Karen

Villagers living along the Salween River claim that the Thai energy authority are moving ahead with plans to build a dam at the Hat Gyi site. Villagers in the area said that the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) have put up water level measurement posts on the Salween River bank at the proposed dam site. Local sources alleged that…

Myint Kanpon residents aim to increase the numbers of teachers at the government primary school in Myint Kanpon, Dawei Township, Tenasserim Division. Saw Chit Chit, a Myint Kanpon villager, explains. “In our village, there is only one teacher that is nominated by the Government. Two more teachers are nominated by the village and paid for by subsidies of 50,000 kyat…

Saw Hlaing Myo, a chairman of the Karen Youth Organization’s (Korea) based in South Korea has been accused of working illegally and arrested by the Korean government. Local sources confirmed Saw Hlaing Myo is been detained at Incheon’s Immigration Department, Incheon State. The secretary of KYO [Sth Korea], Saket Netmoe, said Saw Hlaing Myo Thein was seeking for political asylum…

The dance group from the Overseas Karen Refugee’s Social Organization (OKRSO) based in Bangkok, are honoured to be included in a ceremony that pays respect to His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. The Overseas Karen Refugee’s Social Organization literature and culture committee chairman, Saw Satepalong said its dance troupe performed the Karen traditional Done dance at Central World Hall…

For the first time since 1974 the Burma government has met with the Karen Refugee Committee in Hpa-an Town. The government put forward its plan to KRC that they wanted to ‘trial a pilot project’ to take back about 50 refugees households who are now living in camps on the Thai Burma border. On April 26, over 30 members of…

Fort the first time the Karen Education Department and the Karen Teachers Working Group held a summer camp for teacher training in a government controlled area. The training was held in Pway Poe Kla village, east of Dawei, in Southern Burma. The training was made possible because of the ceasefire agreement reached between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the…

The Burma government and Karen health officials have agreed to join forces to combat malaria in rural communities. Officers from the Karen National Union (KNU) health department and the Dr Win Naing, the Burma government health director for Karen State, agreed to cooperate to fight malaria at a recent meeting in Karen State. The head of the Karen Department of…

For the first time, Karen people from different regions inside Burma and from the Thai-Burma border got together to discuss current Karen affairs in Hpa-an Town, Karen State. After two days of talks, a Karen Unity and Peace Committee (KUPC) was formed to work towards securing a better future for all Karen people. The meeting held from March 29 to…

For the first time, Karen artists from all over Burma got together in Rangoon and held an art exhibition of painting and sculptures about Karen peoples’ daily lives. The art exhibition will run in Rangoon from March 15 to 21, 2013. The exhibition was organized by the Karen Diary Art Group and brings together 37 Karen artists from around Burma,…

On February 18 a ceremony was held to celebrate the life of a famous Karen artist, Zwekabin Kyaw Lay. Saw Yar Haung said that Zwekabin Kyaw Lay had traveled extensively and educated the Karen people through his art in spite of various difficulties he faced. Because he sacrificed his life and was a thoughtful person, he was acknowledged as a…