But why Myanmar? When he was ten, Mikis’ father took him to Thailand, to the border area with Myanmar. The father is the founder of the small aid organization Between Borders eV, which works for persecuted Burmese from the Shan people in the border triangle of Thailand-Laos-Myanmar.
Taught English, learned Burmese
After graduating from high school, Mikis decided to do volunteer service in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, where many Burmese refugees live. He taught English to ex-child soldiers and prostitutes and learned fluent Burmese himself. He felt magically drawn to the isolated, mysterious country from which his new friends came.
Back in Germany, Mikis began training in a Hamburg travel agency with a focus on Myanmar. In 2015 the time had come: Mikis traveled to the country of his dreams for the first time for a month. He lost his wallet on the first day – and got it back with all his money and cards still in it, he says. Mikis raves about the great solidarity and willingness to help people.
Famous overnight with a video
A year later he got a job at the Goethe Institute in Yangon. Mikis met with Burmese musicians he had previously met in Germany. They invited him to sing at a concert. Mikis, who had been playing his ukulele since he was a teenager and had a “big mouth and no fear of the stage,” as he himself says, performed on a roof terrace. He rapped a well-known English song and a self-written song in Burmese. The video of his appearance was viewed millions of times online and Mikis was invited to talk shows. He was famous overnight.
Mikis speaks of “foolishness and luck” as he looks back on his miraculous career in Myanmar. “I never planned anything in my life,” he says. “I just let things come to me.” But when opportunities present themselves, Mikis doesn’t hesitate.
Concert appearances, film roles, advertising
The first concert was followed by advertising contracts and supporting roles in films, then a first leading role in a romantic drama. And that even though Mikis never had acting lessons. “I used to have to fool my mother a lot,” he says with a grin. Mikis continues to make music – “I dance at a lot of weddings.”
He has always enjoyed being an entertainer, says Mikis. Maybe because he grew up as an only child with a young, unconventional mother. With a shared circle of friends and lots of freedom. Mikis sometimes misses her in Myanmar. “Myanmar is conservative like Germany was in the 1950s,” says Mikis. There is only slow easing.
For the time being – like almost everywhere else in the world – all major shoots have been stopped due to the corona pandemic. To this end, Mikis made a video with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation that called on the Burmese to take part in the parliamentary elections in the fall.
Corona hasn’t affected him much personally, says Mikis. He uses his free time to paint, write and play the ukulele. He sounds relaxed as he tells it. And it’s probably just Mikis’ way: don’t plan anything big, just do it. Because who knows what tomorrow will bring?
