He’s 25 now, but Akron resident Hsa Myint Win remembers well his days in the Mae La refugee camp, one of nine in Thailand.
Tens of thousands of Karen who have fled persecution in Myanmar are living in the camps, eking out a living under extreme conditions.
The University of Akron student grew up at Mae La, a place where jobs and education and opportunity were rare.
“Completely hopeless, I would describe (it),” he said Saturday at the 2764 Karen New Year celebration at North High School in Akron.
Win came to America when he was 11.
“I barely finished second grade in the refugee camp,” he said.
To make money, he sneaked outside the camp to pick corn, a dangerous and illegal act.
He and more than 200 members of the Karen community who emigrated to the Akron area congregated Saturday at the high school to celebrate the Karen New Year and their culture.
It was a time to dance, acknowledge the educational success of the community’s youth and remember the struggles of the Karen people in Myanmar — otherwise known as Burma — and Thailand.
Sharing the culture with younger members of Karen community
Win organized the Don Dance, which is performed by the Karen of Burma and Thailand, to mark the New Year and help strengthen community traditions.
It was the first time that the dancers, wearing colorful outfits and dancing to traditional music, performed in public, he said.
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Saw Ajino Wah, chairman of the Karen Community of Akron, said the New Year celebration is important to the 2,000 Karen living in the Akron area. It’s a way to preserve the culture and instruct youths who didn’t share the refugee experience.
“We have to try harder to share our culture with them,” he said.
The Karen trace their roots back to about 739 B.C., Win said, making this year their 2764th in existence. He’s studying political science at UA, and has taken a keen interest in studying the history of his people — in part, to preserve it for the youth.
‘Everything is different’ in America
Chri Moo, one of those younger people, came to America when he was 5 from a refugee camp in Thailand.
“I don’t remember much,” he said.
Moo, who works at GOJO Industries, said he wants to learn Karen culture and would like to visit the camp he lived in as a child.
“I want to see what life was like,” he said. “Once you come to this country… everything is different.”
‘A refugee camp is like living in prison’
Eddie Su came to America in 2010 with his parents and two sisters, who left everything behind, he said.
“Living in a refugee camp is like living in prison,” he said. “They are looking at this country as an opportunity country, a dream country.”
The annual New Year celebration is a time for members of the community to assemble and share their experiences, he said.
“This is the only time for us together,” he said. “The New Year’s event represents unity… this is not something that happens every day.”
Su said he was able to visit the camp he lived in and saw that conditions hadn’t changed much in 14 years.
“They do not have a lot of funds,” he said. “There’s no school… The kids walk around all day and they don’t get an education.”
A return to a refugee camp in Thailand
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik spoke at the event, telling attendees the city supports the Karen community in Akron.
“The city is here for all of us,” he said.
Win said it’s important for the Karen community to remember their past, but also to succeed and appreciate the present.
Like Su, he returned to Thailand to visit a refugee camp.
“Last year, I had the opportunity to go back to the Thailand refugee camp,” he said. “It was very emotional. It was worse.”
Win said Saturday’s event was a time to remember but also a time to acknowledge the achievements of its members, with education being a focus.
“It is time to celebrate,” he said. “I am the first person in my family to graduate high school and attend college.”
Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him ataashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj or Facebook at www.facebook.com/alan.newsman.