MEMO ON GOING HOME SUMMER 2007

The following is a memo on our Going Home Where We Belong – Summer 2007 trip which we started on May 13 and ended on August 4.

Background: As we began to formulate this program, we had decided that this first trip back home would be based on three main goals: to educate ourselves with the situation on the ground so that we could prepare for better services in the future; to share our knowledge with those who certainly would be interested; and to build a stronger bond between us despite the geographic disparity. Ultimately, we expected that a trip as such would humble us in many ways, would enable us to appreciate education more, and would strengthen our commitment to the betterment of our peoples’ future.

Activities: As we had informed you previously prior to the beginning of the trip, we generally divided the program into two main parts. As appeared in our Work Plan 1, the first part of the trip involved meetings & discussions with various youth and students groups in the refugee camps, workshops, and town-hall meetings with our leaders of respective organizations such as the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Karen National Union (KNU). We traveled extensively from north to south and then back to the north again as to fulfill our set agenda.

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Reflection: Of all the activities, there are a few that we think important to be evaluated so that we could learn from the strengths and weaknesses of our experience in order to better our future activities:

Meetings & Discussions and town-hall meetings with Various Groups

We met with the youth and students group based in Karenni camps 1 and 2, had a town-hall meeting with leaders of KNPP, and we also had a day long meeting and intensive discussion with leaders of Mutraw District/5^th Brigade of KNLA.

Most meetings we had were semi-formal and topics for discussions were picked by our participants to address the currently prevailing concerns over the situations. The issues ranged from what make national leaders to the increasing departure of our people for third countries and its psychological and practical impacts.

From these meetings and discussion with the youth, students, and our leaders, we learned that our people continue to live in various forms of fears and that any positive improvement of situation has been disproportionately small despite so many rapid activities going on along the Thai-Burma border as well in the international community. While we would very much like to be encouraging, we are aware that being able to assess the realities to the fullest extent possible is the only way we can move forward. Our discussions were often painful as we all had to swallow the bitter truth about deterioration in our revolutions – the highest calling to fight against dictatorship and ethnic chauvinism.

Nevertheless, we also found strengths in many of our remaining peoples and leaders whose courage and commitment to bring forth change continue to stand unwaveringly. Likewise, our people living in the active war-zone also continue to demonstrate their determination to retain our homeland at any cost even while many of us are far and away from that land.

Essentially, we found that there should be constant communications that aim to develop meaningful discussions, debates, and thereby better understanding of and cooperation among groups in different countries. We also found cohesiveness of ideas and orchestrated activities are imperative if we are to succeed as a people doing revolutions.

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Workshops and Teaching Courses

We had a successful week-long workshop with the camp-based groups in Karenni camp 1, kindly coordinated by the Karenni Students Union (KSU). We consider it a success not only because we were well received by the participants, but also we had some of the most active participants and non-traditional discussants in the workshop. Their contributions to the discussions had enabled us to better understand where we are at this point in terms of preparedness. Though we do not envision every individual in our respective communities to become politician, we learned that there should be systematic programs – through curriculums, for example – to give quality political education, among others, to various levels of our peoples. We believe that their improved political awareness would serve as a great asset to our revolutions as a whole.

After the Karenni camps, we had a one-day meeting in Weh Gyi with the local and regional leaders from 5^th and 3^rd brigades. The 5^th Brigade was our host for this meeting. The meeting was tense as issues discussed were ranged from defending our people who continue to live in the active war-zones, countering systematic and destructive projects such as dam constructions along the Salween River to population movements especially through our people departing for third countries, etc. We spent three days in Weh Gyi. Those who came to the meeting included battalion commanders, district level officials including departments’ heads, and other officers from the brigades including the two brigadier generals. During our stay, we went to visit the new arrivals in Eithoohta refugee camp. They came mainly from brigade 2, fleeing non-stop attacks by the SPDC against their villages, and they arrived on the same day that we got to Weh Gyi.

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In the South, we spent a week taking part in the three-months long training organized by the Mergui/Tavoy District/4^th Brigade for new generation and second-line leaderships. MO spent thirty hours (five days) on teaching the intermediate level understanding of federalism in the context of the Karens’ struggle.


Based on the notion that the Tennansarim Division (Mergui/Tavoy District) is to become a member state in the future federal union, participants discussed the possibilities and prospects of their home state. That, we considered progressive development and that we were greatly encouraged by the participants.

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This is the final part of our Going Home memo and we would like to welcome any comments our viewers might have in order to better prepare for Going Home 2008.

At the end of the first part of Going Home trip to the South, we came back to Mae Sariang to begin the second leg of our trip into Karen State. We spent exactly two weeks in Karen State altogether while a week was spent for training on federalism and the Karens’ struggle. It was an intermediate level as it was also the second time a training of that kind organized. Participants were again from Klerlweehtoo District and Mutraw District. The entire course was centered in the constitutional preparation of Kawthoolei as a member state in the new federal union we envision. We believe that series of discussions we had through out the course were stimulating and the participants were very involved. At the end of the course, the participants came up with a list of powers Kawthoolei should retain constitutionally in order to be a sovereign state where the citizens of Karen State can really enjoy freedom and prosperity under the rule of law. Exercise as this one, we believe, enabled our people to think more progressively and more futuristically. This course also served as a warning to all of us how prepared we should be to embrace the change we have been fighting for and that preparation is needed now along with the struggle. For now, the discussions are still general and it is our hope that we will be able to have more discussions on the details as to how we are going to prepare ourselves simultaneously with the struggle for liberation. ----

We technically ended our Going Home trip after we came out of Karen State on July 14. MO traveled to continue her professional obligation for two weeks to take part in a constitutional seminar and meetings with various constitution drafting committees from the states. NNP went back to Karenni camp 2 to spend about a week with his family before we all headed back to the US. Hsakuthay joined us until we finished the workshop in Karenni camp 1 and then he asked to spend time with his family in the refugee camp. Kellen was with the team through out the trip and she also participated in the constitutional seminar as a team member of the Center for Constitutional Democracy in Plural Societies from Indiana University School of Law.

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