Camp 1. Plu Reh and I met with a few of the trainers and I interviewed them. I asked them about their experiences with the project, expectations, discoveries, lessons learned. It was very interesting, and I have it all on videotape. Mainly, they spoke about how important their culture is to them and how the youth weren’t particularly interested in the traditions until the project started last year. There is much more respect for the elders, by the youth, since the project began.
Camp 2. We met with the IAP Committee. Apparently, there are some problems between the Committee members and the IAP Assistant. No one would come out and say it, but the Committee members seemed to be very frustrated and in my opinion, they seemed not to be able to make their own decisions.
One issue I am concerned with is that the youth didn’t seem to be involved with the process of creating the Project. I don’t think they had any say in how the subjects were picked as there wasn’t an assessment conducted in this camp. The leadership in this camp is very autonomous – which is good, but I wonder how the project was put together.
The IRC would like to focus on the following issues related to the project:
Work on a way to integrate the IAP with new psycho/social programs – they are stating a GBV (Gender based violence) program
Integrate the program into the schools
How to make it sustainable
Technique for documentation
The refugees – the trainers – also asked for a training manual.
This week, I think I might travel twice to the camps as I really need to get a feeling as to how they would like the project to progress. Both camps welcomed the idea of including the handicap into the Project.
Finishing off the Camp 1 visit: Plu Reh and I met with the KnED (Karenni Education Department), to discuss the possibility of integrating the IAP with the school’s curriculum. I was amazed at how open to the idea they were. In both the Social Studies and Karenni History curriculum, there is mention of the ethnic songs, dances, festivals, etc. The KnED suggested linking the IAP with these subjects, so that if the youth are leaning about a certain festival, an IAP trainer can come in and teach the students a dance or song from that festival. KnED would like to integrate this across all grades, primary and secondary, so we will be meeting with the teachers to discuss this.
One issue came to mind that I would like to discuss further. That is that the integration or linkage of the IAP and the school’s curriculum, should NOT replace the Project. Rather it should enhance it. If we move the Project only into the schools, then we will have defeated the purpose of the project in the first place – empowerment to the refugees and community building. Adding it to the school’s curriculum is just an added bonus.
This has been an exhausting and rewarding day – wow!! The trip to Camp 1 was longer than I had remembered; it took almost an hour and a half of riding through the jungle on dirt roads.
The first meeting we had was with the IAP Committee members, the project was now called the Intergenerational Arts Project (IAP). There were many faces I recognized and it was a good feeling to see them again – they were happy to see me as well. We talked about the project
We discussed the future of the IAP and possible improvements or modifications to last year’s Program. For the most part, the response was overwhelming – all of the committee members at the meeting explained how they needed more space – room for the classes/training. They want to construct more training centers or restrict the number of students. Also brought up was the need to have longer periods for training (their term for teaching the youth.)
Overall, the youth are anxious to start again and have already made a list of subjects to be taught this year. The IAP worked well in that it addressed most of the ethnic groups in the camp. Those groups who did not participate – as the program was open to all – didn’t because they were not prepared.
They all mentioned the need for help in training the teachers, a methodology of sorts. This is exactly where ART’s curriculum comes into play.
Here I am, back in Mae Hong Son and in a way it feels as if I never left. The town is just about the same as last year – a few changes with new restaurants and shops, but basically it is the same. The sad thing is that there are hardly any tourists. Last year, there were quite a few, apparently since the SARS epidemic, tourism has all but ceased and many of the restaurants have gone out of business – very sad.
My return to the IRC offices here was wonderful. Everyone remembered me with huge smiles and warm hearts. There is quite a bit of work to be done during my three weeks here. First, I will be working to help expand the project – integrating it into the school’s curriculum. We will meet with JRS to discuss the possibility of this and coordinate with the KNED (Karenni Education Department?) The refugees would like to expand the project to include building a museum, record songs and instrumental music as well folklore, increase festival performances, and other ethnic minorities within the camps.
Tomorrow, Plu Reh and I go off to Camp 1 for the day.
My last day in the camps.
I am proud of what I started in the camps, and I really think it will do some good for the refugees. The fact that I am getting some gratification out of this is secondary – most importantly, they are gaining something valuable. The re-building of their community.
At lunch today, with Cate and a few other IRC staff, we talked about the cultures of the two camps. In camp 5, they have established a real sense of community and self-sustainability, perhaps that is because they are so far away and most of the NGO’s don’t spend much if any time there and even the Camp Committee and governing body is located in Camp 1 and hardly ever visit Camp 5. I think because of this, they have had to rely on themselves, build their own community in order to survive. Camp 1, however, is quite different. The NGOs are ever present, giving and helping, that it has created a culture of reliance on the part of the refugees. They have not had to figure out how to do things for themselves because everyone is so eager to do it for them. As a result, you end up with a dependent culture that is very far from becoming self-sustainable. It really is a fascinating study of the world – it’s like a microcosm, right there in Mae Hong Son.
