Some Karen people as well as other groups are resettling in North Texas
By JIM JONES
"I was a stranger and ye took me in." Matthew 25:35
FORT WORTH — Members of Agape Baptist Church are giving a warm welcome to about 100 "Karen people" from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, who are being resettled in Fort Worth.
The Karen (pronounced kuh-RAN) are indigenous minorities from eastern Myanmar who have suffered religious and political persecution from their country’s militaristic regimes for many years. Villages have been burned, and many Karen people have been maimed or killed.
Now, many Karen — and two related Burmese minority groups, the Chin and Kachin — are being resettled through an effort of the United Nations, the State Department, Catholic Charities and other groups.
Many are leaving Thai refugee camps for the United States and nine other countries. About 500 are expected in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Agape Baptist members, teaming with the sponsoring group, Fort Worth’s Catholic Charities, have provided friendship, food, clothing, healthcare, transportation, bicycles, household items and English language classes for the incoming refugees.
Anne Mason, spokeswoman for Catholic Charities, said one of the goals of the State Department resettlement project is to have the community involved. "Groups like Agape is where we see this working very well," she said.
Many of the refugees are Baptist. Some are descendants of Christian converts of Adoniram Judson, the first Baptist missionary from America. In the early 1800s, Judson and his wife, Ann, traveled to India to assist legendary English missionary William Carey, but they ended up in Burma instead.
At Agape Baptist Church on Sunday, Burmese Christians sang hymns in their own language. They have Karen language Bibles, translated by Judson. Some Karen refugees are Catholic and other Christian faiths. Others are Buddhist and Hindu.
Many remember times of persecution. Moo Dah, 23, who arrived in Fort Worth two months ago, told of the Burmese military burning her camp in 1995.
"I grabbed the rice bucket and run, run, run," she said in an interview last week. While she talked, her father, Kho Ler, 59, sat with two frozen water bottles tied to his disabled right arm to ease the pain. "A soldier beat him with the butt of his rifle," Moo Dah said.
Aung Myint, settling here with three children, said her husband was shot to death by Burmese soldiers who were angry because he was too weak to hold a heavy load forced on him. Her sister, Hser Nay Htoo, said her husband died as her family tried to escape from invading Burmese military.
Karen people have been at odds with some segments of the Burmese government since the late 1940s over their efforts to have their part of the nation declared an independent state.
Mary Ann Anderson is leader of the Agape effort. She is the wife of Justice Anderson, a former missionary to Argentina who later served as missions director at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Their daughter and son-in-law are missionaries in Thailand with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. While on furlough, the couple helped initiate the Karen program.
Mary Ann Anderson will travel this year to one of the refugee camps in Thailand. She plans to bring back looms to the Karen people, who are known for their colorful, hand-woven clothing.
The big task is finding employment for the newcomers. A few have found jobs with lawn companies, meatpacking plants and Motorola.
Agape member Carl Wrotenbery, former director of libraries at Southwestern seminary, donated his mother’s treadle sewing machine. Moo Dah and others are using it to sew clothes and quilts that will be sold to help the refugees.
Moo Dah says her faith carries her through difficult times.
She and another refugee, Nweh Paw, 22, also known as "Sprite," graduated from a Bible school in one of the refugee camps. It was Sprite’s home camp.
But Moo Dah lived 25 minutes away and had to travel alone through a dark jungle to get back to her camp. Friends insisted that she needed someone to escort her.
"I told them, 'I have someone. Jesus is with me. No problem.’ "
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karen people The indigenous minorities from eastern Myanmar have sought in vain to form an independent state in the country. The Karen fought the Japanese in World War II, although the Burmese government allied with Japan against the British.
Why resettle: Karen people who fled to Thai refugee camps continued to be persecuted by Burmese military. A 2005 State Department religious freedom report stated that "highly repressive, authoritarian military regimes" have ruled Myanmar since 1962 and frequently deny religious freedom to Christians, Muslims and Hindus.
Baptist connection: About 40 percent of Karens are Baptist or evangelical Christians.
To help: To volunteer, suggest jobs or give donations, contact Catholic Charities, 817-413-3926, or Agape Baptist Church, 817-923-6800.
Sources: State Department, www.karenkonnection.org
N DAI SHIGA HPE TEXAS SHIGA DAP KAWN LA BANG DA AI RE.
