Escaping that violence, many Karen ended up in camps in Thailand, where the U. Nearly , Karen live in the U. In Minnesota, that number is a little over 10,, with the vast majority arriving here between and , according to a report from the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Minnesota has one of the largest concentrations of Karen people in the nation.
Over the years, KOM did not just serve Karen people in Ramsey County; it also connected those willing to move to Greater Minnesota for jobs and affordable housing opportunities. In , when KOM hired Thomas Ritnorakan as an employment counselor, he said many companies in the Twin Cities were not interested in employing newly arrived Karen refugees.
That was mainly because these employers were still reeling from the Great Recession and balked at the idea of taking a chance on new refugees with limited English. But many meat-processing plants and manufacturing companies in Greater Minnesota were happy to take in anyone who could show up to work, regardless of their education level or English skills.
Ritnorakan took that opportunity to connect Karen refugees to processing plants and factories in Albert Lea, Austin, Marshall and Willmar — where a handful of Karen workers had already established themselves. In Albert Lea, for example, Ritnorakan started to place workers at the Select Foods pork processing plant. He also connected new workers with others who arrived there before them.
They would only stay there for work — and when their shifts ended, they returned to their families in Ramsey County. But in the past five years, more and more people started moving their families to Albert Lea, where they rented apartments or purchased mobile homes.
Many of these workers left Ramsey County for assembly line jobs at meat-processing plants and factories. Often times, families will raise livestock such as chickens, pigs and cows. Karen often flavor their meals, such as curry dishes, with chilies and add spices such as turmeric, ginger, cardamom, garlic, tamarind, and lime juice.
There are many food taboos that exist in traditional Karen culture, especially in regards to illness. For example, people who have hepatitis are told to avoid yellow foods and papaya is thought to trigger malaria. It is important to address dietary concerns with patients when an illness is diagnosed. The Thai Burma Border Consortium provides all refugees in camps along the border with a monthly food ration.
A diet composed mostly of rice, salt, chilies, and some vegetables contributes to a lack of protein and vitamin deficiencies. A clinical manifestation of vitamin deficiencies in children is the appearance of lighter colored hair.
Thiamine deficiency is commonly seen in pregnant women, post-partum lactating women, and young children in the villages. Thiamine deficiency can cause congestive heart failure in infants and children. Vitamin A deficiency is an important factor contributing to blindness and respiratory infections. Patients should be encouraged to consume more foods that contain vitamin B1.
Such foods include green peas, spinach, liver, beef, pork, navy beans, nuts, pinto beans, bananas, soybeans, whole-grains, enriched cereals, breads, yeast, and legumes. The Karen may drink whiskey, chew tobacco, and smoke cigarettes and cheroots. Smoking is part of the culture, and some male children can begin as early as 10 years in age.
Unlike some other ethnic groups from Burma, the Karen are not traditional opium producers. Some Karen villages produce marijuana, mainly harvested to sell for profit or to feed elephants and other animals.
On the other hand, the prevalence of amphetamine ya ba use is increasing in the refugee camps. The Karen also chew a seed called betel nut, which comes from the Betel Palm tree. Betel nut, containing relatively high levels of psychoactive alkaloids, is chewed for its mildly euphoric stimulant effects. However, the teeth and gums can become stained red as a result of regular betel nut chewing. Betel nut was once believed to prevent cavities, and even at one point was put into toothpastes.
However, the increase in mouth ulcers and gum deterioration leading to total loss of teeth caused by betel chewing outweigh any positive effects. Betel nut is a carcinogen and causes oral cancer.
Of these five, the majority of the Karen are Animist, Buddhist, or Christian. Christian Karen make up the leadership of the resistance to the Burmese. There has been some religious tension between the Christian and the Buddhist Karen.
A Buddhist faction broke with the Christian leadership and aligned with the Burmese military. Christianity was introduced to the Karen, and other ethnic groups located within Burma, during the early 18 th Century.
Before that time, unsuccessful conversion attempts were made by protestant missionaries. Karen oral legends told of tales similar to Christian teachings, thus allowing the Karen to more easily identify with the teachings introduced by the Christian missionaries. Burman rulers regarded Christianity as yet another tool being used by the Bristish oppressors. As a result, Karen Christians were severely persecuted; many were imprisoned while some were even subjected to crucifixion. Keenan, A large number of Baptist schools were established to provide Christian converts with high levels of education and also study-abroad opportunities in America.
With this history, the minority population of Karen Christians continues to hold much higher social positions than the majority population of Buddhist or Animist Karen. However, it is more likely that the Karen Buddhists merge Buddhism and Animism with a very fine distinction between the two religions.
