On Wednesday about a dozen Karenni (ethic tribal group from Burma) family members went to fish and swim at the Iowa River. It is part of Burmese culture to gather at natural bodies of water. The children were swimming in the river with family when they went missing. Family members saw the children go under the water about 6 p.m.
Search-and-rescue efforts included Marshalltown fire and police departments, Marshall County Emergency Management, Marshall County Search and Rescue team, the State Center Police Department, the Grundy County Sheriff’s Department and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Mercy One-Air Wing, Marshalltown Area Paramedic Service, K-9 Authority Incorporated, Marshall County Medical Examiner's Office and the Marshall County Sheriff's.
Due to the recent drought, shallow waters and steep banks kept authorities from putting in boats nearby. Most of the search took place from the banks. Rescuers pulled the children’s bodies from the water after a 2½-hr recovery operation that included an aerial search by a hospital helicopter.
Before arriving in the United States, the children’s parents fled to escape a military dictatorship in Myanmar (Burma) and spent most of their lives with 150,000 other refugees living in camps along the Myanmar-Thailand border. The children were born in the refugee camp. They came to Marshalltown summer 2011. The difficulty of losing their children was compounded for these families since they do not speak English.
Marty Mitchell, funeral director at Mitchell Funeral Home in town, put it best when he said, “It is no time to point fingers. The family needs to be loved and supported, not challenged. Tears come in English as they do in Spanish as they do in every language. Hurt is hurt in every language."
Nearly 1,000 people from Myanmar live in central Iowa. Most started arriving here about 3 years ago to work at the meatpacking plant in Marshalltown. Myanmar is a mountainous country and each region, each valley, each tribal family,due to geographical isolation, has their own dialect. These families speak Karenni, one of an estimated 135 dialects spoken in that country.
Nearly 300 adults are enrolled in English classes in Marshalltown; most are enrolled in pre-literacy courses because they can’t read or write in any language. Most of the families in Marshalltown speak one of 3 dialects and even struggle to communicate amongst themselves.
The principals of Anson Elementary School and Rogers Elementary School visited the homes of both families Thursday morning. Lee Meh and Se Reh were enrolled at Anson and Thay Mo was enrolled at Rogers. (My sister is the principal at Anson and the grandson of the owner of the RV park where I stay each summer is the principal at Rogers)
The principal of Anson said the district tried to gather cultural information to help the families organize a funeral, but ran into difficulties because the district’s interpreter, a Myanmar native, doesn’t speak the families’ language/dialect.
Mitchell’s funeral home provided a grave-side service for the children in accordance with Burmese customs at the Center School Cemetery just outside Marshalltown where other Burmese have been buried. . A Burmese Priest was brought in from New York to perform the Sacred Rites in the Karenni language.
Hundreds packed the funeral home to say good-bye to the children. License plates from several states filled the parking lot. Thay Mo lay in an open casket; sharing a second casket just a few feet away was Lee Meh, who had her arm around her younger brother Sae Reh.
They were buried with toys, favorite foods, clothes, traditional dress and blankets. In the family’s culture, they believe the things they have in this life will be taken to the next.
This was the second local drowning tragedy in a matter of weeks. A 10-year-old Marshalltown boy, Andres Favela, died June 18, after jumping into the river at the Center Street dam, which is less than a mile upstream from where the Burmese children lost their lives. The river, even at its low stage is treacherous. A section that appears very shallow can drop down into a 12 or 15 ft hole within a few feet. There the current runs swift.
Thay Mo, 7, of Marshalltown, died Wednesday, July 4, 2012, in Marshalltown. Graveside services will be held on Sunday, July 8, 2012, at 2 p.m., at the Center School Cemetery in rural Marshalltown. Thay was born in Thailand and attended the Rogers Elementary School. She is the precious daughter of Sae Reh and Thar Meh, sister of Boe Meh, Oo Reh, Por Reh and Lee Reh, cousin of Pae Reh, Nae Reh and Ta Ngae and was the precious grandchild of Boe Meh.
Se and Lee were born in Thailand and attended the Anson Elementary School. They are the precious son and daughter of Ko Reh and Tay Mo, the beloved brother and sister of So Meh, Ma Dia and Moe Zan, the cousins of Pae Reh, Nae Reh, Ta Hgue, Lee Reh and Day Duy, Khu Ai and the precious grandchildren of Boe Meh.
Later in the week, a special evening was planned at the community center for the classmates of the 3 students and any other members of the community that wished to attend. The children played the favorite games enjoyed by They Mo, Lee Meh and Se Reh and told stories of the 'fun times' they had with their friends and classmates.
Andres was born July 30, 2001, in Marshalltown, Iowa, the son of Lori Perry and Javier Pantoja. Andres had just completed 5th grade at Lenihan Middle School. Andres is survived by his mother Lori Perry-Pantoja of Marshalltown, his step-dad Javier Pantoja of Mexico, his siblings: Patrick (Ashley) Frink of Pleasant Hill, Cody (Tanya) Perry of Marshalltown, Traviss Snelling of Marshalltown, Javier (Sebastian) Pantoja of Marshalltown and Isabella Pantoja of Marshalltown, his grandpartents; Robert and Betty Perry of Marshalltown and his step-grandparents Ma Del Carmen and Maximino Pantoja of Mexico.
Needless to say, the city has established a committee to consider methods to keep the kids from playing in the river. There is a swimming pool and an aqua center in Marshalltown, but many families cannot afford the ticket price. Last week the city set up the sprinkling system configured to cool/mist the bike riders coming into town with RAGBRAI. They put it to use in the city parks for the children during this central Iowa heat wave. They are establishing a schedule to move the system around to the various city parks. The aqua center and Mitchell’s Funeral Home have set up a way for people to donate passes to the pool and aqua center for those that cannot afford them. But, I doubt anyone will ever come up with a way to keep kids from the rivers.
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