My mother’s family is from Burma. Going to Burma for the first time, when I was 16 years old, was a real life changer. I had grown up in a well-to-do family of doctors and engineers. These successful people had come from a place where hard work and dedication is the norm, in a country where the poverty is striking and the government cares nothing.

I had heard stories in my childhood of how my mother had to hide underneath a mattress when the government raided her friend’s house at night. How someone she knew disappeared one day and was never heard from again…

My experience in Burma was the best experience I could ever ask for. My family likes to travel, and together we have experienced many countries from Estonia to Mexico, but I can say for certain that Burma has been by far the poorest country I have seen. Despite the poverty, and the injustices they face against the government, the people manage to make do. I have never before seen such friendly people, so curious and outgoing and strong. I fervently hope that they will achieve democracy within my lifetime. They have to.