Today, Plu Reh and I went to Camp 5.
All of the meetings for the day were help at the KNYO. Konesto, head of KNYO arranged for us to meet with a group of youth in their late teens – early 20’s. I asked them about their interest in learning the traditional art forms, what if any they would be interested in learning and if they think it is important to keep the traditions alive. They were very interested, said that the traditional dances, songs and music were of most interest and that at least 40 other youth in their age group – 15-21 – would be interested as well. Jospeh, Zerah and Tek li have already taught them traditional dances from 4 different tribes.
Last Friday, Cate and I went back to Camp 1 (Camps 2 &3). Our first meeting was with the elders and traditional committee in the Temple. When we arrived, there were even more people than the previous week. They were sitting in the temple waiting for us, you could see the anticipation on their eyes - something would engage their minds and spirits,
One woman sang an eyro, and again she began to cry. This was the type of eyro that one sings to tell about your feelings because in their tradition one doesn’t express emotions openly and directly. She sang of how fortunate they are to have such kind foreigners – us – helping them and providing them the opportunity to hold onto their past. As one woman said, it means we can feel again. All these feelings have been put away, hidden, until they were given an opportunity and permission. It was as if they needed to have permission to go ahead and remember how it is to feel again.
I am very impressed with how well coordinated and structured and organized they are. When we asked if they had made any progress in creating a committee and identifying the adults interested in teaching and participating in the project, they had already created a five-person committee that will set the guidelines and direction for the project; it is an advisory board of the Traditional Committee. There is also a committee for the project that will oversee the teachers/elders. Then there are the teachers. This is organized very much the same as their governing structure or like a political party.
Finally, they provided us with a list of traditional art forms they are proposing to teach. Throughout this process with the adults and elders, it must be remembered that it will be the youth who decide which art forms they would like to learn. If it is not presented this way, I don't think the project will be successful. It has to take a "bottom-up" approach. If the youth are not integrated in to the formation of the project - from the very beginning and through implementation, it will not be successful.
The adults came up with a list of at least 12 art forms they would like to teach. It started with the eyro, the telling of traditional stories, myths and their history though song. Until recently, the Karenni did not have a written language and all traditions and history were passed to the next generation through the eyro, as well as the dances. The second was teaching fortune telling, this is done by reading chicken bones. Apparently, chicken bones have many meanings in Karenni tradition.
The third subject was traditional dances, which seems to be one of the most popular. Fourth, traditional songs; fifth, fortune telling with beads; sixth, bamboo weaving, to make baskets, floor coverings; seventh, weaving and costume making; eighth, drum making – with animal skins; ninth, bamboo flute making and playing; tenth, how to use a spinning wheel to make thread, and how to use a loom; eleventh, knife and machete making; and finally twelfth, teach guitar playing.
It was a long day today. We left for camp 5 at 8am - I had my own interpreter, Plu Reh. When we got to camp, 3 hours later, we met at the Karenni National Youth Organization’s building – or should I say hut. There were six men – Tele who works with the KNYO, Jospa, a teacher, Konesto, the secretary for the KNYP, Jere, a member of camp 5’s Traditional Committee, Dere, vice Chairperson of camp 5’s Traditional Committee, and Simp, a member of the literacy and cultural committee.
I started off by explaining the project, again. We had met with them last week and explained it then. Apparently, there are already a few people teaching the traditional dances for the holidays – Jospa and Tele, but they were very interested in the program.
As I was talking with this group, it was so interesting to note how different each camp is, and that each has its own personality. Here, at camp 5, it is very relaxed and laid back. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that there are only 3,000 (approximately) refugees as opposed to 18,000 in camps 2/3.
Through the talking, there are three main art forms they would like to teach and learn: the eyro, the dances, and how to make and play the traditional musical instruments. It was decided that the teaching should start with the dancing and instrument making because the eyro is a bit tricky to teach. Apparently, there are three types of eyro: the first tells the history of the Karenni people, the second is a love song, sung between a man and a woman, and the third are songs that tell how you feel. Karenni are shy people and don’t talk about their feelings, this type of eyro allows them the opportunity to communicate their feelings without feeling shy or awkward.
The dances can be taught by Jospa, he knows the traditional as well as the modern dances, and Jospa’s father-in-law can teach how to make the bamboo flutes. There is another man, who I met at Dere’s house, who will teach how to make and play a string instrument made out of bamboo as well.
