Pu Lu is a refugee from Burma. He is a husband and father of four children, ranging in age from 7-20. While in Burma, PuLu supported his family by making and selling hand made furniture. Due to the increasing violence to which he and his family were exposed, PuLu had no choice but flee from his native Burma to safety in Thailand where he and his family lived in a Burmese Refugee Camp. Pu Lu and his family were relocated to the United States in 2007 and live in Dallas, TX. Pu Lu is a skilled artisan and furniture maker, and would like to continue his craft here in the U.S. in order to support his family.
Background
Pu Lu is a Karen (pronounced Ka-wren) refugee from Burma (or Myanmar). The Karen are an ethnic tribal people numbering 3.3 million living in the hilly eastern border region of Burma. The Karen, along with many other ethnic minority groups, are victims to some of the world’s worst and most consistent human rights atrocities by the hands of the Burmese government.
Many organizations, including the United Nations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have reported on the abuses by the military government. Murder, torture, rape, detention without trial, forced relocation, human trafficing and the forced labor of children and adults are a few of the strategies used to subjegate the Karen. Brad Adams, director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, in a 2004 address described the human rights situation in the country as appalling: "Burma is the textbook example of a police state. Government informants and spies are omnipresent. Average Burmese people are afraid to speak to foreigners except in most superficial of manners for fear of being hauled in later for question.” Furthermore, Amnesty International reports that in Burma today, “torture has become an institution.” Many Karen, including PuLu and his family, flee to exile as a refugee due to the fear of persecution in their homeland.
Our Connection
We met PuLu in 2007, shortly after his arrival in Dallas from a refugee camp in Thailand. As volunteers at Agape Clinic, a small nonprofit community health clinic in East Dallas, some of the work we do involves outreach to refugees and immigrants living in several apartment complexes in the Dallas area.
After visiting PuLu and his family and friends over the course of a number of months, we struggled with finding solutions to the barriers and difficulties he and others like him face in adjusting to life in the United States. Struggles such as communication, access to health care, and financial stability are key to the Karen refugee's daily existence in the U.S. In one of our many discussions with PuLu, we learned that he was a skilled furniture craftsman.
Upon learning that Pu Lu was a furniture maker, we took him on a 3 hour shopping trip to Home Depot, where we equipped him with essential tools (saw, hammer, nails, screws, sandpaper, etc.). PuLu is now set to build furniture in America!
This is a photo of Pu Lu selecting wood for his first project in the U.S.
Our Committment
We are committed to helping Pu Lu connect with customers who are interested in quality hand crafted furniture so that he can work to support his family using his carpentry skills. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of furniture go to Pu Lu and his family.
We know that you will be pleased with the furniture Pu Lu builds. Please help Pu Lu continue his craft and support his family. Contact us if you have an questions or would like to place an order.
Interested in helping us spread the word? Please download and distribute this brochure!