A
view from the periphery
<
TIDE - SUMMER - 2001 >
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the pride and blood of the Karen's enduring ethnic struggle
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It
was just before dawn on January 1, 2001. In the mountains of Burma,
not far from the Thai border, RPG mortars fired away. This was
the sound that greeted my ears as I lay in a small bamboo thatched
hut, shivering from the cold. "Will this be yet another year of
war?" Half-filled with despair, I fell again to sleep. In one
corner of Southeast Asia, there is a "country" with abundant natural
resources called "Burma." Whenever there is news coverage of this
version of Burma, central to the story is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
and her continuing non-violent struggle against the current military
regime for democracy. Rarely is the existence of ethnic groups,
also continuing their struggles of resistance in the jungles of
Burma, even touched upon. In Burma, 70% of the population is comprised
of the Burman ethnic group. Since the late 1940's, however, efforts
by successive military regimes to Burmanize the nation have been
met with armed resistance by "ethnic minorities" living in remote
areas, such as the Kachin, Karen, Chin, Mon and Shan. However,
due to the junta's overwhelming access to supplies and room for
political maneuvering, the resistance movements of these ethnic
groups have dissipated.
It is mainly the Karen who have retained arms to continue their
fight for autonomy. Isolated and without outside support, but
unified under the Karen National Union (KNU), they have been fighting
to maintain their culture and tradition. Their history of resistance
entered its 53rd year at the end of January 2001. It is said that
the oldest civil war since the end of World War II is this war
of resistance by the Karen of Burma. December 23rd last year,
I stepped into the mountains of Burma. I returned on January 6th.
In the mountains, there was no hint of the New Year festivities
enlivening the cities. In the midst of nature, only by watching
sunset follow sunrise could I feel the passage of time. While
in the mountains, I could not help but ponder the meaning of the
Time and History humans have created. At the end of January and
back in Japan, I looked over the newspaper clippings accumulated
during the two months I was away. How many times did I see "the
20th Century was a century of war." In spite pages crowded with
references to conflicts ad nauseam, there was not a single account
of the world's longest civil war, the Karen's "war of resistance."
Their history of struggle remained completely unacknowledged.
For this very reason I must go there; there are voices largely
unheard which I am able to record. Entering the ninth year of
this realization, I reaffirmed the essential motivation guiding
my work.
"I don't want to fight. But I have no other choice but to fight."
Such words must not pass the lips of the head of an army. But
Commander Baw Kyaw, leader of the 5th Brigade of the KNLA (Karen
Liberation Army) and nearly 1000 soldiers, shared this anguish
with me in a moment of solemn reflection. I was shocked to learn
that we were of the same age-born only 6 days apart in the same
month of the same year. History does not allow for the word "if."
On the same planet, sharing the same span of time, many people
are in completely different circumstances. "What if I had been
born not a Japanese, but as him, this Karen from Burma?" To ponder
thus indicates my arrogance; it shows nothing more than the fact
that my position is merely that of an onlooker. He, who did not
want to fight, took on the Burmese army just before the dawn of
the new century. The weapons at hand were outdated and did not
work well. Five dead, 13 wounded. A heavy defeat in guerilla warfare.
To him I asked a cruel question, "considering the lives of the
five who died, what do you think about fate?" |
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Click
the following images, you can see the bigger images.
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Nearly
300 government troops are approaching to the other siede of
the hill. Only 38 Karen soldiers place themselves in the foremost
battleline.
( Karen Sate, Burma, June, 1993 )
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A
Karen soldier preparing to head for the frontline.
Who knows his thoughts? He had 30 minutes to think them.
( Karen Sate, Burma, December, 1993
)
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Boys
playing by flipping nuts called Mawker, taking a break even
at the frontline.
( Karen Sate, Burma, June, 1993
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A
Karen soldier guarding the camp at the frontline.
( Karen Sate, Burma, June, 1993
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A
Karen girl in the refugee camp eagerly studying the Sgawh Karen
language. She is diligent about this, one of the features of
her own culture.
( The Karen refugee camp, Thailand, May, 1993 )
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Mother
and her children bathing in the river which is rising due to
the rainy season.
Malaria spreads at the border between Thailand and Burma during
this season,
and the morality rate of infants also increases.
( Burma-Thailand border, May, 1993 )
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Just
after the dawn, in the bright sunshine, a Karen girl is reciting
aloud repeatedly.
( Karen Refugee Camp, Thailand. July, 1993 )
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A
Karen cowherd, living in the refugee camp,
blowing a reed pipe while taking a rest on a rock.
( Karen Refugee Camp, Thailand, July, 1993 )
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Mr.
U (41) and his family escaped to Thailand from the persecution
of the Burmese army.
( Karen Sate, Burma, August, 1993 )
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Christian
Karen family celebrating Christmas.
( Karen Sate, Burma, Dec., 1993 )
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Lots
of business is going on in the big refugee camp.
The sister and her little brother are selling vegetables around
the camp.
( Karen Refugee Camp, Thailand, June, 1993 )
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A
colonel died at the age of 63.
He devoted his life to battle but was buried before seeing the
arrival of peace.
( KNU Headquarter, Karen Sate, Burma, January, 1994 )
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A
Karen sodlier joining in a battle even though he wears an artificial
leg.
( Karen State, Burma, January, 1994 )
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A
Karen boy looking after his little brother who is having a nightmare
due to a high fever.
( Thailand - Burma border, June, 1993 )
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