A Mother's Dream Comes True

With the help of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a refugee mother from Myanmar reunites with her son after spending 10 years apart. This was the Mother's Day gift she had been dreaming of for a decade. Watch the moment when they finally meet again.

A Refugee Mother’s Dream Comes True from Still Life Projects on Vimeo.

Tha Tang fled Myanmar for Malaysia nearly ten years ago to escape her home country's repressive government. Once in Malaysia, she said, she "dared not live in town because there were a lot of police operations in which refugees were imprisoned." She felt safer living in a small house in the jungle.

After a year and a half working, hiding, and sending money back to her family, she received refugee status through the UN, and came to the United States. Once in the US, she applied to have her three children brought over to join her. Her two daughters arrived in September 2010. But, because of paperwork complications and a lack of funds, her son remained behind in Myanmar.

When Tha last saw her son, he was five years old. Now, he is 15. "We separated so many years ago," Tha said. "But I asked him if he remembered me whenever I called him on the phone. He said 'Yes, I remember you.'"

With the help of the International Rescue Committee, Tha filed a family petition to bring her son to the United States. "When I saw my son in my dreams, I could not sleep the whole night," she said. "I am sure I will be the happiest person in the world on my son's arrival day."

Her dreams came true. Tha was there to greet her son at the airport with white roses and tears of joy when he arrived. For behind the scenes visit http://stilllifeprojects.com/blog/family-reunion/