Karen Refugees in Burma and Britain: History and Identity A Thesis Submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2021 Peter J. Bjorklund School of Arts, Languages and Cultures Table of Contents List of maps and photographs 4 List of acronyms and abbreviations 5 Abstract 7 Declaration 8 Copyright statement 9 Acknowledgements 10 Introduction 12 Aims of thesis 17 Historical background 19 Literature review: framing the Karen refugee 23 Burma and the Karen historiography 29 Thesis structure 33 Chapter 1: Sources and methods 36 Introduction 36 Field research data collection and interview methods 42 Methods 45 Language 49 Interview participants in Thailand and Sheffield 51 Conclusion 57 Chapter 2: Karen history in Burma 58 The heterodoxy of ‘Karen identity’ 60 Karen and the colonial encounter 69 Borderland spaces and peripheral conflict 76 Karen history through the eyes of refugees 79 Conclusion 87 Chapter 3: Contested spaces: 89 The Karen in the Burma borderlands and Mae Sot Introduction 90 State making in Burma on the eastern borderland 92 Organised state violence in Burma: 96 Forced displacement from Burma 96 Burma and the Thai borderlands 98 Mae Sot – the city 109 The Karen in Mae Sot 114 Conclusion 121 2 Chapter 4: ‘Like birds in a cage’ – The refugee camps 124 Rethinking the camp as ‘space’ and resistance 125 The camps in Thailand; location and history 128 KRC and KNU 132 Mae La – the refugee camp 136 Housing in Mae La 138 Perspectives from Mae La refugee camp 143 Women’s leadership positions in Mae La camp 148 Education in the camps 151 International and local organisations 159 Conclusion 162 Chapter 5: Resettlement in Sheffield: 163 Gender and change in Karen communities Sheffield Karen resettlement experience 166 Integration in Sheffield 173 The changing gender relationships in Sheffield Karen community 181 The Karen Women’s Organisation and other organisations in Sheffield 187 Karen Organisations and transnational communities 197 Transnationalism 200 Media and social platforms 202 Conclusion 207 Chapter 6: Expressions of Karen culture and identity 209 through ceremonies The rites of the Karen New Year festival (Thau Ni Sau) 212 Expressions of Karen culture and nationalism in ceremonies at Sheffield 216 Karen cultural signifiers used in ceremonies 217 The Don or ‘ton’ dance 223 The Karen wrist-tying ceremony 228 Martyr’s day ceremony 234 Conclusion 237 Conclusion 239 Bibliography 243 Word count 79,902 3 List of maps Map 1: Burma states and Divisions. (KHRG, 2005). 11 Map 2: Location of refugee camps. (UNCHCR, 2021). 44 Map 3: Ethnic groups of Burma. (Smith, 1999). 65 Map 4: Map of military airstrikes in northern Karen State. (ICCA, 2021). 95 Map 5: Map of Mae Sot. (Human Rights Watch, 2019). 111 List of photographs Photo 1 and 2: Karen fleeing Tatmadaw forces in Burma, (author, 1988). 13 Photo 3, 4 and 5: Karen fleeing Tatmadaw in Burma, (author, 1988). 14 Photo 6: Mary Ohn and Wendy – my wife (author, 1990). 54 Photo 7: Mary Ohn in uniform, (author, 1990). 54 Photo 8: Burma side of Moei Riverbank, (Karen News, 2014). 112 Photo 9: Mae La - Refugee camp, housing density, (TBC, 2018). 138 Photo 10: Mae La – Refugee camp, housing density, (author, 2013). 139 Photo 11: House being built, (author, 2013). 140 Photo 12: Street in Mae La, (author, 2013). 141 Photo 13: Two Story house, (author, 2013). 141 Photo 14 and 15: School rooms with juniors, (author 2002). 154 Photo 16: Senior students in class, (author, 2002). 154 Photo 17: Karen New Year celebrations at Mae La, (author, 2006). 158 Photo 18, 19 and 20: Traditional weaving. (author, 2011). 160 Photo 21: The Don Dance with plastic poles, (author, 2019). 225 Photo 22: The Don Dance: Senior section, women. (author, 2019). 226 Photo 23: The Don Dance: Junior section, boys and girls, (author 2019). 226 Photo 24: Raising the Karen flag. (KCA, 2108). 227 Photo 25: Karen flag and photos with an obelisk replica, (author, 2019). 