Questions asked of an activist

What is the motive of the bad guys? You say they want to punish the people? why? are some people in your country punished more than others? why?

What is your WRITTEN STATEMENT? how was it prepared? did anyone help you? how did he help? He made it chronological and described harm and threats?

Were you harmed or threatened in your country? How many times? When was the first time? last time? worst time?

What is "physical" harm? What is "emotional" harm? Is living under constant threat of harm quite painful? Is the entire country a prison? Just like in prison, you are under constant surveillance by people with guns? You need permission to travel? to sleep at your uncle's house?

The officer came near you? What did you see? what was he wearing? What expression was on his face? A big smile? what weapons did he have? what words did he say? 

How did he harm you?

At the moment of your arrest, where were you? what words did the officer say? What thoughts went through your mind?

Were you a member of a political group or a political party? did they give you a membership card? write a letter of support for you? 

How many protests did you attend in your country? how many in USA?

You were detained for three days? What did they tell you, on the day of your release?

What happened at the Yangon airport, when you went there to depart? What words were said? how did you pay the bribe? put cash into an envelope? put cash into your passport? how much?

how did you know how much to pay?

Did the ward officials visit every house on your street, or just yours? Were you treated differently from others? How, and why?

Is the government still looking for you? they have forgotten about you, haven't they?

Why did you decide to begin protesting in February 2021? why did you decide to protest in USA?

What is "material support"? Is it "something of value"? Did you give material support to a group that the USA believes is a terrorist group?

 November 2025: common questions that Asylum Officers ask:

In your country, did you suffer harm or threats? How many times? What do you mean, when you say, "Every day in my country is being under threat"?

That means: the government hates the people, and harasses, extorts, threatens, arrests, and kills people every day. The government is mean and nasty. Police can come and take you away at any time of any day.

Did you suffer physical harm? How many times? When was the first time? when was the last time? when was the worst time? When the officer was hurting you, what words did he say? Do you remember the words he said? Can you repeat them now?

What WORDS did the officer say?

Were you threatened? how many times? when was the first? when was the last? which was the worst? What WORDS did the officer say?

How were the threats given to you? 1] the officer stood three feet away and shouted at me, face-to-face 2] the officer said threats over the phone 3] the official made threats on television

4] the official made threats on the radio 5] the official made threats in the newspaper 6] they put megaphones on car roofs, drove slowly down the street, and yelled at the people

 Questions asked of an activist from Burma:

Who helped you write your Written Statement? how did he help you? He made it shorter, and made it in chronological order?

Who helped you prepare your application for a visa? I have a copy of your visa in my computer, and I just read it, but you have not read it yourself? I know more about your visa application than you do? Is that embarrassing to you? What lies did you tell in your application?

Where is a copy of your first passport? Your second passport? Your government promptly and easily gives you passports, when you ask?

A soldier yelled at your uncle in December 2024 in the city of Mandalay? What words did he say? Did the soldier make any "indirect" or "implied" threats? Is there a difference between a direct, express, and clear threat, and a threat that is implied, indirect, or suggested?

Why did you apply for asylum? Because you fear  your government? Why are you in fear? Because they are angry at you? Why are they angry? For just one reason, or for more than one reason?

Did you suffer any harm? How many different kinds of harm are there? Physical, emotional, financial-economic, and "social" harm? 

Let's talk about physical harm. How many times did you suffer harm that was physical? When was the first time? Which was the worst?

Why did the soldier hit  you with his rifle butt? You think because he hated your ethnic group? Why do you think that? what words did the soldier say? when you told your uncles about this, did your uncle have an opinion as to why the soldier hit you?

There were seven houses on the street. Bamar people lived in six of them, and in house # 7, lived a non-Bamar family? Which house was burned? #7? Why was # 7 burned but the other six were not?

Everyone in Burma suffers, yes? Do non-Bamar people suffer more, or suffer dis-proportionately, compared to Bamar? How so?

