Boys and girls participate in a traditional Karen dance on stage moving between poles moved in rhythm. Resettled Karen refugees celebrated their 2749th New Year with dance and celebration at the Akron-Summit County Public Library. (Paul Tople/Akron Beacon Journal)Say Say was captured in the Burmese jungles by soldiers of a military dictatorship that was killing his people.
For three days, Say, a Karen, was forced to carry the soldiers' equipment packs.
He said he made his escape only after the soldiers fell asleep.
Say eventually fled to a refugee camp in Thailand to escape cultural persecution and atrocities committed by the military regime that had taken over his homeland. He brought his family to the United States three years ago.
On Sunday, Say and his wife, Psaw Brow, and their two daughters celebrated the Karen New Year with 300 members of Akron's immigrant community at the Akron-Summit County Public Library.
Brow met Say at the camp, where she had lived for 10 years before coming to America.
They have two daughters who attend Findley school.
''I come for my daughters. I worry about them,'' she said.
About 500 people have resettled in Akron in the past three years, said Sunday Moo, a Karen refugee who has arranged the New Year event for three years.
Members of the Karen (pronounced Kahr-en) community fled the military regime in Burma, now called Myanmar, in Southeast Asia.
Moo, a translator at Akron's International Institute, said the Karen families come together for the annual event and by donating money for the celebration.
On Sunday, they celebrated their freedom from the repression of the military regime they fled in Myanmar with traditional songs, dances and food in the library's auditorium.
''We do it to keep our culture and teach our children. We don't want to lose our identity,'' Moo said.
David P. Ayers, director of the student affairs office of international programs at the University of Akron, told the audience that the city has a long history of welcoming immigrants.
''From the early development of the U.S. tire industry to the present-day polymer industry, Akron has relied on the contribution of immigrants,'' he said.
''You are a brave people, crossing an ocean and a culture to begin a new life here in Akron. It is not easy to cross a culture.''
Hoa Nguyen, who came to America 20 years ago from Vietnam, teaches English-as-a-second-language classes at North High School. She said language is a barrier for students and even the differences in cultural body language can create problems for Karen students.
But on Sunday, dozens of teenagers at the celebration looked like most American teens, wearing blue jeans and carrying their ever-present cell phones.
''They've got everything,'' Nguyen laughed. ''They don't look like Karen anymore.''
The first year the Karen people came to Akron, cultural differences were a problem for young people trying to be accepted in their new country, said Moo, a student at the University of Akron.
''They've adopted a lot of the culture,'' she said. ''But this kind of program brings awareness of culture and race.''
Urban Vision ministry offers several community outreach and after-school programs and is a resource for Karens while holding their community together.
''We come because we want a better life. I came here to work, to have the right to do anything I want,'' Moo said.
internsive language
ReplyDeleteGreat subject. I have been playing around with the idea of the comment structure recently.
I think now Internet user are increasing day by day so company are preferring online marketing now.
I think that Marketing Online is still the best choice, cause we have high ROI´s with less investments, especially with SEO.
Thanks.