The Kaleidoscopic Karen

Dr Maung Maung Nyo

I like the Karen, but not sure of them
So many events with them have happened
KNDO insurrection was the biggest mayhem
It engulfed deltas, lower Burma and Anyar land.

(Traditional Karen Dance)

I still remember my mother asking me to hurry
She was collecting essential food and money
Preparing to run along the Chindwin River valley
As she heard Karen troops were ransacking Mandalay city
They were now preparing to cross to Sagaing over Irrawaddy
“They would arrive at Monywa in no time to slay us deadly”.

(A Map Of the Union of Burma)

I remember many able bodied Bamar volunteered for the army
They all went to Sagaing to prevent the KNDO from crossing
I later found that the Karen were just part of the insurrection
Communist, PVOs and Burma Army jointly controlled Mandalay city.

(KNDO President Saw Ba U Gyi)

I know later my mother spread the rumour of Karen atrocities
To agitate the Burman to join the weakened Burma Army
Depleted by departure of some battalions to the enlarging enemy
Government was left with 8 battalions to stand and fight to victory.

(Karen Women Weaving at Home)

It was true Karen resorted to many cruelties and atrocities
As revenge for the excesses of the BIA and Japanese Army
During the WW II when the British retreated from the country
General Aung San had to go to delta and solve them personally.

(General Aung San in Army Uniform)

Many Karen harboured the mistrust and vengeance since then
Most Karen had been pampered by the British over Burman
No wonder both Karen and Burman mistrusted each other
Karen organisations openly opted for their own state altogether.

(Karen Christians reading the Bible)

They did not join Aung San or sign the Panglong Treaty thereafter
They had the command of the Burma Army, Air Force and Armada
They were all prepared to establish a free Karen State within Burma
I’m not blaming any one, just reminding the events to remember.

(The late Mahn Ba Zan, President of KNU)

Mahn Ba Khaing was a prominent Karen joining Aung San’s offer
Saw San Pho Thin was a Karen guerrilla leader appointed minister
They both worked tirelessly for Karen-Bamar amity before 19th July
Mahn Ba Saing, brother of first, continued in the government’s design
He became the Speaker of Parliament after independence as assigned
Dr Saw Hla Tun and Mrs Ba Maung Chain joined government in time.

( Great Salween River Between Burma and Thailand passing

through the Karen State)

When I arrived in Mandalay in 1953 as a premedical student
The whole city was controlled by the AFPFL government
We enjoyed all the benefits of city life and peaceful existence
Good schools, good foods, good markets, good enjoyments.

(A Karen Family in a Karen Village)

Kaya or the Red Karen joined the AFPFL government
They formed a State of their own as Karenni Constituent
Sao Wunna was the head of the Karenni State
He late was appointed as Ambassador Potentiate.

(Karen Long Neck or Padaung , Kanyan)

The Kayan or Padaung are the next associate of the Karen
Famous for long neck with brass rings of their women
Now economic straits make them “tourist objects” in Thailand
Only improvement in economy and education will liberate them.

(Misty Karen Mountain Range)

But, areas along Sittang River and Thai border were perilous
Trains were mined, people robbed and properties looted, we heard
Then, about 30 university girls were kidnapped from the mined train
During vacation on its way from Rangoon to Moulmein
They were sold to KMT forces as brides in Shan State to buy arms
It was cruel and most callous and careless thing KNDO had done!

(Naw Louisa Benson, Former Miss Burma
and Wife of KNU Brigadier Lin Htin)

Brigadier Lin Htin was the culprit that did it
He was the husband of Naw Louisa Benson, a Miss
She won Miss University and Miss Burma as fit
She later went underground and now heard amiss.

KNDO President Saw Ba U Gyi was urbane and polite
He was a Karen patriot working for the Karen Rights
He was a minister in the Bogyoke Aung San government
But he resigned from it due to policy disagreement.

(Sagaw Karen Flag)

I saw dead Saw Ba U Gyi in the government movie film
The narrator told us he was killed in action while fleeing
He asked for a separate independent Karen State comprising
Irrawaddy delta, Rangoon, Pegu, Tenasserim Divisions,
To Mon and Karen States existing where Karen were living
Not surprising the then AFPFL government could not give in.

