Class of 2016 Biak Rem Chin, photo by Danny Fulgencio
Never giving up is more than a cliché for Biak Rem Chin
Biak Rem Chin is a seasoned adult living in the tiny-framed body of a teenager. Her porcelain-smooth face and shy smile reveal youth, but as she tells her story, it becomes easier to accept her claim that sometimes visitors mistake her for the mother of her younger sibling.
“When they come to the house, people sometimes say, ‘Are you the mom?’” Biak says, sighing. “And I say (sigh) ‘no.’ ” But for several of her formative years — after her family fled Myanmar, formerly Burma, and her mother became seriously ill — she did play the mom role.
Growing up in a village of 400 or so, she never turned on a light, sipped bottled water or took a shower — those are among the indulgences she appreciates now.
Her parents, for whom she translates English, smile politely as they describe the journey from Myanmar to Malaysia and eventually the United States as refugees.
For more than a week they trekked much of the thousand miles across southern Asia with Biak and her little brother in tow — traveling in crowded backseats and truck beds when rides were available, hiding from authorities and sleeping on farmland.
While camping overnight, a venomous snake bit Biak’s hand, causing unforgettable agony as poison racked her body. Luckily a traveling companion knew how to treat the wound and keep her alive, her parents explain.
Even a difficult existence in the United States is “heaven compared to my country,” she says.
They arrived in America in 2010, and life here was thrilling but all new kinds of rough.
The seventh grade at Lake Highlands Junior High was an overwhelming, alien world. “I like school but I did not know any English at all except, ‘no’ and ‘yes.’ People were making fun of me.”
When her father saw her crying after school, he insisted that she hold her head high and pay no mind to what people say. Just be yourself, study hard and do the best you can, he advised.
Her dad is her hero, she says, and she held his words close to her heart. She would need the strength they gave her as life at home grew increasingly hard. Her mother developed excruciating kidney stones, which required multiple surgeries followed by long periods of incapacitation. Her mom eventually was also diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
“Every day I got home from school, cooked, cleaned, take care of my mom — help her shower and eat — make lunches for my dad and my brother … then I pick up the Chin-English translation dictionary to study.”
In high school, she followed a similar routine; sometimes she didn’t begin her homework until 11 p.m., she says, and wouldn’t sleep sometimes until 3 or even 6 a.m.
Ask how she manages the grueling schedule and bears heavy responsibilities placed upon her narrow shoulders, and receive a pragmatic reply. “I keep doing it. Do it everyday for three years, you get used to it.”
Class of 2016 Biak Rem Chin, photo by Danny Fulgencio
From the moment she arrived in Lake Highlands, she was an exemplary student. That’s how she eventually made friends — teachers praised her, and fellow students, especially others from her home country, often came to her for homework help.
Responsibilities weighed on her. There was a time, when her mom was at her worst, hospitalized and on a machine to help her breathe, doctors suggested the family consider pulling the plug, which would have almost surely meant death. “My mom wanted to die,” Biak recalls. “She told us she doesn’t want to live anymore. She is tired of being sick. The doctors told us to give up on her. They were going to cut the oxygen machine.”
But Biak wouldn’t hear of it. She couldn’t give up on the mother she adores.
Mom lived, and the hospital released her. But with her father’s long work hours, Biak continued to be the primary caretaker. She was “the second mom,” she says, attending to her 15-year-old brother and everything else. Though she was a straight-A student, a burnt-out Biak considered dropping out junior year. “Last year was completely down,” she says, “the worst. I was so confused and crying all the time, so I felt like giving up school,” she says. “I thought I would get a job.”
Her dad and school counselors, especially her teachers from the AVID college preparation program, talked her out of it. They see in Biak a young woman determined to spend much of her future helping others, and an education is essential to maximizing her reach. “She is a sweet young lady who is definitely going places,” says teacher Rebecca Wood. “She learned English, and has excelled academically … she helps her family, community and friends whenever she can.”
Remarkably, Biak finds time to coach the volleyball team at Agape Baptist Church, where she also leads a youth prayer and worship group. Everywhere she goes — school, church or volunteer gigs — she is a leader among her peers, always guiding by example.
Her mom’s health has improved. She was up and walking around, chatting and grinning when we photographed the family in April.
“The medicine for the cancer is working,” Biak says. “We hope for not another operation.”
Acceptance into college was no problem, academically. She has applied for a dozen scholarships and is waiting for news. She badly wants to attend the University of Texas at Austin, but she chose Texas Woman’s University instead so she can remain closer to home. She’ll study social work. “Because I have a lot of experience about that,” she says.
It’s disappointing that she won’t be in Austin with her friends, but when she is tempted to feel sorry for herself, she tries to lend an ear to someone else going through a rough time — like her best friend, Sui (Mercy). They are always there for each other, she says.
Coming from anyone else, the words might seem idealistic if not neurotic, but, coming from Biak, you believe without question in their sincerity: “I want everyone to be happy. I just want to make everyone happy.”
