The New Law

In 2002, a new law was signed and passed which prohibited many practices for religions considered minorities. My family struggled to find a someone who was able to get permission to start a church, and we had to congregate under the radar. A lot of friends and distant relatives had already made the decision to immigrate, which started the planning.

Since the majority of targeted religions were minorities, the best decision was to also leave. Religion and ideology was, and still is, the biggest part of my family's life, and staying home would jeopardize happiness.

The current government at that time was making sure to portray the new laws as an understatement and not as crucial of a change.

While a disproportionate amount of citizens were being affected by unfair rules, there was also a majority of people who weren't affected because of their widely accepted belief. These would be the types of people to harass and indirectly insult me and my family. It felt as if we were like newborn children, people were constantly trying to influence and shape our future for us.