1. Hearty
greetings to all gathered here for Pan Pwo Karen meeting (4th). I
have come to know last year in 2012, that such Pan Pwo Karen
meeting is being held annually. Other one I knew is Global Karen meetings which
has been held since about 4 or 5 years ago. As the world has become like one Village,
it is fitting and appropriate to have such kind of meeting and I wish this
initiative be more enhanced and promoted.
2. I am
from Delta Irrawaddy. I was born of Pwo Karen parents in 1960 from a Pwo Karen
village, in the township of Myaung Mya, in Irrawaddy Region. Our village has
only 30 houses and we all are relatives and consequently we all speak Pwo Karen
in the whole village. As there is no preschool in our village, only at the age
of seven, I could start attending the primary at a nearby village, distance of
2 miles going on foot. Learning Burmese language began there.
In Irrawaddy Region, Myaung Mya township is known
to have 80% of Karen population. It is a township where Karen language is most
spoken. I passed grade 11 ( 10th standard) in 1978 in No 3 State High School, in Myaung
Mya. During that time, I took many occasions to visit Karen villages in Myaung
Mya township. However, when I joined the seminary and became Catholic priest (
in 1989) I was away from my home region for quite some time. Again in 2009 only,
I was back to Irrawaddy Region and based myself in Pathein, doing social
missions for the people with a focus of safeguarding and promoting Karen
Language and Culture in the region. I am now collaborating closely with KBC and
PKBC of Pathein in the works of safeguarding and promoting Karen Language and
Culture. In collaborating with them we especially conducted Karen teacher
trainings and the Karen Summer Course, sending Karen Language teachers in
government primary schools. I am also directing Radio Veritas Asia (RVA) Karen
Service broadcasting programs in partnership with RVA Manila, Philippines ( on
religious and social topics, both in Pwo and Sgaw Karen). This is just telling
you some pieces about me as a Karen. In my life until now I have learned and
studied things happening around me with a view from Karen perspective. Not yet perfect
and satisfactory I may say. What I am going to present you now is some efforts
of what I have read and reflected.
3. From which
part of the world Karen people have
come? Where is their origin? Is Irrawaddy the birthplace of Karen people? I was
interested in these questions and I have searched for it from the writings of
the Missionaries and studied them. I have seen their writings in English, in
French and in Italy. Some of their writings are related to the accounts of the
missions and some are pure accounts on Karen people viewed of their time. Based
on all these old documents, a Karen writer, Saw Aung Hla has composed a book
entitled “ History of Karen”. Looks legendary but some parts of it remained as
elements for further research.
4. What
I want to make remarks here is “ Karen people has a long history, they are one of the
earliest nationals who lived or who has migrated to this land (Burma), they
have their own language, culture, arts, music and traditions, but for certain
period of time they were under oppressive rulers, and then liberated and promoted
during the time of British administration, they are still alive till today in
Myanmar and in the world. Personally speaking what is more important for me is
not where Karen came from, but the reality that Karen people are still existing
and living in here, in this part of the world. In many centuries back, Karen
total population would not have exceeded 10,000 or 100,000 but today we have
become people of a big number/ millions in this world with the effect of
growing population rate in the world. This is our resource. We are not only in
Myanmar, now we can see Karen in oversea today. This signifies our strength. In this age of globalized world,
important is not where we are and what we are doing, but important is how we
get connected and work for a common goal. If I am not mistaken, Irrawaddy Delta
is a region where majority of Karen find home in this world.
5. For
more than 60 years after Independence, Karen people living in Irrawaddy Delta,
in Karen States and in other States and Regions have severely suffered and were
terribly threatened of losing their language and cultures. Resisting all these
big blows Karen people have endured and have been resilient unto this day. Due
to such severe big blow, some have lost their villages, some families, some
literature, some language, some have migrated to other countries. Amidst such
difficult time, our Karen language and culture have been carefully preserved by
Karen Baptist Conference/ Pwo Karen Baptist Conference in Myanmar. I wish to
express my sincere thanks and gratitude to them today. The mandate and the mission
laid down by the great Karen Missionaries from the time of 1830s have been
faithfully carried out through preserving Karen language and culture by these
two conferences. All Karen have to be proud of their efforts rendered. ( Here
my apology, if this expression is too much of my Christian Karen perspective).
6. The
United Nation has announced that 5900 languages in the world today will become
extinct before the end of 21st century, if they are not carefully
preserved. ( In Myanmar we have 135 ethnic languages said the State).
“The United
Nations (UN) said on May 14, 2009 at Lagos, that 5900 languages worldwide may
become extinct before the end of the 21st century if measures to
protect them are not introduced. The United Nations (UN) said that languages
remain critical to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
2015, on education, urging that children should be taught their dialects at an
early age.”
The two successful inventions in 20th
century ( computer in 1941 and WWW in 1990) have contributed great effect to
world communications and exchanges of news and information that makes the world
reducing its space and time. We prefer to view the “ real time” ( live) rather
than the “reply”. The stronger language have swallowed up the weaker one.
Therefore if our Karen language is not strong enough and well protected, no way
to escape the severe attack of the language assimilating virus before the end
of this 21st century. How to keep ourselves strong? If we are not
strong and protective enough we are in danger of being extinct. Here, it is
interesting to learn the evolution theory of Charles Darwin. He said “ it is
not the strongest species that can survive, not the most intelligent, but the
most responsive to change”.
