By Dave Myers, Southwest Kansas Catholic
For Gabriel and Threasa Thang, the dream, a dream led by Christ along a path unexpected all those years ago, first gave root in Burma, where the two were born and reared.
“Life in Burma was hard when I was growing up,” Gabriel said from Garden City, where he and Threasa own and operate Thang Asian Market LLC. “I went to school, helped my brothers and sisters, and barely had any time to study. When I was done with school, it was time to work.”
Refugee Week, June 15-21, is a time to remember and honor all those who have escaped the world’s worst trouble-spots to find refuge and hope in the United States. It is also a time to recall the refugee’s contributions to their adoptive country.
Gabriel and Threasa (Threase speaks little English) grew up in a nation long embroiled in political and ethnic strife, and was an epicenter for human trafficking. Burma, also known as Myanmar, borders China, India, Laos, Bangladesh and Thailand.
When the couple had a son, Michael, they worried that one day he, like a multitude of others had been, would be snatched by the Burmese military to serve as a “porter.” (In a previous article, the SKC interviewed a young man who had escaped enslavement at age 16 by the Burmese military. Being a “porter,” he said, is just a breath away from a death sentence: “When you work as a porter, you have to do everything they tell you. You are like an animal. Everything they say, you have to do whether you like it or not.” This may include acting as human shields against rebel fighters.)
Enter the Catholic Church. Devout Catholics, the young family found rescue and refuge by Catholic Charities of Southwest Kansas Refugee and Immigration Services, which eventually landed them in Garden City. (You don’t have to be Catholic to be aided by the Catholic Refugee and Immigration Services. In fact, they have a long record of aiding Muslim refugees, and those of many other faith practices.)
That was 11 years ago. Gabriel went to work for Tyson, with the dream of one day opening his own store. One year ago, the family—which had then grown to six—saw that dream come true.
“Our business, Thang Asian Market LLC, provides fresh food, seafood, rice, organic fruits, and vegetables, clothes, shoes, sports stuff, and drinks,” Gabriel said. “I want to make people healthy and happy. This job is my dream job.”
And then came the coronavirus pandemic.
“The coronavirus affected my business a lot,” Gabriel said. “Before the coronavirus, I opened my store at 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 8 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. I would work at the store until 2 p.m., then my wife would help until 9 p.m. while I went to work at Tyson.
“Now, my wife cannot help me out anymore because she has to take care of the children. Now, I can only open Sunday all day. The other six days are open for two hours.”
Despite the struggles of his business and his fears of what was to come, Gabriel and Threasa quickly realized how their store could be of service for others.
“Some families were positive for COVID-19; some families have a little baby; and some single parents don’t have time to take care of their child(ren)—they cannot go shopping. I support them when they need help; I donate food and water to people who got the virus; I deliver food to people who don’t have vehicles.
“Before the virus, they wanted to go shopping, but they don’t have a vehicle, so their friends or I drive them to the store.” With the outbreak of the virus, people in need could no longer leave their home.
“They are not able to go out anymore, and that is where I deliver to them.”
Despite the challenges they faced in Burma, Gabriel, like his wife, desperately miss their parents, family—and the food. But they love and appreciate the sense of freedom in their new home country, a freedom that allowed them to answer their “American Dream,” and to take those Christ-led blessings to serve God’s children most in need.