Before the introduction of Christian missionaries in the s, many Karen worshipped a form of animism. Each of these Lords had a number of servants, or ghosts, created from the spirits of people who had died violent deaths, that would roam around the Karen homeland smoking pipes and armed with spears and swords. It was believed that touching them, even accidentally, would strike the victim with disease with the only cure being blood sacrifices.
Other similar legends tell of the animal spirit Na, who in ancient times had ordered the Karens to eat a mixture containing the flesh of every creature. If the Karen failed to eat each kind of flesh, then the spirit of that creature would in turn consume them. Since that time, sickness and death have come upon the Karen because they were unsuccessful in consuming the flesh of every creature.
However, the most dangerous of the spirits are a particular seven who kill the Karen. The tha forms the conscience, and so deals with moral nature. In Karen animism, there are also many spiritual beings. The more important spiritual beings have human attributes and have the power to control the destinies of mankind. A few in this group are spirits, some who have divine, god-like powers, who are responsible for the crops, or another that is considered the ruler of hell.
Even though many Karen may consider themselves as Buddhist believers, a large proportion continues to follow and believe in the traditions of animism, and often times mix the two beliefs. Formed in the early s, the Lehkai mixes Buddhism with traditional legends from the Karen Golden book, and continues to integrate some animistic beliefs. There are over students in 17 schools that teach the Lehkai.
One of the five stated aims of the Lehkai is to prohibit meat and flesh to be cooked for meals, as well as to prohibit alcoholic beverages. Based on religion, practices differ concerning death. Christian Karen bury their dead, while Buddhists and Animists perform cremations. When a person dies, a feast is prepared and there is often chanting and drinking. Spirits are encouraged to leave the area rather than hang around the community. Ghost stories are related about deceased members of the community who have been offended and continue to haunt an area.
The idea of organ donation is very foreign. The Karen traditional medicine borrows from both Indian Ayurvedic systems, including Alchemy, and Chinese medicine. The Karen from the remote jungles also exhibit a diversity of other folk healing traditions.
Herbal medicine remains of great importance in Burma due to the lack of money for occidental medicine and the anti-imperialist and anti-modernization notions of the Military regime. However, the Karen refugee community is accustomed to accessing health care through a clinic setting, as they have lived in the refugee camps where health care is provided by NGOs non-governmental organizations.
The majority of refugees prefer the services of the International NGO health centers in the camps. Still, there are traditional services available, though in insufficient quantity. There is a small network of traditional healers along the border.
Healing traditions of herbalism have been somewhat opposed by the Christian Karen, though there are efforts to revive the ancient practices. Barriers include a lack of access to the needed plants, a general resignation to apathy in the camps, and a decreased value placed on tradition especially by the youth.
The health NGOs have contributed to this by not working with local healers or encouraging proven traditional practices, and prohibiting traditional midwifery. Some people believe that modern medicine can cure their ailments, while others would prefer to use their traditional remedies if available. Sometimes people think they have bad blood and need to be bled. One interesting note is the confusion between vitamins and other medications.
Karen use the same word for both and only a few people understand the difference. Karen have a certain leaning for bitter and sour foods, especially vegetables, and many of these are eaten as a preventative. The Karen state was given a constitution and certain land borders that the head of the state at the time disagreed with strongly. They refused to sign the Panglong Agreement, which was the basis for the constitution of Burma in ; nonetheless, a constitution was granted to the Karen state.
The main leading political force, the Karen National Union KNU , during this time was completely unsatisfied, and the KNU raised a rebellion in that continues today. The Republic of the Union of Myanmar used to be referred to as Burma; this change was implemented by the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. A retaliation of the citizens of this state often choose to ignore many of the policies of the regime, including the renaming of the state; hence the two names of Burma or Myanmar, both the same place, just different stances.
A more accurate estimate is that 7 million Karen people live in Burma, and about 1 million live in Thailand. Some health issues could be biologically tied to race; many are tied to social inequities, including poverty.
When included in the data for Asian-Americans, the true picture of Karen-American health may be missed. Social determinants of health are economic and social conditions that influence the health of people and communities. Recent refugees often have high rates of poverty, which can result in lack of preventive health care and limited health choices.
Karen families are often large, and many generations may live together. The society is matriarchal, and women and men are considered equal, and girl and boy children equally prized. Traditionally, the Karen do not use surnames. For example, married couples do not share a last name. This can cause confusion in the U. Smoking is traditional in Karen society. Some children start as young as 10 years of age.
Karen also use chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco and cheroots. Harmful alcohol use has risen in the Karen population as people left traditional village life and were dislocated to refugee camps and resettled.
Many Karen feel ill at ease when confronted with American communication styles. Loud speech, direct address, and Western body language, such as direct eye contact, are considered impolite. Karen people demonstrate respect by standing back and folding their arms in front when speaking. Disagreement is avoided and direct displays of anger are considered shameful.
Making and sticking to strict schedules is difficult for many.
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