A Honolulu man is heading to Washington D.C. on Sunday.
He's one of fifty refugees chosen to represent their adopted state this coming week at the first "Refugee Congress" on Capitol Hill.
John Nyunt has lived all over the U.S. over the past 11 years.
"First in Guam second in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, then New York, Oklahoma, Massachussets, then California, then I came here," he says.
The 58-year old now lives in a modest apartment near Kaimuki, thousands of miles away from where he grew up in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
John is a refugee who was granted asylum. On August 8, 1988 John's life changed forever.
"I participated in a democracy movement," he says.
He was a lawyer for the Supreme Court in Burma, and would speak to the masses to encourage them to fight for democracy.
He eventually wound up in a military prison for seven years.
"When I release I tried to be a lawyer again but they keep my license, the government," he says.
Out of work and left with no other options, John moved to Guam on a visa waiver in 2000 and kept moving around the U.S looking for better jobs.
Hawaii, he says, is where he wants to spend the rest of his life.
On August 3 and 4, John will once again take to the podium - this time in Washington D.C. to share his story of survival.
Today, John plays music as a hobby and is an active volunteer at the Pacific Gateway Center.
He's an assistant manager at 7-Eleven on Waialae Avenue.
Not exactly what he studied to do, but it pays the bills and he's happy living in Hawaii, and being an American citizen.
The Refugee Congress is put on by the United Nations Refugee Agency.
Just like John, each participant has a story of survival against the odds.
