It was sunset when I went to see him. Cool wind from the Moei River, the natural boundary separating Burma and Thailand, softly touched his hair. He put his guitar beside him. Then, Solo, as he calls himself, lit two cigarettes and gave me one. He told me he is happy to be attending human rights training during his school holidays. He also told me he soon has to register for his final year of high school. However, he is not sure whether his guitar or school books are his future.

"I am really happy to see my friends because school will open very soon. However, I am also worried when I think about school fees. I have to take care of my younger brother too," he said, holding his guitar again.

There are no registration fees at the migrant school twenty-one year-old Solo and his seventeen year-old brother, Pho Kyaw, attend in Mae Sot, in western Thailand. However, they both need money for school shoes, uniforms, sports shoes, raincoats, a school bag, school supplies and food while at school every day.

According to him, sometimes these things are more important than books.

“If I don't have books, I can borrow books from friends. Nobody will blame me. However, if I borrow a pair of shoes, they will disapprove and I will be embarrassed,” he said.

 Each brother also has to pay 500 baht at the beginning of classes as a fee for the school bus.

I spoke to Solo the first time in May. He told me later he was sad when Pho Kyaw quit school in June to work as a daily laborer.

"I want my younger brother to continue to study. If he works in Mae Sot, he will be influenced by many people with bad behavior,” Solo said.

He paused, overcome with emotion.

“It makes me want to cry.”

Changing the subject, he said softly, "My mother wants me to be a medical doctor."

Then I asked him about his family.

"My father died when I was 6. My mother is a Burmese migrant worker. She put my younger brother and me in our aunt's home when she went to Bangkok to work.”

He said the two brothers always enjoyed their mom’s visits with them over the years. However, they haven’t seen her in more than a year.

“Currently, I don't know where my mother is working.”

When I listened to him speak, I could feel how much he missed his mother.

So, Solo has been trying to take care of his brother, taking the place of his dead father and missing mother. The two only have each other, now.

However, their futures are uncertain.

Pho Kyaw is a laborer in a Mae Sot market. Solo, doesn't know what he will do after completing grade 12 in April. He knows it's difficult for an average student, like him, to qualify for a scholarship, so further study is not likely. However, he is hoping to find any job which will pay him 200 to 250 baht per day.

Solo, like hundreds of other young Burmese, faces the dilemma of studying hard to finish grade 12 only to have few or no options. They cannot study further because they do not have the money if they do not qualify for a scholarship. And, most of them would not qualify for entrance to a Thai university anyway because most migrant schools are not recognized by the Thai education authority.

As well, they are mostly illegal migrants who are not allowed to work legally in Thailand, So, Thai employers expect them to work for very low wages. Well below, the 200-250 baht Solo hopes he will earn.

My eyes fill with tears when I hear his story. I am grateful that I was able to grow up with both my parents in a stable home and was able to get a good education.

In a previous conversation with his teacher, she spoke about how sad it is that Solo will never achieve his mother’s dream of becoming a doctor in his present circumstances here in Thailand.

A vocational trainer with the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma, Aung Myo Min, said, "English instruction in Burmese migrant schools is much better than Thai schools and the migrant schools on the border are much better than schools in Burma. However, there is no guarantee for success in the future for these students. There are many bright Burmese students in migrant schools but most stop their studies at 12th grade. If they attend vocational training, they can be mechanics or receptionists in hotels but they cannot become a medical doctor. I am so sad for them because they cannot continue their studies."

Solo agrees with their appraisal. He said his friend, who was a bright student, has to work in a car wash after graduating from grade 12 at the same school.

I talked with current 12th grade students as well as high school graduates. They were all uncertain what to do next.

“We all invested many years of hard work to finish grade 12 but all we have at the end is uncertainty,” Solo said.

“We should have an answer to the question, “What should we do next?”