Karen

An internally displaced persons camp in Karen State is making a last-ditch appeal for international donors to continue providing aid. All food assistance to the shelter for nearly 3,000 people is set to dry up at the end of this month. The support committee at the Ei Tu Hta IDP submitted a letter to international donors on September 4. “We…

The Karen Unity and Peace Committee (KUPC) convened a summit of Karen State political parties on August 29 to discuss the formation of a united political front. Representatives from the Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party, the Kayin Democratic Party, the Kayin State Democracy and Development Party, and the Kayin Unity Democratic Party attended the meeting at the Thu Maydar Yama Gyar Tawya…

The State Chief physician confirmed at a press conference held on August 15 that one AH1N1 flu positive patient had died at Hpa-an Hospital. Doctor Kyaw Myint, chief physician of the Karen State Public Hospital stated during the press conference that there were two AH1N1 positive patients and twelve AH1N1 suspected patients in Karen State as of August 15. “In…

Many Karen refugees from camps along the Thai-Burma border have been resettled in Sweden since 2005 under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s resettlement program. Karen News spoke* with Naw Thida Naing, chair of the Karen Swedish Community, at the end of July about the Karen community there and efforts to preserve Karen culture overseas. Q: Please tell…

Hundreds of the Karen migrant community gathered on August 6 in the Thai border town of Mae Sot to celebrate the traditional wrist-tying ceremony at a local monastery. “The tradition of tying white cotton thread around wrists has been passed down through generations and it is not only a traditional legacy of Karen people, but also intended to enrich people’s…

Around 2,000 people participated in a traditional Karen wrist tying ceremony in Kawkareik township on August 7. “This white thread tying ceremony [wrist tying ceremony] is as much a part of the Karen national character as our language, literature, customs and culture. We are holding [the ceremony] this year as a way of preserving the tradition. We will continue to…

The Karen Teacher Working Group (KTWG) ran a short training for parents of schoolchildren in its effort to raise awareness to get them involved in their children’s education. On the 31st of July, two teachers from the KTWG’s Mobile Teacher Training provided a short training course to parents of school children in Chaw Tho Khee (Kyout Hpyar) village, Kyaik Hto…

Local Karen National Union officials and aid workers are trying to drum up last-minute support for a shelter of internally displaced persons, before it runs out of funding in September. Over 70 representatives from 10 border-based Karen State civil society groups attended a meeting on July 30 to discuss how to keep the Ei Tu Hta shelter open. “We agreed…

A Mon State official has pledged K16 million (US$11,800) for a traditional Karen wrist trying ceremony, an event celebrating Karen culture and unity. “We are emphasizing development, and trying our best to support tradition and culture,” said Saw Myint Khine, Mon State’s Karen Affairs Minister. The annual wrist tying ceremony is celebrated on the full moon day of Wagaung (the…

South Korea welcomed nearly two dozen Karen refugees to the country this week as part of a three-year resettlement program that began in 2015. The 23 people from the Mae La refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border arrived in Seoul on July 25, joining 86 refugees from Burma already resettled in Korea. “We went to the airport to welcome them…