(Pado Saw Ba Thein)

Aung San was trying to negotiate with him at length
But he was assassinated before he could make settlement
Assassination made promises of Aung San unimplemented
Burma was left with political vacuum Premier U Nu inherited.

(U Nu, First Premier of Burma)

I found many Karen to be simple and straight forward
They are cordial, friendly and helpful full of regards
Many are Buddhists, some Christians and a few backward
In the sense they follow tradition, superstition and Nats.

(KNU Leaders General Bo Mya sitting first left)

KNDO was later changed to KNU political party
It was the shift from racial basis to ideology
It even adopted a Marxist ideology led by Mahn Ba Zan
They allied with Communists for some profitable runs
But, most Karen are anti-Communists and they turned
They are now to their own nationalist yearn.

(Padoh Man Sha, recently assassinated)

It’s nearly 60 years from 1949 to 2008
Karen Revolution or Insurrection has made
Many Karen stalwarts have given their lives
Mahn Ba Zan Bo Mya and Saw Ba Thin like
KNU controlled also have shrunken in size
The number of soldiers had also dived
DKBA has emerged from the KNU divide
Many Karen are now in factional fights.

(A Karen Buddhist Monk holding an Orphan)

They are now trying desperately to flee
They run away from Burma as refugees
To reach Thailand or other accepting countries
I feel sorry for all of them for their tragedy.

(Karen Refugees )

The Karen are by no means a cursed tribe
They are the second in population size
Numbering about 7 million in Burma
By hard work in peace they can prosper.

(Karen Buddhist Pagoda and Monks in Maela)

They are probably the earliest race to enter Burma
From the Gobi Desert through China
It’s according to legend to ponder
The truth is they are Mongoloid settled here.

(Karen Settlement Areas)

Professor G.H.Luce said Karen were Kamyan
They came to Burma with Pyu and Thet columns
He suggested Nga Sagaw Army destroying Sri Khsetra
Might have been the Karen Army of Lower Burma
It has no historical proof what so ever
Karen in Burmese means the “polite dancers”.

(The Late Ven. Thamanya Sayadaw, a Karen,
and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi)

They lived and worked in the valleys or plains
Where other tribes were not in place or claims
They retreated to the mountains to avoid taxation
Burmese kings were wary of them for frequent foraying.

(Judson Baptist Church and College, Rangoon)

This stopped only when British annexed lower Burma
British favoured them with education, jobs and others
The Karen replaced Burmans as Government Officers
Many of them were baptized to become Christian followers
It sowed the seed of animosity between them and Bamar
It was one of the root causes of the Karen insurrection to occur.

(Old British Karen Officers Still Look to UK to help KNU)

Actually, Buddhists outnumber the Christians in the Karen
Many Buddhist Sayadaws were famous among them
Saywingabar Sayadaw and Thamanya Sayadaw to cite a few
They were venerated by the Karen as well as Burmese people.

After the Army take over of the government in 1988
Many protesters for democracy fled to the Karen State
They all failed with the fall of Maneplaw at later date
Now the Karen are divided into Buddhist and Christian slates.

(A Ferry in Moei River Between Burma and Thailand)

Many Karen live and work under Government in Burma
Doctors, nurses, engineers, economists, historians and others
Dr Saw Simon Tha, Professors Tun Aung Chain, E. Kan Gyi etc
They show the role the Karen can play in the Union of Burma
I look forward to the day when we reach accord all together
So that peace and harmony will reign supreme in our country
Our children can enjoy life, liberty, equality and fraternity!

Dr Maung Maung Nyo
11.11.2008 (original)

Notes:
AFPFL = Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League
Anyar = Upper Burma
BIA = Burma Independence Army
DKBA = Democratic Karen Buddhist Association/Army
KNDO = Karen National Defence Organisation
KNU = Karen National Union
PVO = People’s Volunteer Organization (Pyithu Yebaw)
WW II = Second World War