Political Prisoner in Burma

Shot for leading student protests where he spent the next 18 years imprisoned in Burma, Thiha tells his story of his experience being tortured, psychologically and emotionally abused, and blamed for the deaths of family members, including his father and his wife. Burma - now known as Myanmar - is ruled by a socialist dictatorship run by the military who are corrupt and control the population through extreme violence, including crushing the 8888 nationwide and pro-democratic student uprising and other massacres including the Rohingha genocide and the murders of Rakhines buddhists and monks. After being released, he fled to Thailand where there is no official legal framework for asylum seekers and who are not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, leaving many refugees vulnerable to homelessness, prison and threats of deportation. After years of struggle, he met his Australian wife and now lives in Australia, but still struggles with life after spending so long in horrendous condition in Burma.