By Thaw Bwe
(Writer's Note: My
ethnicity is of the Karen (KA-wren) people, and this is an article about how they
came to Middle Tennessee.)
In 2007, a group of 70 ethnic Karen people fled from Myanmar (also known as Burma) and started their new lives in Smyrna, Tenn. Most of them decided to attend All Saints Episcopal Church, which increased enrollment. During the same year, prior to their arrival, the Rev. Michael Spurlock and his congregation at All Saints Episcopal Church in Smyrna had fallen to only 20 members, and they were not able to make the church’s monthly mortgage payment. The All Saints congregation was about to lose the church and planned to sell the property. Suddenly, 70 Karen Anglican Christians joined the church. Life for Rev. Spurlock and his congregation is back to normal and has became stronger than ever.
In 2007, a group of 70 ethnic Karen people fled from Myanmar (also known as Burma) and started their new lives in Smyrna, Tenn. Most of them decided to attend All Saints Episcopal Church, which increased enrollment. During the same year, prior to their arrival, the Rev. Michael Spurlock and his congregation at All Saints Episcopal Church in Smyrna had fallen to only 20 members, and they were not able to make the church’s monthly mortgage payment. The All Saints congregation was about to lose the church and planned to sell the property. Suddenly, 70 Karen Anglican Christians joined the church. Life for Rev. Spurlock and his congregation is back to normal and has became stronger than ever.
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The
hard-working Karen people in America are employed at low-paying jobs by Tyson and Taylor Farms. Some of them have
problems with transportation, so when the Karen
people go to work or to the store, they combine resources and save money
by riding together. Many Karen had a difficult time and sturggled financially
when they first arrived in Smyrna. Before the Karen people came to America,
they were farmers. Bcause of their agricultural experience, the spokesman for
the Karen, Ye Win, asked the All Saints congregation if they could plant
gardens on the church’s large property. The All Saints vicar liked the planting
idea, and the Karen started to cultivate and grow vegetables such as chili
peppers and beans native to Burma. According to an Episcopal News Service
article by Lisa B. Hamilton, “…20,000 pounds of produce had been raised. About
10 percent of that went to the refugees, and the rest was sold locally or
donated to food pantries.” Now All Saints is financialy strong and everyone is
blessed and happy.
The
Karen people are an ethnic group from Burma. During World War II when Burma was a
British colony, many Karen and other ethnicities became Christian. The missionaries
were Anglican, Baptist and Catholic, so the Karen became Anglican, Baptist and
Catholic. After World War II, when Burma gained independence from the British,
the dictatorship of Burma started to attack other ethnic groups in its country,
including the Karen people. Fueled by the greed of more land, it practiced
genocide. Many Karen people were forced to flee from their homes where the
Burmese military dictatorship burned their villages and tortured, raped and killed
their people. A few Karen people stayed in Burma to fight back. Most Karen crossed the border to Thailand and
became refugees. In 2007, the Karen immigrated to other countries, including
Australia, England, Canada and America, but some of them moved to Thailand.
The
Karen refugees come to Tennessee through an agency known as World Relief.
Catholic Charities in Nashville sponsor the refugees in Middle Tennessee.
According to the Tennessee Lawmaker’s Commission, “ In 1990, refugees made up
roughly half of 1 percent of the total population… descendants make up closer to
1 percent (.9 percent) of Tennessee’s 6.5 million residents. An estimated 9,200
refugees are students in K-12 schools. Metro Nashville Public Schools educate, by far, more refugees than any other system in the state. Roughly 10,900
refugees get health care through TennCare. Before Medicaid rolls were trimmed
down after 2001, nearly 25 percent of refugees in the state were on TennCare. Currently,
most Karen refugees living in Smyrna reside at the Chalet Apartments, 111 Joyner
Drive. Some of them are helped by Community Servants connections.
From
personal experience, I am Karen. Every year, we celebrate the New Year by
dressing up in beautifully colored Karen clothing. During the New Year
ceremony, we show our culture through dance, and I give speeches about the
meaning of the Karen national flag in my native language and English. Other
people are giving speeches about the history of the Karen. The Karen offer
their “soul food” for the New Year in the form of an array of mostly spicy
foods. Unlike American desserts, the Karen desserts are not as sweet; some are
made with coconut milk and gelatin.
The
survival story of how the Karen people succeeded at All Saints Episcopal Church
and how they saved one another has appeared in a Nashville newspaper several
times. The amazing story came to the attention of Steve Gomer, a TV and film
director from Hollywood. Over My Shoulder Foundation Executive Director, Dawn
Carroll said, “… I’m pleased to announce OMSF’s relationship with a fabulous
new movie, ‘All Saints.”’ To be able to make the film, Producer Martha Chang
and Gomer are trying to fund their project by raising production money.
“We’re in a really interesting place,” Gomer said. “We submitted
the script to a very small division of Sony called Affirm, and they really
liked it. They’ve guaranteed us distribution and a certain amount of dollars
for print and ads, but they couldn’t commit to any production dollars. So we’re
a little bit backward.”
Chang and Gomer plan to shoot the movie, “All Saints”, in Smyrna
so they can use and pay the Karen as extras in the film. If everything goes
well, making “All Saints” will start in the spring or summer of 2015, when the
plants are growing on Tennessee’s green farmland. “All Saints” may show in
theaters in late 2015 or 2016.
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