Karen New Year celebrated in Thailand

DVB ( 22 December 2003 )

Exiled Karen nationals in Bangkok gathered at a University on 21 December to celebrate the Karen New Year which falls on 23 December.

The celebration was organised by a Karen Refugee social welfare organisation, OKRSO and it was attended by 5000 celebrants.

Some Thailand-born Karen went to the celebration but the majority of the celebrants were exiled Burmese Karen. The celebration is a way of retaining Karen traditions and the celebrants took part in traditional skills, dancing and sport competitions.

At the same time, many exiled Karen were unable to join the celebration for fear of arrests by the Thai authority. ‘If we were allowed to celebrate the New Year freely in our homeland, we would be feeling happier,’ said Mahn Myo Myint, an organiser with a sigh.

The Karen people of Burma have been fighting for an autonomous state since the late 1940s and their armed struggle is still carried on under the leadership of the KNU (Karen National Union).

Currently, it is having a shaky temporary ceasefire agreement with the military junta of Burma, the SPDC to build confidence for possible political dialogues.

Other Karen communities throughout the world including those who live along the Thai-Burma are also celebrating the New Year under different circumstances.