Myanmar Refugees Who Fled to Texas Fight for Democracy From Afar On 5/28/21 at 8:27 AM EDT At the age of 4, Sang Thang had to rely on his aunt's dress to shield him from mosquitoes as he slept during a perilous journey to flee Myanmar's military junta. Fifteen years later, he is a member of a Burmese community in the U.S. that would welcome a similar cloak of protection for their homeland as it faces another onslaught from the armed forces. He and his family faced persecution as members of a Christian minority living in the western Chin state, so a life-changing trip beckoned. "The U.S. at that time was labeled as a second heaven for us and our community," said Thang, who is now 19. "It was freedom and was where we could do anything."