Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

As an immigrant from South Africa to the United States, I have a special fondness for Thanksgiving and I enjoy learning the heartwarming stories of how people from other countries were introduced to this special day.

Four years ago, we began a Thanksgiving tradition of turning over this space to a fellow Team Schein Member to share a reflection on the meaning of the holiday (I invite you to read previous TSM stories here: 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017). This year, we are pleased to share a particularly moving story from Susannah Klee, originally from Burma (now known as Myanmar). Susannah works as an Inventory Control Representative in our distribution center in Indianapolis, which employs TSMs representing 36 countries of origin.

Here is her story:?

I will never forget my first Thanksgiving in America. My family – mother, father, and three sisters – arrived here in October of 2009. Our plane landed in New York, we then flew to Chicago, and then on to our final destination, Indianapolis.

We had to leave our homeland of Burma when I was just a baby. There was much unrest and an oppressive military. My homeland is located in the western portion of mainland Southeast Asia.?In 1997, we fled to the bordering country of Thailand, where we lived in a refugee camp for the next 10 years. We made friends in the camp, I went to school, and we just lived our lives. We never really celebrated any holidays or had any type of traditions.

With help from various United Nations agencies, we boarded that plane bound for New York.?We had no possessions to take with us, just the clothes we were wearing. We were met in Indianapolis by a resettlement social worker, who moved us into an apartment. We spoke no English, had no transportation, we didn’t know anything about American currency or even how to use a phone.?

We were all picked up each week by a member of a local church, where they taught us the English language. The parishioners at the church taught us about the upcoming holiday called Thanksgiving. We learned about the Mayflower, the colonies, and the struggles the pilgrims went through.

On Thanksgiving Day, we were picked up and taken to the church. Once there, we listened to stories about how each family celebrated this special day. We walked into the next room and saw a table set with all the traditional Thanksgiving food. It was just amazing and something I’ll never forget!

I became a proud U.S. citizen in 2017 and at the same time changed my name from “Thoo” to “Susannah,” a more Americanized name and a name I’ve always liked. I am thankful to have joined my Henry Schein family four years ago. My second oldest sister, Ler Ker, and my younger sister, Paw Wah, are also Team Schein Members. We are so grateful to be able to work and provide for ourselves, our families, and our wonderful parents.

To me, Thanksgiving means being grateful for absolutely everything. I’m thankful each and every day for my family, friends, health, to live in such a wonderful country, and everything that is good in life.

Pictured above: Susannah Klee (second from left), with her sisters (L-R) Paw Wah, Ler Ker, and Paw blah Weh