Revolution Day celebrations on January 31, 2013, in a liberated area inside the Karen State. Photo. 2013, Burma Link.
|
After Burma (now called Myanmar) achieved independence from the British in 1948, the new government was dominated by the Burmese (Bamar), the largest ethnic group in the country. Leaders of Myanmar’s second largest ethnic group, the Karen, wanted the Karen to control their own future, with many wanting their own independent country. Fighting soon erupted between the Burmese military government and minority ethnic groups including the Karen. The Burmese military and the most prominent Karen group in Myanmar, the Karen National Union (KNU), have since been locked in one of the world’s longest-running conflicts. Many Karen have been forced to flee violence against civilians, becoming refugees in neighboring Thailand before many settled around the world, including a large number in the Twin Cities.
|
Sources to Get Started |
|