I asked these men what types of traditional art forms they think are important to preserve and teach the youth, since many of them were born “outside” (outside of Karenni state – Burma). They listed three things: Dances for weddings and funerals, how to play and make the different kinds of instruments of all 7 types of Karenni tribes, and how to make the costumes and traditional clothing. Later, once the project is up and running, they would like to teach the youth how to make the bamboo cups.
About an hour into the meeting, five high school aged youth came into the meeting. They said they would like to learn the traditional art forms, and next week when we meet they will have talked to their peers to see their reaction. They were very sweet kids. The culture is such that the people are very shy, and smile and laugh a lot. I am not sure what that says about what is underneath all of that. There really aren’t any psychosocial statistics for these refugees.
After the meeting, Plu Reh and I were invited back to Dere’s house where he would bring someone who makes instruments. We had lunch in his house/store that his wife runs. They were so warm and inviting, I felt so comfortable, even though I didn’t understand a word they said.
This morning we returned to BT/BK. Our first meeting was with the elders who said they would be interested in teaching their traditional art forms to the youth. It turned out to be a fabulous meeting. There were several hundred people, it seemed as if the whole camp came, and they were all very excited.
The meeting started inside a traditional temple they built out of bamboo, with a performance by a group of very well rehearsed refugee children giving a traditional dance performance. They were dressed in the traditional costumes and the dance was about the rice harvesting. After the dance, we talked with the elders and they told us what art forms they would like to teach. The list was wonderful, and they were so excited – you could see how proud they were to stand up and say what they did well and wanted to teach and felt was important to pass on to the youth. The list was great…. Storytelling, the “eyro,” telling of the traditions and history through song, singing, dancing, fortune telling,by reading chicken bones, basket making, weaving and costume making, drum and flute making, and how to spin cotton. When they spoke about what they wanted to teach, you could see their confidence return, they had something to look forward to in their monotonous lives something that tied them to their past, their homeland.
Now they wanted to show us more dancing. So we went outside and watched more dancing and music playing. There were several groups of older Karenni women who performed different dances - very tribal, a group of men who sang, played the flutes and drums as they marched in a circle, a young Shan man who performed a sword dance – using a bamboo stick instead, and finally a group of young Shan girls who performed another very well rehearsed dance. This dance, as opposed to the one performed by the first group of youth, was much more refined, with specific hand and finger gestures. There was not any stomping or jumping – it was rather timid in comparison.
After being given rice wine to drink – very interesting flavor, we left the group for a meeting with JRS.
The meeting with JRS was to see if they had any suggestions about working with the youth in the camps. We decided that the best ages to work with would be 12-20. The chief administrator of the schools is going to help us gather those youth interested in the project. We will meet with them next Friday afternoon.
It has become clear that a committee has to be formed to manage this – there are just too many people interested in the project that we need to work with a smaller group who can help to make decisions and then talk to the community.
This is becoming such an interesting and fulfilling project. It was so evident today, when we met with the elders – and the whole camp showed up, all generations, yearning for something to be involved with. Community is so important. Until you build a strong community, these people will not have the desire to make a better life for themselves. We all need to be involved with something, something that makes us feel a part of a hectic and sometimes horrible world, something to hold onto when there is no explanation for why things are happening – or why you were forced to leave your homeland in fear of being killed. That is why religion has been around for so long. We do not merely exist independent of others; we exist together – as a group. That is why it is so important to form a community.
Once you provide them with the essentials, food, shelter, safety, you have to build their spirit so that they can then go on and live enriched and contributing lives.
I came back to my room this evening and the woman who runs the guesthouse set out an arrangement of flowers in my room. She has two young daughters who have spent the last week making valentines for the guests. I came into my room to find a stuffed red heart saying, “We’re sweet.” It really was sweet.
We left very early this morning, 7:30am for camp. Camp 5 is 3 hours away and it is not an easy drive. The first half of the trip is by highway, but with such twists and turns, you never go more than 100 yards before making the next hair-pin turn, it can get a bit dizzying. The second half of the trip is on dirt roads, and you bounce and rattle and are so thrown around the jeep/truck that by the time you arrive at camp, you feel as if you yourself have been through a war. We arrived around 10:30 – 11 and had a meeting at the Satellite Health Center, same as the previous meetings. Camp 5 is very different from the other camps we visited, 1 and 2. It is much less crowded, the other two camps, which have just been combined and have a total of 17,590 refugees than Camp 5 which has only 3,513. The camp is clean, well organized and looks more like a hilltop village, than a refugee camp. It really is amazing.
