KAREN BURMESE: Coming out of refugee camps in Thailand, the Karen (or Pwa Kin Yaw in their language) needed some education to begin their journey to the US.  Many were apparently fearful that they would arrive to the United States only to become lower-class servants with few rights since this is the kind of existence they had seen under Burmese rule. They have been in the camps long enough for most of the children to have been born there and never known any other life.

History & culture: The Karen Burmese are a minority population from Burma who have been seeking independence in the face of a militant dictatorship for almost sixty years.  While some have participated in liberation armies, most have simply been civilians caught in an increasingly oppressive environment. Though some are Buddhist, most have a strong Christian tradition which also sets them apart from the Burmese majority.  Especially affected are those from rural village areas without access to resources and education.  Most of the Karen come from poor rural backgrounds having grown up in villages in the jungle-filled mountains of southeast Asia.  Most villages were self-sustained, families growing their own food with occasional forays into the town and without modern conveniences such as electricity and plumbing.  Some men held labor jobs in the city or coastal jobs such as fishing (which were actually quite dangerous due to safety hazards and pirate attacks).  Few had education beyond primary school; some none at all.   

Like many other Burmese minorities, the Karen have faced severe persecution because of their desire for independence from the harsh military rule of Burma.  Some tell stories of Burmese soldiers burning their village and forcing them to carry their guns and equipment to the point of exhaustion.  As violence against ethnic civilians has increased, most of the Karen (nearly 120,000) have fled to neighboring Thailand where they have lived in refugee camps for ten or fifteen years. The Burmese government has fomented a civil war as well by encouraging a breakaway faction of Karen to fight the others. In the Thai refugee camps, families still face a hard life since food is scarce and the Thai government refuses to grant any additional assistance or permanent placement though one advantage for the children is access to more education. With ongoing insecurity and the inability of the families to return to their homeland, they were finally accepted as a group for resettlement to the United States.  

Resettlement experiences:  Given their rural background, the Karen Burmese face many of the challenges of adjustment to life in America that other similar groups have faced: learning the use of modern facilities, adjusting to new rules for the home and childcare, understanding the complexities of city jobs and transportation, and so on.  While some of the women had the chance to work in hotels and such in the large cities of Thailand and thus have a bit more exposure to modern life, most of the families remain very rural with only preliminary education.  Many offices have also noted the difficulty in communicating with the group since English is such a different language from their own and the families do not readily respond to non-verbal cues.  Most significantly, the heavy emphasis on respect and authority among the group means that they often do not voice their needs or problems (or tend to wait to do so through intermediaries) which actually frustrates attempts at a quick adjustment.  

At the same time, I have seen that the Karen families seem much less afraid to branch out and try things on their own than most rural families at arrival. They are also a very tight community and some of the Karen Burmese who came to the US in the past are really helping the new arrivals.  As a whole, they have been exceedingly conscientious in saving money for the future, keeping up with important paperwork and documents, and accessing public transportation---keys to success that many other refugee populations do not achieve so quickly.  The Karen are very excited about the freedoms and comforts they find in America and are anxious for their family members to know that all is well here.

Community: The Karen population of Atlanta is growing and becoming very well organized with the help of some community leaders who have already lived here for a number of years.  I have enjoyed getting to know the families that have arrived with World Relief.  They are always very kind and calm whatever the circumstances and always greet me with an enthusiastic "Gooh mohniii!" when I arrive at their door.  Because there is a large Asian population in Atlanta, the Karen families have access to many of the products from their homeland as well as connections for jobs. Members of the general Burmese community (including people from my local church) have embraced the group and are helping in their transition as well. I have had the chance to attend a number of family and community events with the group including the 2006 and 2007 Karen lunar new year.  These were great opportunities to see how the Karen are coming together in Atlanta and to learn about their history and culture.  Follow this link for some photos and stories of Burmese resettlement for more about the Karen in Atlanta. 

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THE CHIN BURMESE: Though from the same country of origin, the Chin Burmese arriving to Atlanta have a somewhat different history and refugee experience than their Karen neighbors.  They are exiting a tenuous refugee situation in the metropolitan city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and arriving to an already strong Chin community in the Atlanta area.  They thus arrive already having contacts and an understanding of what lies ahead of them for the future.

History & Culture: The Chin are one of the larger minorities in Burma and have long considered themselves as a distinctive and important group. The group is actually subdivided into a large number of smaller "tribes" with distinct languages such as Zotung, Falam, Tiddim, and Hakah. They all speak Burmese together amongst themselves as a common language. Like the Karen, the Chin have a history of Christian tradition and were closely tied to the British during the colonial era.  Indeed, many Chin fought side by side with the British and Americans back in World War II.  Their section of the country normally called "Chin State" has been modernized for a long time.  Though still largely farmers, the group has had more access to education and western lifestyles.  Unfortunately, under the harsh military rule of the country, any who dare to question the government or even talk about the sad state of the country take their life in their hands.  Actions against the Chin as a whole have escalated in recent years as dissatisfaction and speaking out have increased.  For this reason, more and more Chin have had to flee in the past few years in order to escape almost certain imprisonment and perhaps even death.  

