January 2010 at 9:06 pm
Cody,
That’s great that you brought attention to this story. Your friend has markings of success, so I think in the long run he’ll make it fine. I’m not from LA, so I’m not sure how to help…?
My brother-in-law who doesn’t know english was able to get free classes at community college, so if I were your friend, I’d check that out.
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27 January 2010 at 10:12 pm
That’s an amazing story Cody. He sounds like an awesome guy. I’m a bit north on the West Coast of Canada but if anyone ends up coming here, I’d be glad to show them around, and help out. I’m trying to make a trip down to that area so I’ll let you know when!
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27 January 2010 at 10:59 pm
The sad fact is most of us in America and the developed world take all our freedoms and opportunities for granted, doing nothing with them.
Stories like this remind me how lucky I am and to act on helping those without such joys of freedom. Thanks for sharing Cody.
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28 January 2010 at 9:36 am
Great story! It shows human spirit well and makes me appreciate what I have.
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28 January 2010 at 11:40 pm
Thanks for the comments guys! I’m very happy to hear that you guys found my story interesting. It has been a long journey and it’s finally coming to an end. The biggest thing to me right now is to get into college. I’m really interested in Engineering major, does anyone have some advices? Are there any scholarships for people like me?
Thanks,
- Ryan
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29 January 2010 at 1:51 am
Hey Cody,
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I immigrated to US at the age of 19 and I can tell you from personal experience that when they say that this is the land of opportunity, it is the truth.
I am just finishing up an e-book about how to start small profitable businesses (5 of them) for under $100 dollars. I’ll be honored to send a complimentary copy to Ryan and you. These are businesses I have worked in, or with someone who is working it and making a decent living with it. Not a middle class income, but certainly above poverty level income. most of them can be worked part time and you can use them as multiple centers of profit.
Let me know how I can help. I am sending you my info via email.
Rasheed
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29 January 2010 at 3:55 am
So glad you shared this story, Cody. We have friends in LA. So I will post this on FB and will send it to him directly also.
We’ve worked with many refugees here in Houston so we have some understanding of the system.
Ryan, you have made it this far in Thailand and I have NO doubt that you will do very well in LA. We look forward to following your story and your successes in the very near future.
Best wishes,
Jack, Aye and Em too!
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30 January 2010 at 12:22 am
Wow, it sure makes you realize that the people here in middle class America with decent educations have no excuse to not follow their dreams and do something great with their lives. It’s all out there for us – waiting. It may not be easy – but at least it’s not impossible – like it is for some. Inspiring post.
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15 February 2010 at 11:23 pm
Wish Ryan the BEST of luck. Hope you enjoyed ur life in LA. I believe you can find good friend there.
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21 February 2010 at 12:10 pm
Inspiring, yet sad post. I want Ryan to have it all and the same opportunities we do. As social entrepreneurship grows, so will the opportunities for other individuals around the world.
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