18.10.11

Karen


I am getting to know many Karen refugees for my project.  The Karen are an ethnic group which reside primarily in southern and southeastern Burma (Myanmar).  They make up about 7% of the total Burmese population.  For decades, they have been persecuted by the Burmese military regime.  Many have fled their homeland to escape killings, torture, rape, land mines and forced labour. They flee to camps along the Thai-Burma border.   After a long bureaucratic process and countless interviews, a small percentage, about 1%, are resettled in a third country. At present, the largest population of Karen people in the world, outside of Southeast Asia, is located in St. Paul, Minnesota.   My intention is to portray their strength and adaptation process in to their new lives.