Most of these Chin refugees have ended up fleeing to Malaysia around the large city of Kuala Lumpur after a long walk through Thailand.  Unfortunately, despite allowing UNHCR to register them as refugees, Malaysia largely refuses to recognize the refugee status of the Chin.  They are under constant threat that the police will arrest any Chin men that they discover.  For this reason, the men must "hide" as a big group in the jungle areas outside the city, sleeping under plastic sheets, until they can get under the special protection of UNHCR. If caught before, they are jailed and deported to Thailand.  Despite this odd living situation, the Chin men are able to go into the new areas of the city with less police presence to shop at the markets and obtain work in the numerous modern lighting factories there and restaurants there. Now a focus for resettlement to the United States, these families are beginning to arrive in Atlanta to join those who have come in the past.

Resettlement experiences:  Because of having had more exposure to modern towns and cities as well as more access to education, the Chin Burmese families are set to do very well in the United States.  Many come with more English and a better understanding of how to adapt to life in the United States than some of their more rural neighbors.  As a result, I find that the Chin are moving particularly quickly into taking care of their own needs and do not hesitate to make their own decisions.  There are of course differences that they will have to adjust to over time: from the need for a more direct style of personal interaction to dealing with people from a variety of cultures to having patience for the slow pace of resettlement.  You can see some of their experience in pictures on the following page about Burmese resettlement. 

Community: The Chin are already a large and established community within Atlanta and the United States as a whole. Some members of the national Chin organization reside in Atlanta and have approached us about helping in the resettlement of their community.  Many formerly arrived community members already own houses and work in good jobs. As a result, new arrivals have already had the opportunity to take trips to downtown and the mountains, receive extra home furnishings, and link up with several large ethnic churches in the area.  We even have some Chin working in high-end Malaysian restaurants because of their connections.  The community will obviously be a strong source of support for their newly arriving community members.

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THE KARENNI: The Karenni were the largest Burmese group to arrive during the end of the 2009 year.  From Karenni state in Burma, they represent several sets of ethnicities or sub-tribes grouped together but all speak the Karenni language called Kayah.

History & Culture: The Karenni are from the eastern part of Burma called Karenni state.  Like all Burmese ethnic minorities, they are at odds with the government simply because they want to continue to use their own language and follow their own cultural traditions.  Their mountainous region of Burma remains extremely poor and rural and contains some of the most isolated areas of the country.  Despite this, in many areas village life has been disrupted by forced relocations by the Burmese military state which began in earnest in 1996.  Some Karenni are Buddhist or Christian but there are also many of the older generation who still retain the animistic beliefs of their ancestors.  As a whole, the Karenni are famous for a variety of body-altering practices followed by the various sub-groups such as using stacks of gold rings to stretch their neck or using weights and plugs to stretch their earlobes.  These oddities have led to them often being exploited for the tourist trade.

Many Karenni have fled to refugee camps Thailand over the years, some having lived there for quite some time. Even in Thailand, the Karenni are in some of the remotest camp areas, particularly the camp called Ban Mai Nai Soi, and have thus had much less access to education and medical care services. Many do not even speak Burmese which is a challenge for the agencies needing interpretation.

Community: One advantage for the Karenni arriving to Atlanta has been that previous arrivals of Karen and Chin have already paved the way for them to access services and community programs.  Moreover, the Karenni seem very geared towards getting themselves organized as a group.  It has taken almost no time for the Karenni community in Atlanta to grow from literally no one to quite a large and connected community.  Those that came a few months earlier to other agencies are already visiting and mentoring those that are following. Hopefully, they will all adapt quickly and join their Burmese neighbors in jobs and school.

Sharing: One Karenni elder has shared a lot of stories and memories with me that I have made available here.

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OTHER GROUPS: In addition to the lage groups of Karen, Chin, and Karenni, there are multitudes of other ethnic minorities from Burma arriving to Atlanta. 

• Some are from the Karen state division of Burma but belong to totally different ethnicities which they define by their religious differences, identifying themselves as "Burmese Hindu" or "Karen Muslims".  Though identified as Karen by territory, they are quite distinct from the larger group of Karen identified above, most not speaking anything but Burmese and possessing much more distinctly Indian features as a result of their historical ties to that country.  
• The Rohingya are a particular group of Muslim Burmese refugees from the area that is just on the border of Thailand.  The young men from these communities also had to flee mounting military presence and pressure.  They gained some profiled when hundreds of them endured a harrowing month on the seas in packed boats that were literally pushed away by country after country. Many died of starvation and drowning before reaching safety.
• Others arriving are from ethnic groups such as Mon and Shan.  These larger minorities are not persecuted as a whole but many individuals among them have faced persecution after having associated with student groups and other organizations seeking a democratic voice in their country.  They are almost all Buddhist and had to flee to various areas of Thailand for safety. 
• Still others arriving to Atlanta are ethnic Burmese (Bamar) who are targeted for their refusal to accept the unreasonable military rule destroying their country.  Most recently, a number of Burmese monks, usually highly respected among the population, led demonstrations in 2008 that resulted in a crackdown with many deaths and others fleeing for refuge in Thailand as well.  Despite the ethnic and religious differences, all of these families readily identify with the other Karen and Chin due to their common history of persecution and form another interesting layer in the fabric of Burmese minorities in Atlanta.