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Island man has personal connection to tragedy in Myanmar

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Bluffton resident Lau Bah Paul had not seen his relatives since he left the country now known as Myanmar, 20 years ago until this week when he saw some of their faces on CNN.

Those relatives are the survivors of this week's devastating cyclone that left thousands dead or injured and facing disease andstarvation as Myanmar government refuses to embrace international aid.

Paul's relatives are currently living in a monastery in Bogalay, a small village near his hometown of Kyun Kya.

The Myanmar government reports more than 22,000 died in the storm. News reports have said the death toll could reach 100,000.

Paul doesn't put much stock in what the officials there say, especially when he can see that his hometown, once known for rice cultivation, has disappeared.

"My village has gone off the map," he said Thursday at the south-island restaurant Shwe Myanmar where he works. "So many relatives -- they are all gone."

He believes his aunt and a cousin, along with other relatives, are dead after the 15-foot storm surge swallowed much of his native country.

Among the dead are nieces who had returned home from the larger city of Yangon in April just before the storm hit.

"I'm very sorry for them," Paul said. "I'm very sad."

There were small glimmers of hope. He's relieved his brothers, daughter and two sons reside in Yangon, which didn't feel the full force of the cyclone.

"They are OK, but their homes are a little bit damaged," he said.

Paul tried to call them Wednesday, but many phone lines in Myanmar are down. Even if he got through, Paul would have to be careful. The Myanmar government has been tracking him since he fled 20 years ago, he said.

Other means of communication simply don't exist. Internet is unavailable there because the government restricts it, he said.

He last spoke to anyone in Myanmar four months ago.

HOPE SURVIVES

Paul worked as a deputy administrator in the Keren state in the country then called Burma for 10 years before he fled first to Thailand and then to America.

He said he saw a great deal of discrimination against the Keren people at the hands of the country's ruling military junta.

"I saw so many political problems," he said. "Elections, they are not fair."

In 1988, Burmese university students started an uprising to demand democracy and religious and economic fairness across the country. The junta responded by killing thousands and jailing thousands more.

During the uprising, Paul fled to Thailand where he worked as a translator. His family stayed on in Bogalay. His brother, shot during the uprising and paralyzed for a time, met him at the Burma-Thai border.

In 1992, the two moved to California. Their 87-year-old mother also lives there now, having arrived eight months ago.

Currently, Paul works for a Japanese sushi company with franchises across the United States. He came to Hilton Head two months ago to work at the south-island restaurant for the tourist season.

He hopes to one day return to the country he still loves.

"I'm waiting for the situation in Burma to get better, but the military dictatorship -- they don't want to give up," he said. "People need help, but they (the junta) don't accept help from other countries. They only care about themselves and their power."

Until he can go home again, he'll work here to support his children and grandchildren.

"I send money all the time because they depend on me," Paul said. "They try to work, but it's very hard to get a job there."

He now plans to send more money because of the cyclone.

While he doesn't expect it, he hopes more international aid will be allowed into the country.

He also continues to hope for a brighter day for Burma.

"They will be fine, I think," he said. "The people will be fine, I think."

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