Karen refugees Their Resettlement in Georgia Daniel Gilhooly

Karen refugees & Their Resettlement in Georgia Daniel Gilhooly September 2010

Myanmar (Burma)

“Burmese” Resettlement in Georgia Year Georgia United States 2002 0 128 2003 3 2004 14 1054 2005 16 1447 2006 23 1323 2007 401 9776 2008 574 12, 852 2009 875 18, 275

History of Burma and the Karen Burma is the first destination of American Missionaries �The Story of Toh Meh Pah �Karen Conversion to christianity �British Coloninization 1870 s-1948 �Since Independence the country has been at civil war �Miltary Junta (ethnic Burmans) have ruled � 8 -8 -88 - The 45 kyat and 90 kyat policy �The Karen Diaspora �Over a million ethnic minorities flee �Refugee Crisis in Thailand

Who are the “Burmese” refugees in the USA? �The majority of refugees listed as “Burmese” are ethnic Karen, many of whom had lived for extensive periods in Thai refugee camps. Many school aged children were born in the camps. �Karen represent 90% of the refugees listed from Burma �Most Georgian refugees are Sgkaw (Saw) Karen, 95% of whom are Christians. �Other ethnic groups include: �Chin, Po Karen, Shan, Mon and ethnic Burmese

Faces of the Karen in Georgia

Karen names �Per He Lu- Mountain of Teak �Bwa Bwa- White-White �Tee Ser Paw- Sweet Water flower �Mahn Phan Shaung- Mr. Bright Unity �Mular Moo- Hope Life �Eh Phyo Paw- Collective Love Flower �Sah Moo Dah-Star in the Sky �Eh Ker Ter- Loved the Most �Moo Moo- Life-Life

Who is a refugee? �According to Article One of the 1951 Geneva Convention, a refugee is a person who: is outside his or her country of nationality or habitual residence; �has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; �and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, or to return there for fear of prosecution.

Karen refugees �Karen is a term that refers to multiple ethnic hill groups. �Refugees have been crossing the Thai-Burmese border since 1975 �Prior to 2006 most Karen refugees residing in Thai refugee camps were ineligible for resettlement due to the presence of KNU forces in and around Thai refugee camps. �Approx. 140, 000 refugees live in Thai camps. �Karen have been resettled in Sweden, Great Britain, Finland, Canada, the USA, and Australia �It is estimated that over 1 million Karen live illegally in Thailand

Thai refugees camps � Three major Refugee Camps in Tak District, western Thailand � Nupo Camp � Mae La � Umpiem Mai UNHCR, http: //www. unhcr. org/refworld/docid/47 b 997 fe 1 e. html

Karen Resettlement in Georgia � Case assurance � Sponsorship arrangement � Setting up of apartment � Welcoming family at airport � Cultural orientation � School registration � ESL registration- to date only 4% of all GA minorities receive ESOL support. � Social Security application � Georgia State I. D. application � Minimal financial support designed by U. S. government standards � Employment counseling and job placement � Health care referrals and treatment if necessary. � http: //www. rrisa. org/resettlement. html

Criteria for Resettlement �Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Criteria 1. Medical check-up 2. Credible fear of persecution 3. Criminal background check 4. Not providing “material support” to Karen National Union (KNU) *5. Although religion is not an “official” requirement 90% of Karen resettled are Christian despite the fact that they represent only 30 -40% of the total Karen population.

The Status of Three Families � Very little data on Karen Resettlement nationally. � Out of the 3 families I work with ( 13 students) all are in danger of failing their respective grade level except 1 first grader. � No way to test for learning disabilities � Difficulties communicating with parents � Health Issues related to diet and hygiene � No additional language support. � Lack of awareness, preparedness, resources � Lack of socialization, cultural isolation. � Age of Onset with English as major factor in success. � The “Shy, ” and “fearful” people

Karen in Popular Culture � Little Daughter (Undaunted) by Zoya Phan � Burma VJ-Documentary � Sacrafice-Documentary � Inside Burma: Land of Fear- http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=L 48 BW_Z-FNs � Prisoners of Conscience- Documentary � Beyond Rangoon-film � Rambo IV-film � The Burmese Harp-film � Aung San Suu Kyi- Noble Prize Winner , 1991

Who are the Karen? By “Sam”ber Htoo and Hser Htoo

Where are the Karen from? �The Karen state is located in Burma. � Karen people also live in northwest Thailand. �Many Karen people live in the mountains.

Karen Culture �Foods �Language �Religions �Clothes �Sports �Music �History

Karen flag �There are meaning to some colors on Karen flag. �Red- for instance, signifies braveness. �blue- faithfulness. �White- purity.

Food � The Karen people usually eat rice, meat and vegetables. Such as beans, cucumbers, pumpkins, water greens, peppers, tomatoes, and mangos. � Fish, chicken, pig, cow, duck, goat, and egg. � Fish paste is eaten with most meals

Karen script �Karen language has 14 tones. �Karen has 25 letters �No final consonant sounds �No Verbs tenses

Religion �Buddhist �Christianity �Animist �My family is Baptist

Women clothes � There a lot of Karen dresses for Karen women. People weave white, green, blue, red, yellow, black long and short dresses with many different colors. � Karen people have many different types of traditions regarding dress.

Sports �Soccer �Caneball � http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=1 m 7 Wtvd 00 Y w �Volleyball

Music �Traditional music �Classic rock � http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=LIt. Ad. RGb EHs �Christian �Rap, hip-hop

Karen History and our Family History � 19 th century-British colonize Burma, arrival of American missionaries. � During World War II Burmese support Japanese while Karen support British � 1948 -Burma Independence � Burma Independence leads to civil war � 1970 s Burmese government establishes the four cuts policy � By 1975 Karen begin to escape to Thailand � My family arrives in Thailand in 1990 � 1990 Samber is born in Bownow camp � 1992 Hser Gay is born in Tha Law Thaw camp � In 1995 my family found safety at Mae la camp run by the UN � In 2007 we left for the United States � In January 2009 we resettled in Oglethorpe, Georgia

Girl shirt. This is the girl long shirt.

Woman � This is woman shirt. They usually wearing like this.

The majority of refugees listed as “Burmese” refugees are ethnic Karen, many of whom had lived for extensive periods in Thai refugee camps. Many school aged children were born in the camps. Karen represent 90% of the refugees resettling in the USA listed from Burma Most Georgian refugees are Sgkaw (Saw) Karen, 95% of whom are Christians. Other ethnic groups include: Chin, Po Karen, Pa’O, Karenni, Shan, Mon and ethnic Burmese