The essays in this collection were written by students in the Bachelor of Arts (BA) Liberal Arts Programme in the Mae La refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border. The students are all ethnic Karen people living in exile, and some have been living in Mae La or similar camps for more than 14 years. 

The essays were written during November 2002 when we had the privilege of being with the students and helping in their studies. They come, largely or in part, after studying Martin Luther King Jr’s speech, “I Have a Dream” and the discussion that followed the question, “When will our freedom come?” However, the students were encouraged to write in any style and on any topic they felt engaged with, and which they wanted to share with us and others. In the essays they tell some of the many stories that inform and describe their lives.

We congratulate them for writing so well in a second language. As the editors we have made only small grammatical and typographical corrections and we have attempted, as best we can, to ensure the intent and meaning remains intact.

Background
Burma, also known at times in its history as Myanmar, has a troubled past, but perhaps the current problems, and those involving the Karen and other ethnic minorities such as the Shan or the Mon, can be traced to British colonial rule which began in 1885 and lasted until 1945. During this time the Karen had to a considerable degree converted to Christianity. This stood them apart from other ethnic groups and also enhanced an alliance with Britain that was to be the source of many conflicts.

In common with many other colonised nations Burma, in the 1930s began to develop an independence movement. The principal figure in this was Aung San (father of the present leader of the National League for Democracy and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi). 

When Britain and Japan were at war, and Japanese forces were conquering most of South East Asia, Aung San sided with them primarily out of anti-British feeling. The Karen, however, retained their alliance with the British with whom they felt a religious affinity and loyalty, and indeed fought against the Japanese and their allies in guerrilla units known as the Chindits and led by the British officer Orde Wingate. But as the war progressed and it became clear that the Japanese were losing, Aung San switched allegiance and gave his support to the British partly on the condition that he would be the designated leader of post-war independent Burma and the promises the British made to the Karen about an autonomous, independent homeland could be discounted.

 As a result, although Burma gained independence in 1947, at the same time as India and Pakistan, the Karen issue was negotiated away and left to the Burmese to solve. The Burmese solution was to begin a systematic and prolonged campaign of discrimination and persecution, expelling the Karen from their land and driving them into exile. This policy intensified following the military coup of 1988 and the establishment of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In a sustained attack on the Karen people SLORC has burnt villages, driven people from their land, destroyed crops, jailed opposition leaders and activists, introduced forced labour to build roads and porter for troops, arbitrarily requisitioned food and committed war crimes including rape, torture and murder. As a result up to 100,000 Karen have fled their homes for the refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border. Mae La is one such camp.

The camp
At the present time it is reliably estimated that there are about 40,000 people in the Mae La camp. The Kawthooli Bible School and College (Kawthooli is the Karen's name for their homeland) is only a small part of that, but is hugely significant in its reach, example and influence. Although there have been refugees in the area for at least 17 years the events of 1988 when the Burmese military put down pro-democracy demonstrations dramatically increased the number. It was at this time that Rev. Saw Simon chose to leave his teaching position at a Yangon (Rangoon) seminary and pursue his ministry with the Karen in exile. He travelled overland with his own and extended family, and finally arrived at Mae La some 14 years ago. Part of the concerns of Rev. Simon and the other leaders was the continuing education of the young people in the camp – many of whom have never set foot outside.

 As a result, not only did they establish a Theology College, but have recently begun to develop a BA Liberal Arts programme to introduce students to a secular educational model which, in turn, will help to cultivate the leaders of the next generation. The essays contained herein are part of that programme. 

However, a word or two is needed to put the situation of the refugees into perspective. Firstly, they are not officially recognised as refugees by the Thai government, the host country. As such they have no Thai papers, no Burmese papers and no NGO papers. They cannot leave the camp to go into Thailand or to other countries, nor go back to Burma. They are also limited, because of this situation, in the amount of aid they can access from aid agencies. They do receive some food; fish paste, oil and rice, and they have recently hooked up to the regular electricity supply. However, they live about 45 minutes from the nearest small town and have to pass through military road blocks each time they leave the camp, which is technically illegal anyway. Any time they leave they are risking arrest.

On first sight the camp appears like a village. Not very different from anything that might be seen anywhere in the border country. The people are warm and welcoming, and loving, with a deep-seated sense of purpose, meaning, community and spirit. But the village is a deceptive prison. There is sadness and there are tears, but more importantly there is hope for the future, and it is the individual and collective participation in creating that future that seems to be what sustains it. 

We cannot tell the stories because they are not ours to tell. But we hope that we can be part of something bigger than ourselves which can enable the storytellers to be heard. May we all be able to read with our hearts, to hear with our spirits, to be vulnerable enough to be moved, and courageous enough to be responsible for what we know.   

Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the students for sharing their stories and Rev. Simon for allowing us to participate in the BA programme. We wish to thank the Mae La community for making us feel so welcome and for helping us to understand better the breadth and depth of what it means to be part of the Christian family. Thank you to the Canberra Baptist Church for its Christmas Appeal support to the BA programme and for making this anthology possible.

Sincerely,

Twilla & Mark Welch January 2003