After the community health meeting, we held the meeting with the artists. It was very different from yesterday. The refugees who showed up for the meeting were the middle generation – adults, but not he older adults. They too, are very interested in learning the traditional culture and said that the elders want to teach and the youth want to learn. There wasn’t any dancing or singing as there was before, but the enthusiasm is there. We will meet with them again next week.
Tomorrow it’s back to camp 1 and 2, BT/BK. We are meeting at 9 with the artists and then at 11 with JRS and their teaching committee. It should be interesting. I am excited to see who will show at the artist meeting. We asked them to think about what is they would like to pass on to the younger generation, and who would like to teach.
When we first started the meetings we explained what we were going to do and asked if they were interested. By the third meeting, the format was more organized and efficient – and successful. First we introduced ourselves and the project, and thanked them for coming. Then we asked if they would be interested in passing on their traditions to the youth. Then asked what sorts of traditions, songs, dances, music, stories,….. Then, if appropriate, asked if they would like to show us any of these traditions. After that, we asked them to identify who in the community would be interested in being trained to teach the youth, and finally we asked where in the camp they thought a community center that would be used as a site for teaching, should be constructed. Later we will meet again with the refugees in each of the camps to follow up, then meeting with the youth, and finally – in the third week, meet with both the youth and adults.
It was another early morning - up at 6. I saw the monks walking down the road, beating their drums as they walked towards the wat. It is customary for the people of the town to give food to the monks in the morning as they walk through town. After you offer them food, they bless you. One morning I will do this.
Today we went to camp 2 – BK. The day started at the Satellite Health Center with a similar discussion as the day before. We then had lunch and waited for the afternoon meeting with the elders who were interested in participating in the project. Like the day before, we asked around the camp for elders who would be interested in teaching their traditional art forms to the youth. There was an announcement on the loud speaker. The attendance was phenomenal. Hundreds of people showed up and when they were asked if they would like to participate in something like this, they started crying - they were so happy to have something that would bring them comfort and remind them of their homeland. Some of the women got up and danced, and the looks on the faces of all who watched were so beautiful. You could see their souls being refueled and nourished. Some of them started crying again. A very overwhelming experience. Next week I am going to meet with the younger refugees to see what it is they would like to learn. When I return in May, I will put the program into action and they will have a community center in each camp where they can hold teaching workshops. It is amazing to see how important community is, something we take for granted back home. Today was a really wonderful and rewarding day; the most positive to date. It was so amazing to look at these refugees, old and young, and see their faces so intensely engaged, I don’t know when the last time was that they actually engaged their mind – and spirit in something.
It has been nice to be away from the stresses of NY – and the impending war. I don’t even want to think about that. Spending time with these refugees, and knowing how much they have suffered by being forced from their homes, makes me sad and angry. And I don’t know with whom I am angry. Or whether I think war is the answer or not.
Today was the first day at “camp.” Wow, what an experience! I was more immediately affected when I arrived in Kosovo, but I think that was because NATO soldiers guarded the country and everywhere you looked there were tanks and guns and more tanks and more guns, you never really felt safe. At this camp, it is different. These refugees look as if they are just living their lives, unaware of the fact that they are refugees.
The camp itself is quite well kept. Each family is given materials to build a house – bamboo and wood, so that no one lives in tents or out in the open. They are well clothed and well groomed.
The morning started with a presentation/ community discussion at the Satellite Health Center in Camp 2. Cate, in the IRC’s Community Helath Program who is working with me on this project, is also working on an interesting project in trying to get the community to be more responsible about their health, and not just see the health center as a place to go in an emergency, but rather to integrate good health practices into their everyday lives.
We ate lunch in a little noodle shop in camp. Very strange, they have stores and a few restaurants/shops in the camps run by the refugees. It is rather questionable as to where the money comes from to buy the food for the stores and where the money comes from for the refugees to buy it from the stores. In any case, Cate and I had brought our lunch with us so we didn’t eat anything from the store; I would like to try to keep my stomach in as good shape as possible.
After lunch, we had arranged for a meeting for any and all artists who would be interested in teaching their craft to the youth. 35 people showed up, I was amazed!!! The group was mostly men, although a few of the older women showed up. The presentation to them was a real trial and error. It turned out that they are interested in passing on the tradition, and in fact have a cultural tradition committee in the camp. The leader of the committee was at the meeting, a real wheeler and dealer, but someone I think we can work with – a lot of this is going to be about local politics – which runs deep in these camps. First we introduced ourselves and then explained what it was we want to do – set up the program – and asked if the adults were interested in teaching their traditional art forms to the youth. They were, but were not sure if the youth would be receptive. We are meeting with the youth next week to talk to them about participating in this.
