Karen Refugee Story

Post date: Nov 20, 2010 8:21:07 PM

Karen Refugee

I was born in a small village, pa pon township in 1978. My family was rice farmers. We were peaceful and never tried to make trouble with anyone. I remember when we would sometimes go on vacation to the Thai/Burma border. This was a good time in my life.

Unfortunately things began to change in 1983. That is when the Burmese soldiers started coming into our village. When we saw them coming we would flee into the forest. After they left we were able to return to our homes and try to resume our lives. This would happen once or twice a year between 1983 and 1988. After 1988 the military began attacking our village more often.

In 1990 more riots irrupted in Rangoon. The people demanded to be given the opportunity to vote for their leaders. The government agreed and an election was held. After the election the pro-democracy candidates were victorious but the military government refused to give up power. In retaliation the military government imprisoned their opponents.

Since the military took over the government in 1962 the Karen people have been attacked by the Burmese army on a regular basis. After the 1990 riots and election the attacks on the Karen people became more frequent and more violent.

In 1992 when I was 14 years old the Burmese military attacked my village. The Karen National Union and the Karen National Liberation Army was protecting my village. They fought the battle close to my village and many people died. Other people who were caught by the Burmese army were forced to carry ammunitions and rations for the army as slaves. They were also used as human land mine sweepers. They were told to walk in front of the army so if there were land mines the slaves would be killed instead of the Burmese military people.

When the fighting started my family took what we could carry and fled to the forest. We knew it was no longer safe for us to stay in our homes. My parents encouraged my 2 sisters and I to flee to the camp but they would not come with us. They wanted to stay behind and look after their ancestors land. They wanted what was best for me and my sisters and they encouraged us to go to the camp and try and get an education and make a better life for ourselves without all the fighting.

We went to the Mae La refugee camp on the Thai/Burma border. This was the largest camp. By the time I left for America there were over 50,000 refugees from Burma in the camp. Most are Karen but there are also other ethnic minorities who have had to flee.

While I was at the camp I did as my parents had asked. I studied very hard and received my high school diploma. After high school it was very difficult to continue my studies. The Thai government would not allow for people in the camp to study university level classes. They also did not allow for foreign teachers to enter the camp. Since I was unable to attend university classes I attended as many workshop classes as I could put on by the Karen Youth Organization and other organizations within the camp.

The UNHCR announced last year that the US government had opened the way for the Burmese refugees to be resettled in the USA. I applied with UNHCR to be considered for resettlement in America. After many months of waiting I was told that I had been approved to come to the USA.

I left Mae La Camp and traveled by bus and plane for 2 days before arriving in Greensboro. My case manager met me at the airport and took me stay with a family I had known in the Mae La camp. I stayed with this family for 1 week. I was happy to stay with them during this time. Everything was new and they were familiar. After one week I moved into a new apartment with 2 other men from Burma. Within 2 days of my arrival in the USA I enrolled in English classes at the New Arrival School. I know that learning more English is very necessary to my future success in America

One month after my arrival my job developer found me work. I now work for a plastics company in Reidsville. I make garbage baskets. I know this will not be the last job I have but it is a start. One day I want to work on Human Rights for the Indigenous people in Burma. To do this I need to get more education. It will be a lot of hard work but I want to be able to help my people.

Many people are suffering and I know that they need a lot of help. Any help that can be given to the people who are suffering would be greatly appreciated.