236 4 List of acronyms and abbreviations ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian countries BCP Burma Communist Party BGF Border Guard Force BPHWT Back Packer Health Worker Team BSPP Burma Socialist Programme Party CBO Community Based Organisations COELT Cultural Orientation and English Language Training CPT Communist Party of Thailand DKBA Democratic Kayin/Karen Buddhist Army EKN European Karen Network ERF III European Refugee Fund FBR Free Burma Rangers GPP Gateway Protection Programme HRW Human Rights Watch IKO International Karen Organisation ILR Indefinite Leave to Remain IOM International Organisation for Migration IOR India Office Records IRIN Integrated Regional Information Networks KBBSC Karen Baptist Bible School and College KCA Karen Community Association KCC Karen Central Committee KCO Karen Central Organisation KCC Karen Central Committee KED Karen Education Department 5 KHRG Karen Human Rights Group KKBC Kawthoolei Karen Baptist Church KNA Karen National Association KNU Karen National Union KNU CC Karen National Union Central Committee KNLA Karen National Liberation Army KRC Karen Refugee Committee KRCEE Karen Refugee Committee Education Entity KSNG Karen Student Support Network KTWG Karen Teachers Working Group KWO Karen Women’s Organisation KYO Karen Youth Organisation MOE Thai Ministry of Education MSF Médecins Sans Frontières NGO Non-Governmental Organisation PRAD Partners Relief and Development RTG Royal Thai Government SGBV Sexual and Gender-Based Violence SLORC State Law and Restoration Council SPDC State Peace and Development Council Tatmadaw The Military force of the Burmese government TBBC The Thailand Burma Border Consortium TBC The Border Consortium UKBA United Kingdom Border Agency UN United Nations UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees 6 Abstract This thesis explores the relationship between the displacement and resettlement of the Karen people of Burma and their reflections on their history and identity. It pays particular attention to those living in the refugee camps in Thailand and those resettled in Sheffield. It covers the years from 1988 to the present day. The thesis aims to contribute to the field of refugee history and advance emerging academic interest in the Karen by providing a clearer understanding of the impact of protracted displacement, resettlement and socio-cultural adaptation from the perspective of the Karen experience. It foregrounds the role played in Karen communities in different settings in reinterpreting Karen history. It examines how notions of Karen identity have been created and recreated in different settings by engaging with their stories on the Thai-Burma borderlands, the refugee camps, and Sheffield. The research draws upon a series of extended oral interviews and participant observations conducted over the last thirty years with Karen people in two locations: the Mae La refugee camp in Thailand and Sheffield. Amongst the thousands of displaced Karen living in Mae La, common themes emerged: ideas of displacement and historical oppression, the significance of ‘homeland’ and ‘nation’, and the importance of faith, all of which were bound up with ideas of cultural change. The use of personal testimony will show how past events are transferred into the present as they continue to affect the resettlement community. The thesis also gives particular attention to women’s new role in Karen leadership and organisation in the resettled community in Sheffield. The thesis also explores how the resettlement process has influenced Karen ceremonial practices, which have taken on fluid and contested forms considering processes of cultural adaptation - the thesis will demonstrate how Karen reconstruct and reify both cultural and political aspects of their identity in Sheffield. Finally, the thesis attempts to make sense of how the Karen have recurrently constructed a narrative of persecution while establishing new forms of political and ethnic identity. 7 Declaration I declare that no portion of this work referred to in the dissertation has been submitted to support an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institution of learning. 8 Copyright Statement i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns certain Copyright or related rights in it (the “Copyright”), and she has given The University of Manchester certain rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes. ii. 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