Weekend Long Read: Fleeing Violence at Home, Burmese Struggle to Start New Lives in China

For the young Burmese woman who has named herself Heiyu, the road from Mandalay to China to escape the chaos in her own country was paved with mud.

The journey had started with a bumpy ride through the mountains, but after their vehicle broke down, she was forced to make the rest of the arduous trip on foot, slogging along the sodden track. At night, she slept on the damp ground next to the roadside.