NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Each evening, Army Pvt. Saw Blut, a member of the Michigan National Guard, reads his Bible and prays, thanking his God for life and freedom and asking for a chance to help others.
Blut, who enlisted in the Michigan National Guard this spring, earned his GED diploma through the National Guard GED Plus program June 21 and reported for basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., the following day.
Upon graduation, he will attend the Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic School at Fort Jackson to learn his military occupational skill.
Blut said he will return to Grand Rapids, Mich., to attend college and find a full-time civilian job.
This Soldier's life has not always been filled with so many opportunities and liberties. Just three years ago he was granted asylum in the United States through the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees and was resettled in Grand Rapids, Mich., from Myanmar, also known as Burma.
As a member of the Karen, a Burmese ethnic group, Blut fled his country to Malaysia to escape oppression and ethnic cleansing by the Burmese government. He lived in a refugee camp for two years until he registered with the UNHCR and paperwork was finalized.
"The soldiers would come into our villages, kill and terrorize our people and burn our houses," Blut said.
While his parents survived past attacks, some of his extended family members didn't make it.
Coupled with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that ravaged Myanmar and southeast Asia, Blut said he and his parents are lucky to be alive.
He grew up in a rural, poor village near the town of Pathein, fourth largest city in Myanmar. Modern conveniences such as plumbing, electricity and paved roads are considered luxuries there. Even before the tsunami, communication was limited.
Blut said he speaks with his parents several times a year on a shared line, but disconnections and interference on the line make it difficult to keep in touch. That's where he said their common Christian faith ties them over the miles and separation.
Over the past five years more than 15,000 Burmese refugees have found asylum in the United States. Blut said he is blessed to be one of them.
He received his green card from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services in 2008, but now as a member of the Army National Guard, he is eligible to receive expedited citizenship. He said he looks forward to the day that he becomes a naturalized U.S. citizen.
"America has given me so much. I just want to give back and serve my new country."