After being separated for two years, Kenny Kruse and Yar Zar Min finally got their happy ending. The binational gay couple — who were separated by the military coup in Myanmar, as them. previously reported — were reunited on Friday after their long-delayed wedding plans were further complicated by the conflict. Initially, all flights leaving the conflict-torn southeast Asian country were suspended indefinitely, throwing their future into disarray.
In an email to supporters, Kruse said that the San Francisco Airport was “eerily quiet” as Yar Zar’s plane touched down, as “only a handful of other people waiting for passengers” were standing near the exit. “I can’t describe the relief I felt once he actually made it through immigration,” the 34-year-old said.
The reunion was a long time coming. The pair, who met on Grindr four years ago while Kruse was working for a nonprofit in Mandalay, first applied for a fiancé visa to bring Yar Zar to the United States in 2018. Their application was delayed by former President Donald Trump’s ban on immigration from Muslim countries, the COVID-19 pandemic, and ultimately the February 1 coup d’etat, in which the Burmese armed forces (known as the Tatmadaw) seized control of the government after making unfounded allegations of fraud in the country’s 2020 elections.
While Yar Zar was granted his much anticipated fiancé visa on January 29, the insurrection made it near-impossible to leave Myanmar. As the military imposed a year-long “state of emergency” and arrested political leaders, such as former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, nearly all flights were adjourned. The only way to get a ticket out of the country was aboard a handful of COVID-19 relief flights, which were closed to civilians.
Although Kruse claims that U.S. politicians like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Mitt Romney advocated on the couple’s behalf by lobbying the State Department to intervene, he said it initially “proved impossible for [Yar Zar] to get a spot” on one of these flights.
As they waited for a miracle, Kruse said that he began to worry about his partner’s safety due to the widespread press coverage that their case had received. In addition, Yar Zar is “gay, was part of an armed watch group protecting his neighborhood from the military, and was working for an international NGO, any of which could put him in danger,” Kruse added. In Myanmar, homosexuality is punishable by a sentence of 8 to 14 years in prison, and while the criminal code is rarely enforced, Kruse said it is sometimes used to target political opponents.
But last Wednesday, their good news finally arrived. Singapore Airlines contacted the couple saying that a spot had opened up on a flight leaving the country in 36 hours, and Yar Zar rushed to get a COVID test to make sure he would be cleared to board.
Now that they are together again at last, Kruse and Yar Zar hope to get married as soon as possible, so they can begin building their life together. They hope to hold a ceremony at San Francisco City Hall on March 19, which will be broadcast on Zoom due to the ongoing pandemic. But as they look ahead to the future, Kruse noted that the sight is “bittersweet, as the violence in Myanmar continues to escalate.”
“Today, a reported 28 protestors were killed, and some of Yar Zar’s friends were arrested,” he said in last week’s note.
As U.S. leaders like Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Secretary of State Antony Blinken call to increase pressure on Myanmar’s military junta, Kruse vowed that the two of them “plan to spend our time doing everything in our power to help people back there” as soon as COVID-19 restrictions ease. Amid reports of protesters being teargassed, hit with stun grenades, and murdered by police, the Tatmadaw have imposed further crackdowns on citizens, including an 8 p.m. curfew.
While their nuptials will hardly take place under the most ideal circumstances, Kruse noted that he is grateful to everyone who followed their case and to those who donated to their GoFundMe campaign. The $6,400 raised so far will help pay for their wedding and assist the couple with added living expenses while Yar Zar is granted a work permit.
“Thank you for your support, whatever form it took,” Kruse said. “Thank you for encouraging and loving us.”
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