EXHIBITS

Ya He Ma (far right) with her daughter Har Be Bar, husband Ka Ma Din, and son Maung Maung.

Ya He Ma is the mother of four children, three of which live in the home: Har Be Bar (also our Voices project Community Scholar and translator), Fareda, and Maung Maung. She was born in Burma and had to work very hard as a seamstress to get food and goods for her family. She married her husband Ka Ma Din in Burma, and all her children were born in Burma. Ya He Ma lived in a Thailand refugee camp for seven years. Having enough food was a constant worry, but she was able to do little sewing as a result of the economic situation and confinement in the camp. Now Ya He Ma no longer sews because she and her husband are employed at JBS Miller. She would like to go back to Burma to visit her father who was not allowed to immigrate due to his health. She dreams of buying a house, and is proud that her children are going to school and plan to go to college.