 Asylum officer questions to an ethnic minority applicant from Burma:

When you applied for your tourist visa, you answered questions in Form DS-160? You were asked if you had ever been arrested? You were asked when you planned to return?

What does RTDC stand for? {Return To Dangerous Country] If you voluntarily return to your country, that you now say is "dangerous," doesn't that show your country is not dangerous?

Did you re-new your passport? You asked your country for something, and they did it? That shows they like you? 

You went to the airport to depart from your country, and they said, "Oh, you want to depart? Sure. Of course. We will do what you say: we allow you to depart." This shows your country likes you, and will not hurt you in the future?

Most people in Burma are members of the Bamar ethnic group? If you stand on the street, in silence, what does a soldier see? He sees a person with your skin color, your facial features, and your clothes? He knows, just by looking, that you are not a Bamar? Really? How do you know that?

 More asylum officer questions of the Burmese activist:

You say you attended meetings of your political party? what usually happened? Speaker #1 would complain about the evil dictator; Speaker #2 would agree; Speaker #3 also agreed? so everyone sits around and complains?

Did the people ever debate anything? should we have the next protest on a Friday, or is Saturday better? Protest in front of City Hall, or protest in the park? Use megaphones? use microphones?

Is there value if there is a place and space for people to come to, where they can share feelings? If you hear someone else complain about the same things as you do, then you feel better? you are more inclined to give money, to protest more, to invite more people to the next meeting?

How does your political party help people? If the party raises money, what happens next? where does the money go?

If someone went to a meeting, and recorded it on his cellphone, and then showed it to me, what would I see? what would I hear?

How would you make others aware of the protests?

At the end of your detention, how were you released? what was the conversation?

What would happen if  you arrived at the Yangon airport tomorrow? Why do you believe your government is still angry at you?

What happened, each time, as you exited from your country? what happened when you returned to your "dangerous" country? why weren't you arrested and beaten?

Did you ever give "material support" to a violent organization? you don't know what "material support" means, do you?

Is there anything else? Yes, there is? what?

 Asylum officer questions of an activist from Burma on

September 30, 2025:

Did anyone help you with your WRITTEN STATEMENT? how did he help you? You wrote it, he made it shorter?

Anything new to add today?

Earlier, you applied for a tourist visa when you were in Burma? did you tell the truth in that application? Did the application ask if you had ever been arrested? Did it ask when you planned to return to Burma, and you lied, and said you would return in 4 weeks?

At the U.S. Embassy, they asked you questions? You lied to the officer?

Can  you repeat page one of Form I-589 without looking at it? Does your passport show all of your international travel? Tell me all of your international travel! You went to Vietnam? And then you voluntarily returned to the "dangerous" country of Burma? You say Burma is dangerous, yes? But, you voluntarily returned there? What does RTDC mean? [Return To Dangerous Country]

Did your mother or father flee from Burma? Did any of your brothers and sisters flee? why?

Tell me in two sentences why you are applying for asylum! You answered in four words: "I fear my government.?" 

Did you suffer physical harm in Burma? how many times? when was the worst time? when was the first time? when was the last time? Today, are you still suffering in any way, concerning your physical injuries?

Did you receive threats? How many times? when was the first, worst, and last times? You say that every day is a threat, living in Burma? If the government makes a threat on television, do you consider that to be a personal threat to you?

You were in the tea house, and you saw some men in uniforms? what words were on the uniforms? what symbols? what weapons did they have? What was their ethnic group? Were any of them members of the Bamar group? What words did they say? Can you repeat the words of soldier #1? Can you repeat the words of soldier #2?

Where were you, at the moment of your arrest? why did they arrest you? You think they wanted to punish you? why do you think that?

Were you a member of a political party? What is the platform of that party? how did you learn about it? why did you join? did someone invite you? Did you do anything, as a member of this party? You sat in meetings, on a chair, in silence? Did you support this party in any way? Give money? Ask others to join? Attend ralllies? What would a cell phone record about you?

