Utah State University. Ecology Center--Periodicals]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> Smith, Dee]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1970-1979]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center--Periodicals]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1970-1979]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center--Periodicals]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> Jaacks, Marilyn]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1970-1979]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center--Periodicals]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1980-1989]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center--Periodicals]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1980-1989]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center--Periodicals]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1980-1989]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center--Periodicals]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Utah State University. Ecology Center]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1970-1979]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Housing--Utah--Mendon; Hancock, Elmer James, 1888-1972; Hancock, Selma Hortense Barrett, 1892-1979;]]> Homes; Buildings;]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng;]]> Image;StillImage]]> http://digital.lib.usu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/Mendon/id/3648]]> Mendon (Utah); Cache County (Utah); Utah; United States;]]> Mendon (Utah)--History, Local; Account books--Utah--Mendon; Expenditures, Public;]]> Mendon City;]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng;]]> Text]]> http://digital.lib.usu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/Mendon/id/282]]> Mendon (Utah); Cache County (Utah); Utah; United States;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)--Parties;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 523213 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://www.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1900-1909; 1910-1919; 1920-1929; 20th century;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 704700 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://www.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1920-1929; 20th century;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)--Commencement;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 712158 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://www.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1910-1919; 20th century;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)--Commencement ceremonies;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 487252 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://www.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1920-1929; 20th century;]]> Sorensen, Isaac, 1840-1922; ]]> Mormon Church--Missions--History; ]]> Mormon missionaries--History--Sources; ]]> Mormon missionary diaries; ]]> Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints--Missions--Scandinavia; ]]> Mormon missionaries--History--Sources;]]> Sorensen, Isaac, 1840-1922;]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng;]]> Text]]> Denmark; Norway; Sweden;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 12560973 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1890-1899; 19th century;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 2896654 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1890-1899; 19th century;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 3164400 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1890-1899; 19th century;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 9963556 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1890-1899; 19th century;]]> University of Tehran. College of Agriculture--Reports]]> Walker, R.H.]]> Utah State Unviersity]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Tehran, Iran, https://sws.geonames.org/112931]]> 1950-1959]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> ]]> ]]> ]]> Dale Eldred]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Clyde, George D.]]> Craddock, George]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Karen; Refugees; Karen Refugees; Thailand; Refugee Camps; Burma; Burmese Military; Porter; United States Immigration]]> CACHE VALLEY REFUGEE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
TRANSCRIPTION COVER SHEET
Interviewee(s): Eh Htoo
Present: Wes Van de Water, Eh Htoo, Chit Moe, Bethany Hanks, Meagan Gill
Place of Interview:
Date of Interview: May 16, 2015
Language(s): Karen
Translation:
Interviewer: Wes Van de Water
Interpreter: Chit Moe
Recordist: Meagan Gill
Photographer: Bethany Hanks
Recording Equipment: Tascam DR-100mk11 linear PCM recorder; Senal ENG-18RL broadcast-quality omnidirectional dynamic microphone
Transcription Equipment: Express Scribe with PowerPlayer foot pedal.
Transcribed by: Susan Gross, May 19, 2015
Transcript Proofed by: Wes Van de Water, May 23, 2015
Brief Description of Contents: Eh Htoo talks about his life being born into war in the Karen state in Burma. He describes his life as a teenager: his father dying, and then being recruited as a porter for the Burmese military, and his subsequent escape into a refugee camp (Mae La) in Thailand. He talks about his life in Mae La camp: going to school and working to collect bamboo, before moving to the United States (first Salt Lake City, Utah, then Cache Valley, Utah).
Reference: WV = Wes Van de Water
WVI = Wes Van de Water’s words interpreted by translator
EH = Eh Htoo
EHI = Eh Htoo’s words interpreted by translator
BH = Bethany Hanks
BHI = Bethany Hanks’ words interpreted by translator
CM= Chit Moe
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 2
TAPE TRANSCRIPTION
[00:01]
WV: Okay. So Eh Htoo, tell us – oh, sorry; first off it is May 16th, 2015 (I almost said 2005)
[Laughter]
WV: It is six o’clock; we are here meeting with Eh Htoo. My name is Wes Van de Water, I’ll be doing the interview. Meagan Gill is recording, and Bethany Hanks is our photographer. And our translator for this interview is Chit Moe.
Okay, so Eh Htoo, if you wouldn’t mind, could you tell us your full name and the year that you were born?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: My name is Eh Htoo, and I was born in 1983.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: And he is not sure what date (or days) he was born, but he only know –
WV: Knows the year?
EHI: Yeah.
WV: Okay. So Eh Htoo, tell us a bit about your family, where you’re from.
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: I came from Karen state (which is in Burma), but my family, my relatives – they are all in Burma right now, in Karen state.
