Refugee Profiles: Rem and Zual

Hundreds of thousands of individuals have been forced to flee ongoing conflict in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Among them are seventeen-year-old Rem and her twelve-year-old deaf sister Zual. They fled the repressive regime after receiving threats of arrest from the military because of their brother’s desertion from the militia. Without parents (they were orphaned when Rem was five years old) and after walking for almost one year, the sisters found their way to a refugee camp in Malaysia where they joined their brother and sister.

Almost two years later, in April 2009, the sisters arrived in Phoenix. Now twenty years old, Rem is employed in the hotel industry and is her sister’s caretaker and sole provider. Fifteen-year-old Zual is enrolled in a school for the deaf and has learned American Sign Language. Rem and Zual hope to be reunited with their brother and a sister currently living in Maryland. To support refugees like Rem and Zual please consider a cash donation. For further information email Monica Barrows, Development Manager, or call at 602.433.2440 ext.243.