Country: Myanmar

Group: Kaya Lahwi/Padaung (found as larger group “Karen”)

Date Finalized: 4/5/2020

Team: Maya Shrikant (lead), Leilani Alva, Johanna McCombs

The Kaya are a part of the group of ethnicities referred to as the Karen, an ethnolinguistic group of Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic groups numbering 7 million in Myanmar. In this group, there have been recurring instances of resistance against Burmese authority and policies aimed at repressing Karen language, culture, and religion (Clarke 2001, Fong 2008, Callahan 2013). From 1988 to present day, the Karen indigenous groups have suffered from ethnocide via forced labor, relocation, confiscation of land, sexual violence and discrimination by state authorities in language use and education (Minority Rights, n.d.). In 2006, there were documented uses of forced labor and execution of Karen civilians (Minority Rights, n.d.). Development projects in Burma have strategically displaced Karen people and used them as forced labor. In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, in 2008, Karen people were denied assistance and many were left to starve and die (Minority Rights, n.d.). In 2011, 114 villages were flooded because of land development, leaving over 10,000 displaced. Though their economic livelihood is built on tourism, the government and landlords control the tourism industry and control profits (Ismail, 2008). Additionally, the Karen peoples have their own armies, human rights groups and peace councils that are fighting for their rights in a contest with Burmese government. The ongoing conflict between the government and Kaya is described as the “world’s longest civil war” (Miliband, 2016). Data quality is a 3 because of the multitude of resources explaining persistent conflicts within this group.

Sources

  1. Callahan M.P. (2013). Making Enemies. War and Statebuilding in Burma. Cornell University Press (Ithaca/London)
  2. Clarke, G. (2001). From ethnocide to ethnodevelopment? Ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples in Southeast Asia. Third World Quarterly, 22(3), 413-436.
  3. Fong, J. (2008). Revising the ethnodevelopment model: addressing Karen self-determination within the context of the failed ethnocratic state of military-ruled Burma. Ethnic and racial studies, 31(2), 327-357.
  4. Ismail, J. (2008) Ethnic Tourism and the Kayan Long-Neck Tribe in Mae Hong Son, Thailand. Doctoral Dissertation, Victoria University
  5. Minority Rights (n.d.). Karen. Retrieved from https://minorityrights.org/minorities/karen/
  6. Miliband, D. (2016, December 12). How to Bring Peace to the World’s Longest Civil War. Retrieved March 15, 2020, from https://time.com/4597920/myanmar-peace/