Utah State Magazine Excerpt: Planting a Way of Life
By Julene Reese |
Irene Hamilton, a volunteer at the Bluff Community Garden in Bluff, Utah, finishes work on her plot.
This is an excerpt from Utah State Magazine's Summer 2022 edition, out now, with the theme "Persistence." The full article is available on the magazine's website, utahstatemagazine.usu.edu.
Lay Win grew up in the Umpiem Mai Refugee Camp in Thailand in the small bamboo house her father built.
They lived on rations of beans, rice, salt and sometimes sugar, but it was rarely enough. Gratefully, they had a small garden and were able to grow their own vegetables and herbs to supplement the rations.
Win says the future was dim at the refugee camp. They would get charged if they went anywhere but work and school, so it felt like they were living in a cage. They were frequently hungry, and their bamboo house had to be rebuilt yearly because of leaks. It felt like they were stuck in a bleak existence. But when she was 13, her family had the opportunity to come to the United States through a refugee assist program. Though the uncertainty was frightening, they jumped at the chance to start a new life and enjoy the freedoms they didn’t have at Umpiem Mai.
The Wins landed in Salt Lake City, and for nine months, they adjusted to the culture and language of a new country. Her father applied for employment and got a job in Hyrum, and the family packed up their few belongings and moved to Cache Valley.
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