7. Changing.
Nothing is permanent. Everything is changing and only change is not changed. It
is rather a philosophical statement. The fact that Karen people are still alive
to this 21st century indicates how Karen people have harmoniously
managed to adapt themselves according to the change of time. In the time of the
cruel oppressive rulers, Karen people have managed to hide themselves away in
the jungles and on the mountains. When encountered with sympathetic and encouraging
rulers, they managed to come out to the public platform. This was how our
forefathers have managed to play according to the change of situations. Today
change has become rapid and competitive. Work that has taken to finish for one
century , is now able to be accomplished within a decade. Journey that has
taken for months to go, is now reached in few hours of time. Time and space
have become shrink. If we do not know to manage to change, we will become
victims of change as the saying goes. “ If you can not be master of change, you
will be victims of change”. If we can not manage to swim according to the waves
of change, we are in danger of sinking. This has been a challenge of all ages
and it is today’s challenge too. Our forefathers have perfectly managed to swim
in the face of waves of change and have safely brought us to this 21st
century. We have to be decisive and brave enough to carry on this
responsibility. How to adapt ourselves according to the change of time and
situations should always be a topic to be discussed in all Karen meetings
today.
8. On
the world map and among different people in the world, still Karen are there. This
is the resource we hold in our hands. Not just ten thousand and hundred
thousand in number, but millions. This is what we hold as our quantitative
strength. This existing quantity and quality needs to become a collective force
today. In certain time in the past, we have been hidden in the forests and in
the jungles in defensive ways. Now as infrastructure developments and
communications are taking place today, routes and ways are open for us. Karen
from mountains can take the new roads to come down and Karen from plains can
take the new roads to go up. Only that we need is to move ( up / down). Sitting
alone ( inactive) will not take us to the destination. In this active and
competitive age, Karen have to come to the international common play ground and
take active participation. Time has come that we have to change our position
from the roles of spectators to that of players.
9. During
British rules (1826 to 1947), we can say that Karen have come up to certain
roles and equipped with certain capacities, but majority of Karen people have
adopted spirit of followers rather than spirit of leaders, except for our some
prominent Karen leaders. We have been quite content in being followers of
others. We refuse to be leaders. Seems not enough courage to take the role of
leaders. As being for long time marginalized and oppressed, Karen people have
grown in lack of self confidence and more on dependency on others. This kind of
weakness needs to be turned to strength today. These illness/ disease need to
be healed and established a healthy Karen society today. Only in this way that
Karen can contribute for a brighter future in this 21st century.
Time has come for Karen in this open and transparent society, to come up on the
stage to display their talents. New stages like social, economy, IT, and
politics are the platforms where our Karen younger generations are to display
their performances. Until now most of our Karen leaders are products of
religious and church backgrounds. Is that because our Karen leaders are more
fervent in spiritual affairs rather than
temporal affairs? Or just to keeping ourselves away from temporal affairs? Not
easy to say. The fact is that until today majority of Karen leaders are both church
and religious leaders who organize and lead their people. Now the time has come
for Karen younger generations to be prepared to take up their roles on the
abovementioned stages/ platforms.
10. In
this 21st century, we need to have formed “ Being One Karen” as our
common ground to mobilize. Due to many reasons and factors in the past that we
have been divided and separated among ourselves. High land, low land, Pwo,
Sgaw, Buddhist Karen, Christian Karen.. etc we have been put in such way due to
locations, faith affiliations, dialects. We need to come down to a lower layer today
where we can find our Being One Karen, a meeting point upon which our solid
force can be produced. That can be named as a National Based Unity. When we say
Being One Karen, the principle of Unity in Diversity has to be adopted. We will
still be divided and separated in our localities, our faith affiliations, our
dialects, but in the layer of Being One Karen has to be our meeting point, our
meeting ground. That will be the root from which will be shrouded out Karen
future stems and branches.
11. In
this age of globalized village, we need to meet often and become more united. This annual Pan Pwo Karen
meeting can be the point of a wider network in the future. Why not such a wider
network like Pan/Global Karen meeting be set as a goal to hold in this 21st
century?
Currently
we are working to promote unity of all Karen people in Irrawaddy Delta today.
Karen New Year has become not only annual regional celebration but also annual
celebration of each Karen village. Karen traditional dresses can be seen on
these cultural events and occasions. Summer Karen courses are now taken up and
conducted in many townships ( except for some). Karen language has become extra
curriculum taught in some government
primary schools in Delta. Karen parents are conversing to their children in
Karen and giving them Karen names has become revitalized practices in some
places. Some Karen villages have erected signboards of their village name in
scripted both Burmese and Karen at the entrance of their villages. Some
villages have appointed Karen young people to be village administrative leaders
charge of respective Karen villages. Why not seeing Young Karen leaders having
posts in township, district and Regional government administrative offices in
the 21st century? Why not seeing Karen people becoming active
citizens in their respective locations and designations?
(Special Talk given during “ Pan Pwo Karen
Christian Fellowship” held in Bishop Home, Yangon from 28 to 30 November 2013)
Fr. Henry Eikhlein
Catholic Diocese of
Pathein
Ayeyarwaddy Region,
Myanmar
November 29,2013
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