Your political opinion is very important to you? Why haven't you joined a party here in USA? have you done anything in USA to bring yourself to the attention of your government? why not?

Did the government make any threats on television? what is cit kyaw yay? Is it a slang term, for interrogation center? is it worse than prison?

What did you say at the protest in January 2025? what did you say at the meeting in February 2025? 

How did you learn about the protest? did someone phone you? send you an email?

Some of my questions may seem silly, but answer them anyway.

 Asylum officer questions asked September 2025, of an activist from the Ivory Coast:

Do you remember what your WRITTEN STATEMENT is? How did you prepare it? did anyone help you? how did he help you? He looked at your statement, put it into chrono-logical order, and made it shorter?

Can you repeat page one of Form I-589, without looking at it? when did you last depart from your country? when enter USA?

Your wife is the same ethnic group and religion as you? How come she did not suffer physical harm?

Were you harmed or threatened in your country? [being threatened is harm, isn't it? YES. This is an awkward question from the officer? 

How many times were you harmed? You say you were harmed every day, because everyday there was a risk or danger of being arbitrarily arrested? Every day there was a "threat" of being arrested? So, you suffered emotional harm every day? 365 days in a year? So, in 2024, you suffered harm 365 times?

How many times did you suffer physical harm? When was the first time? the last time? which was the worst ?

A man hit you? what was he wearing on his feet? pants? shirt? head? what insignia or emblems or letters were on his shirt?

What words did he say? why did he hit you? What weapons did he have? Using his baton, he hit you on your right leg? on your upper back? where else? any blood come out? did you seek medical care? why not?

Who harmed you? He worked for whom? Why do you think that? How did he harm you? [you already answered this question, but I am asking again, for some reason]

You were harmed physically? Were you harmed in any other way? Emotionally? Any effects of it, today, in September 2025?

"Partisan" is a word in English? what does it mean to you?

What were your injuries?

A threat can be direct and personal: a man stands in front of you, and says, "If you give me bad answers, I will hit you on the head with my baton"?

That threat is direct, personal, and verbal?

Is this a threat: "You will see what can happen."?

A man stands in front of you, in a uniform, with a gun. He says, "Stop protesting." That is an indirect threat? He did not say, expressly, out loud, "I will hit you," but you believed he might do that?

You were harmed physically in 2024? tell me about it. Tell me about your emotional harm in 2023. Do you notice that I am not asking questions in chronological order, and that I am repeating questions? So what: answer anyway!

Every event happened in a certain month, year, and city? Can you put month/year/city in your answers? Do you know your own history? can you repeat it? Do I know the contents of your Written Statement better than you do? Is that embarrasssing to you?

Why did you join the GPS party? what was its platform? What did you do for the party? If someone made a video of you, doing your work, what would be in the video? You sitting on a chair, listening to someone else talk? You sitting at a desk, typing into a computer? You marching and chanting on the street?

After the soldier hit you, did you report that to the police? why not? Were the police able to protect you? Was there another government entity that could protect you?

A man in a T-shirt hit you? How do you know he worked for the government? Does the government hire homeless men, on a part time basis, and tell them to beat up protesters?

What would happen if you return to your country, tomorrow? Why would that happen?

Your government hates you? So why did they re-new your passport? Why did they let you depart from the airport? How much was the bribe you paid? how did you pay the bribe? did you hand him cash, in public?

Is your government still interested in you? Have they contacted your family in the last six months? So, they have forgotten about you, yes?

What are your political activities in the USA? does your government know what you are doing here? How would they know? Did you receive any threats, here in the USA?

did you ever give food, shelter, or transportation to a member of a violent group? What is "material support"? If you don't know what it is, how can you answer questions about it?

Did you ever violate the laws of your country? Do you need a permit, to have a protest?