The Karen people are more than just an ethnic group in Burma.  They are 7 million people in Burma (and 400,000 in Thailand) who have their own culture, language, and background.  The Karen people were originally a refugee group in Tibet and since the beginning they have been seeking out their own land.  This, however, has gotten them into quite a bit of trouble.

    Before WWII, the British occupied Burma and the Karen issue was controlled peacefully. Next to enter the country were the Mons and the Burman, which meant hardship for the Karen people. The Mons later lost the feudal war and the Burmans controlled Burma. The Burmese people eventually seized Burma and all of its nationalist land leaving the Karen people with nothing as per usual. Due to the Burmese now in charge, the Karen people had no choice but to flee. They fled to mountainous and jungle areas that were often subject to disease so they eventually left and built hilltribe villages for themselves. The Burmese cut them off from all civilization. They were forced into slavery, manual labor, and prostitution.

    The Karen people have now been battling for their own state for far too long. In August 1946, the Karen people made their case known to the British who had since taken back control of Burma. The British way of dealing with the Karen case was placing them into an endless cycle of poverty. The British decided to “throw the Karen people into the lot” with the Burmese. These two completely opposite cultures could absolutely never coexist. After getting this result, the Karen people tried appealing to the Burmese government to give them their own state. Their response was a huge cycle of propaganda against the people calling them rebels and warmongers.  They thought the request was that of a few British lackeys, with little support from the Karen people themselves. They were later proven wrong when 400,000 Karen people peacefully protested for their own state less than one year later. On January 30th 1949, the Burmese government declared the Karen government unlawful and the next day attacked their central government building where almost all the Karen top officials lived. This tragic act of Burmese violence triggered the Karen people to fight for their lands. The Karen people however were outnumbered and had no resources and were eventually unsuccessful in their conquest for the Karen state. Today they are faced with the 3 A’s. Annihilation, Absorption, and Assimilation. Constantly, Burmese soldiers raid Karen villages and burn them to the ground, turing the Karen into refugees in a matter of minutes.  Karen to become refugees and escape into Thailand for their only chance at a life. The people are raped, killed, and forced into prostitution so they can be sent back to their villages and spread STDs.  Children are forced into slavery or forced to join the Burmese military, which now has 70,000 child soldiers, the most the world has ever seen. 

The Karen people are being oppressed culturally, economically, and politically. Many of their schools have been burned and they are now not allowed to be taught in their native language. Many of the Karen books and newspapers are now banned.  Economically, the Burmese have destroyed their fields and plots of lands. Culturally, they have banned all Karen traditions, tried to dissolve the Karen language, and destroy all Karen customs. Politically, they have been denied all rights to take place in any sort of government. Karen government officials have been assassinated or forced to resign. The Karen people were not even involved in the  drafting of the Burmese constitution even though they make up 7% of the population of Burma.

Some Karen rebels have built an army of 40,000 people, but they cannot compete with the Burmese who have over 500,000 soldiers and a seemingly endless amount of resources from foreign communist and socialist nations who are in alliance with Burma.  Although they have been physically and mentally distressed, their intensity and determination for the Karen state is stronger than ever.

The Karen are continuously struggling for their independence, and without help, they will never succeed.

The Karen Cause