A Missing Piece: A family’s unrealized dreams reflect the plight of refugees
Julia Lyon's multimedia package for the Salt Lake Tribune on Burmese refugees
Click here to view the multi-media package for The Salt Lake Tribune
After a lifetime of losses, they believed America would save them. But their fragile new start in Utah faded into sorrow at the murder of their beloved only daughter. "We came from Burma where we had a lot of trials in our past life. Then we come to America and it happens again."
In this multi-part interactive package for The Salt Lake Tribune, Julia Lyon explores the lives of Utah's Burmese refugees. Hundreds of Burmese have arrived in Utah over the last few years as a result of a longstanding conflict between the military government in Burma and its minority ethnic groups. Their story came to light when Hser Ner Moo, 7, was allegedly murdered by another refugee in Salt Lake City in 2008.
Lyon traveled to the northern border between Burma and Thailand for five weeks, visiting the camp where Hser Ner Moo was born, as part of a grant from the International Reporting Project (IRP).
Chapter 1
After fleeing civil war and living for years in refugee camps, a family endures tragedy in America.
Chapter 4
A year later, a grieving mother worries, "We may not be able to regain the strength we had."
Additional Coverage:
Surprising anguish in America
Across the nation, refugees feel abandoned. The Obama administration is planning changes.
Doubting America's Promise
As stories of hardship travel back to refugee camps, some question their chances for a better life.
Video/Multimedia
Mae La refugee camp - Mae La is the largest refugee camp on the Burma/Thailand border. Thousands of refugees come to the United States from camps like this each year. Narrated by Julia Lyon. Produced by Jeremy Harmon. Click here to watch this video...
Hser Ner Moo - Seven-year-old Hser Ner Moo moved to Salt Lake City from a Burmese refugee camp in Thailand with her family. Eight months later she was found dead after she was murdered in an apartment near her home. Narrated by Julia Lyon. Produced by Jeremy Harmon. Click here to watch this video...
Julia Lyon reported this project in collaboration with the International Reporting Project, click here for this multimedia package as it appears on The Salt Lake Tribune web site
More from this Reporter
- Video: Hser Ner Moo’s life
- Video: Mae La refugee camp
- CHAPTER 4: Fleeing grief A mother worries “We may not be able to regain the strength we had before.”
- Invited to escape to America, some refugees just say no
- Those lucky enough to get to America not so lucky after all
- CHAPTER 3: After an uneasy start in Utah, parents devastated by daughter’s death
- CHAPTER 2: Parents face delays, confusion in a slow wait for justice
- CHAPTER 1: Stolen hope: Daughter’s death comes after years of fear, running for a Burmese family