After a lot of discussion, we asked what were the types of art forms they would like to pass on. One of the women started to sing the “eyro” traditional folk songs that tell the history of these people – the Karenni. As she began, one of the older men in the room joined, it was a responsive love song – so beautiful! And the look on their faces was priceless – they were lost in the songs, as was everyone around them. Afterwards, another woman got up and started dancing one of the traditional dances – she looked about 90 years old and so frail I thought she would break, until she started moving.
The meeting ended with the decision to meet this coming Friday morning, at this point, they will have discussed this among themselves and identified the adults who would be interested in teaching the children. Also, they will have identified what forms of their traditional art forms they would like to teach.
We left the camps around three. I was drained, exhausted and empty!!
That evening, I had dinner with Michelle, the field director, Cate, and someone from the New York office. Off to bed at an early hour, we are leaving for camp tomorrow at 8am.
I have spent the past few days trying to get the lay of the land, understand the key NGOs and the structure, programs and hierarchy of the IRC in the camps and in the office in Mae Hong Son.
There are currently three camps in the Mae Hong Son region with a total 21,000 persons residing within them, 41% are under the age of 15. The camps were established in 1991 and have grown from 5,000 to over 21,000 by the end of 2002; some of the children have grown up in the camps. Many have moved on and new refugees have arrived.
I learned a lot about the politics around the refugees and the Thai position on Burma. Apparently, Thailand does not recognize most of these refugees as “refugees.” They are seen as illegal immigrants and have no rights. Now, in the camps, the refugees are allowed to have their own grocery stores where they sell their wares to the other refugees. As of March 1, the shops will be closed and will now be run by Thais. I will learn more about this once I visit the camps on Tuesday.
At the moment, there are six NGO’s working within these camps; the IRC, Consortium, and Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS), Catholic Overseas Emergency Rescue and Relief, Handicap International and Burmese Border Consortium. Consortium and JRS provide teaching and educational programs, while the IRC provides health, sanitation, community development and other programs.
After a lunch of papaya salad – very spicy – stir fried veggies with glass noodles, sticky rice and soup (all for a total of 20 baht, that’s 50 cents!!! - the accountant at the IRC office took me there, her mother owns the restaurant), I went for a walk through the town. I found myself in the market. Overwhelmed by the smells, sights and sounds, somehow managed to get lost in this tiny little village.
In the afternoon, I spoke with Lucky, a native Karen. Lucky grew up in Karen state – in what is now Burma - and fled to camp 2 or 3 and has worked with the IRC for the past six years. The IRC provides an internship program for the refugees; they can learn skills and work for the IRC while living in the camps. After several years, the IRC might hire them to work in the local office, allowing them to leave the camps.
The camps are composed of many ethnicities, i.e., Karen, Karenni, Shan, Kayan, Kayaw, Pa-O and Paku. At one point the Karen and Karenni were one people who lived in Mongolia. When they left, they divided into two peoples with different but similar languages and lived in the Karen State. When coordinating the project, I must be aware that it will include all cultures learning simultaneously.
Like the other communities, the Karen traditions of passing on ceremonial and traditional arts, etc. are through the grandparents. These traditions include:
Girls: Weaving, Dancing, Music – making and playing instruments
Boys: Hunting, Dancing, Music – making and playing instruments, Bamboo handicrafts
According to Lucky:
It will be good for the youth and elders/teachers to share and learn each other’s cultures, there shouldn’t be a problem with them learning from each other.
Another idea might be to recruit the elders/teachers from the old age centers, they are the ones who hold on to the culture.
As for religion, it is passed on orally.
By the end of the day, I was exhausted; picked up something to eat from vendors on the street, bought a beer and settled into the little area in front of my bungalow. Ah, paradise.
It’s time to say goodbye and it doesn’t feel right. I have met wonderful people, very involved with their community and its culture, and very nice to me. I can just say that it was an unforgettable experience and that I really want to come back either to work –there is a lot to do here–, or traveling –I think I made good friends and the landscape is very beautiful–. I haven’t left yet but the nostalgia is right here.
I have to admit that sometimes it was hard for me to get used to the pace of work of the people in the town and also to the idiosyncrasy of the people in general, in the context of making decisions and compromises. At the end, it was very useful for me to learn how to deal with that differences in levels that I haven’t experienced before. I gained knowledge of other ways to make things happen and of dissimilar ways of living and understanding life.
I’m very thankful for this experience that gave me so much for my personal and professional construction.
Art for Refugees in Transition
info@artforrefugees.org
1.917.757.6191