WV: So your family is still in Burma then?
EH: Not Burma, Karen state.
EHI: It’s in Karen state, but it’s in Burma country.
WV: Oh, okay; got you – sorry, so your family is still over in Karen? So if your family is still in Karen, how did you wind up here in the United States?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 3
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: So I became a refugee twice, based on my experience: once when I was born, and the other one was – which he hasn’t talked about it yet. Okay.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: [Responding in Karen.]
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Oh, okay. So ever since he was born – no, I was born in 1983; ever since I was born, there was a war between Burmese military and the Karen military. I automatically became a refugee and went to a refugee camp ever since I was born. And in 1985, I came back to my Karen state –
EH: Ninety-five.
EHI: Oh, in 1985?
EH: Ninety-five.
EHI: 1995, I’m sorry. In 1995, I came back to my country because I heard there was peace, and it’s better to live in there. So I love my country, that’s why I want to go back.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: So after I went back to my country (which is in Karen state), it wasn’t what I was expecting: there wasn’t any peace, and there was still war going on. And when I was 13 years old I became a soldier.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Okay, so not a soldier, but I was – [speaking in Karen]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Actually not a soldier, but I was forced to become a porter. And that happened –
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: And that happened during the war, you know, so I had to carry bombs and stuff. Basically I was a porter – so they force you to become that – [speaking in Karen]
EH: [Responding in Karen.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 4
EHI: So that happened once in 1995, and the other time was in 1998.
[04:59]
WV: So did you get out of the military then, and you became a refugee when you got out?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: So the point is – okay, in 1998 I was 16 years old, okay? At that time I was still a porter, you know, I had to do stuff during the war. So there was one thought that came to me: “If I die during the war,” – before that, I have a mom and an older sister. Because they’re female, the military won’t take them as a porter; and I was only 16 years old, and I was the only boy in the family so I was forced to become a porter. And then I started thinking, “What if I die during the war? There is no point – I can’t repay my family, nor can I help them in any way.” So I started thinking, “It’s better for me to go to refugee camp, maybe study there; and that could be a possibility to help my family, or in any other ways.” Instead of, “What if I die in the war? That is bad.” And my thought is going to refugee camp is better for me. That’s why I went to the refugee camp.
WV: So you left your family there in the hopes that you might be able to help them, rather than staying in the military?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Yes, that was his dream; his goal.
WV: So how long have you been here in the States then? When did you get here?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: In July it will be seven years in Utah.
WV: So have you been here, in Utah, the entire time? So when you first – or where was the camp that you were at when you first went to the refugee camp – where was that?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 5
EHI: It’s called Mae La camp – M-A L-A-E –
WV: M-A?
EHI: M-A L-A-E camp.
EH: M-A-E L-A
EHI: Oh, M-A-E L-A –
EH: M-A-E L-A: Mae La. M-A-E L-A –
WV: L-A?
EH: Yeah. Mae La.
EHI: And I believe this is the largest camp in Thailand.
EH: Yeah, largest camp.
WV: In Thailand?
EH: Yeah.
EHI: Um-hmm.
[08:03]
WV: So how long were in – is it Mae La? Is that how you say it?
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
WV: How long were you there?
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Almost nine years.
WV: And then how did you get out of the camp? How did you wind up coming over to the U.S.?
EHI: So from the camp to the United States?
WV: Yeah, from the camp.
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 6
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Well the thing is, people from the United States, from other countries – they were, you know, coming to the refugee camp and wanted to take refugees to their country. And then I heard about it, so I applied for it; and then I applied for it on 2007, and I departed my camp in 2008.
WV: And did they relocate you straight here, to Cache Valley, or did you go somewhere else first?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: It was in Salt Lake.
WV: So that was first?
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Yeah.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: He lived in Salt Lake for four months, and he moved to Logan after that.
WV: Okay. So what was your experience like in the camp? What was it like living there?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: So my experience in the refugee camp was just like most people, you know: people were going to school – I wanted to go to school. But in my situation I didn’t get to know my dad – my dad died. Yeah, my dad died and my family couldn’t support me, you know; they couldn’t send me to school because I was only person living in the refugee camp. And like most students, they have free time after school you know, to go hang out; me, I didn’t have those time.
WV: So did you just work then, while you were in the camp? Is that all you had time to do was work, and not go to school?
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: [Repeating the question in Karen.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 7
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
CM: Can we pause this really quick? How do we do that?
[Recording pauses as Eh Htoo tells the children to leave the room]
WV: We good? Okay.
EHI: Well, I was a worker, and at the same time I was a student. I go to school for five days in the week days, and the weekend I work. You know, I need to work because I need to buy clothes, I need to buy candle, I need to buy books, I need to buy stuff, you know, to take care of myself: toothpaste, toothbrush; I mean, there is a whole list (I can’t name them all) –
WV: Right.
