Hope at the End of the Rainbow
By Maidhc Ó Cathail
When Milan Kundera wrote, “The struggle of people against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting,” he might well have been referring to the Karenni.
An indigenous people from the Burma-Thai border, who are among the least known of the forty-five million refugees in today’s world, the Karenni call themselves “the forgotten people.” Not forgotten, however, by the Karenni Rainbow Foundation (KnRF), a group of Kansai residents who struggle to counter that oblivion by their tireless campaigning.
Orwell once described Burma as an “earthly paradise,” but for many Burmese it has been a living hell since the military junta took over soon after independence in 1948. The regime has been accused of forcible relocation, the use of forced labour, and more recently, the use of chemical weapons. The ethnic minorities, such as the Mon, Shan, Karen, and Karenni peoples, are the most damned.
The Karenni have a saying: “Give bread to those who are hungry. To us who have bread give a hunger for justice.” With such a “hunger for justice,” Fiona Eastley joined the charity organization a year after it started in 1998, and is renowned in Kansai for her fundraising efforts. So far, the group has raised more than ６million yen.
This money is used to fund community-based projects, such as adult literacy programmes; educational projects, one of which enabled the first Karenni student to leave the refugee camps to study for a higher education; emergency assistance to those internally displaced by the Burmese military, often as a result of development projects funded by Japanese ODA; and international liaison development, which allows Karenni leaders to promote their cause overseas.
The KnRF is a group of energetic activists who meet one Sunday each month in Tenjimbashisuji 6-chome, Osaka to discuss the progress of their projects in Thailand as well as to organize various fundraisers, which include a monthly lecture series for high-level English learners held in Suita Workers Center (Kinroushakaikan).
“It’s a great group for anyone who wants to learn about the Karenni (or refugee issues in general),” enthused JET teacher Sarah Fick, “and to meet some cool, knowledgeable, passionate, committed and fun people in the Kansai area.” Dance instructor Elizabeth Rose acknowledged that her involvement “somewhat mitigates my relatively extravagant cushy existence of English teaching in Japan.”
Although meetings are conducted in English, this is not a gaijin-only club: Tadayuki Kubo, an anthropology student, reported on his experience of spending seven months with the Karenni refugees in Mae Hong Son, Thailand; later, history teacher Makoto Uchida told me the difference between Karenni, Karen, Kayah and Kayan (which would take a separate article to explain). And they always welcome new members to add even more colour to this Rainbow.
“They make you realize the insignificance of our little daily complaints and the importance of loving life,” Ms. Eastley said of the Karenni. In spite of their having endured decades of human rights abuses, she praised them as “the most generous, positive people I have ever met.”
One could say the same about the members of the Karenni Rainbow Foundation. And due to their ceaseless efforts to remind us of a largely forgotten people, there may be some hope at the end of the rainbow for the long-suffering Karenni.
The Karenni Rainbow Foundation meets one Sunday each month in Tenjimbashisuji 6-chome from 11:00 to 13:00. For more information, contact Fiona at 070-5436-3469, Uchida-san at 06-6921-7375 (in Japanese) or e-mail karennirainbow@yahoo.com.
When Milan Kundera wrote, “The struggle of people against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting,” he might well have been referring to the Karenni.
An indigenous people from the Burma-Thai border, who are among the least known of the forty-five million refugees in today’s world, the Karenni call themselves “the forgotten people.” Not forgotten, however, by the Karenni Rainbow Foundation (KnRF), a group of Kansai residents who struggle to counter that oblivion by their tireless campaigning.
Orwell once described Burma as an “earthly paradise,” but for many Burmese it has been a living hell since the military junta took over soon after independence in 1948. The regime has been accused of forcible relocation, the use of forced labour, and more recently, the use of chemical weapons. The ethnic minorities, such as the Mon, Shan, Karen, and Karenni peoples, are the most damned.
The Karenni have a saying: “Give bread to those who are hungry. To us who have bread give a hunger for justice.” With such a “hunger for justice,” Fiona Eastley joined the charity organization a year after it started in 1998, and is renowned in Kansai for her fundraising efforts. So far, the group has raised more than ６million yen.
This money is used to fund community-based projects, such as adult literacy programmes; educational projects, one of which enabled the first Karenni student to leave the refugee camps to study for a higher education; emergency assistance to those internally displaced by the Burmese military, often as a result of development projects funded by Japanese ODA; and international liaison development, which allows Karenni leaders to promote their cause overseas.
The KnRF is a group of energetic activists who meet one Sunday each month in Tenjimbashisuji 6-chome, Osaka to discuss the progress of their projects in Thailand as well as to organize various fundraisers, which include a monthly lecture series for high-level English learners held in Suita Workers Center (Kinroushakaikan).
“It’s a great group for anyone who wants to learn about the Karenni (or refugee issues in general),” enthused JET teacher Sarah Fick, “and to meet some cool, knowledgeable, passionate, committed and fun people in the Kansai area.” Dance instructor Elizabeth Rose acknowledged that her involvement “somewhat mitigates my relatively extravagant cushy existence of English teaching in Japan.”
Although meetings are conducted in English, this is not a gaijin-only club: Tadayuki Kubo, an anthropology student, reported on his experience of spending seven months with the Karenni refugees in Mae Hong Son, Thailand; later, history teacher Makoto Uchida told me the difference between Karenni, Karen, Kayah and Kayan (which would take a separate article to explain). And they always welcome new members to add even more colour to this Rainbow.
“They make you realize the insignificance of our little daily complaints and the importance of loving life,” Ms. Eastley said of the Karenni. In spite of their having endured decades of human rights abuses, she praised them as “the most generous, positive people I have ever met.”
One could say the same about the members of the Karenni Rainbow Foundation. And due to their ceaseless efforts to remind us of a largely forgotten people, there may be some hope at the end of the rainbow for the long-suffering Karenni.
The Karenni Rainbow Foundation meets one Sunday each month in Tenjimbashisuji 6-chome from 11:00 to 13:00. For more information, contact Fiona at 070-5436-3469, Uchida-san at 06-6921-7375 (in Japanese) or e-mail karennirainbow@yahoo.com.
posted by maidhc | 11:27 PM
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