EHI: Those are the stuff I need, so I need to work on the weekend.
[12:23]
WV: So were food and clothes and those things not provided at this camp then?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Yes, they did provide (for example) rice, salt, oil – stuff like that, you know, just for daily basics; but clothes and stuff, nobody is going to give us clothes or toothpaste, or any other things so I need to make money to buy those.
WV: So now that you’re here, in Utah, are you going to school, or are you working? Or both?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Like I said earlier, I was in Salt Lake for four months –
WV: Um-hmm.
EHI: And then after I move from Salt Lake to Logan, I started working here at JBS.
WV: So are you hoping to bring your family here, or do you want to go back to Burma, to your family? (Or Karen, excuse me.)
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 8
WVI: [Repeating question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Well I do want my family to come here, you know, I do – but it’s not possible because my family, they grew up in the village and I don’t think they would like this place here, you know, Utah (not Utah, but in the United States). Although we have better education, better food, it’s not something they would like. And another thing is of course I want to go back home: all my family is back there, I want to go back home; but before I can go back I need to make sure that, you know, Karen state is safe and has protection. Right now that is not the case, so what I’m doing is I’m working – if I have a lot of money then I will send some to my family each month (or whenever I have extra money).
WV: So are you able to still keep in contact? Like do you either call or do you write your family back home?
WVI: [Repeating question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Well yes – I call my mom like every two months (or something like that), you know, I ask her how she’s doing and how is the situation in Karen state? Is it getting better? You know, just the surrounding situation in Karen state. So yeah, I do keep in contact with my family.
[15:58]
WV: So what is the situation like back in Karen? Is it, you know, is there still a lot of fighting there, or is it just still too unstable to go home?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: So in Karen state, you know, I can’t say there is war right now, and I can’t say that there isn’t a war right now, or that war is going to occur in the future; I can’t say anything. It can’t be predicted.
EH: Yeah. [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: So like I was saying, you know, I cannot tell whether there is a war or not because if there is people who have more power than me, then they will always suppress us; if there isn’t people like that, then it will be safer.
WV: So when do you hope to be able to go back home? I mean, do you think the situation will ever calm down enough that you can? Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 9
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: [Speaking in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Well so I do hope to go back there, but even if I were to go back, I would only stay there for one or two years – it won’t be permanent. If I were to go back there, you know, I want to help my family and the people that are in the village. You know, I want to teach them what’s the best way to live, how to survive – and only that will make me feel better (then I would come back here). Even if I were to stay, and even if there are lots of place to work at, but there isn’t any protection so I – yeah.
WV: So even if you go back to your family, you would still eventually come back to the States? I know you said that, “Because I grew up in a village, it might be hard for them to adjust here.” But do you think it might be better if they came back with you?
WVI: Say it again?
WV: Sorry, that was kind of a long question.
WVI: Yeah.
WV: Do you think even though they might prefer to stay in Burma, do you think you would try to bring them back with you when you came back to the states?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: So yes, I tell my mom, you know, I want her to come here: it’s better for us, and our lives are guaranteed here, you know; but no, she just doesn’t want to live here. Well and the thing is that even though it’s not protected, you know, even though the state is in a war situation, my mom still wants to live there (even though she has to hide each day, it doesn’t matter; she believe that she can go through each day).
[20:27]
WV: So then what – I guess what do you plan on doing? I mean, do you plan on just going back periodically to visit, to help? Or what are your, I guess your plans after you’ve gone home?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 10
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Well, yes. Let’s say as I go back to Burma, each time of course I will look at my surroundings (the situation). If it gets better – like if the Burmese military were, you know, not fighting other ethnic groups, not just Karen (and there are many, many ethnic groups in Burma) – so if the situation is better, and if they accept U.S. citizens, you know, to go and visit Burma (to get permission to live there for many years), then I would stay there like five or six years.
WV: So have you gotten your citizenship here, in the United States then?
WVI: [Repeating question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Yeah.
WV: How long did that take? Or what was that process like?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: It took about four months to become a citizen.
WV: Wow, that’s fast.
WVI: [Speaking in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: So it took three months to apply for it, and then after that they will call me to go and scan my finger. And after that I took a test, and I passed. So, really quick.
WV: So did you learn English when you were – it was Thailand, right? Where the camp was?
WVI: Yeah.
WV: So did you learn English while you were there, or did you just pick it up when you got here, to the U.S.?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 11
EHI: So yes, I did go to school back in the refugee camp, so I did know basic English; but of course my accent was different from other people, and my English teacher wasn’t an English person. And when I got here I had to make an adjustment, you know, I had to learn the accent and try to relearn it all over again.
WV: So overall, did you have an easier time adjusting here? I mean, do you prefer living here – or was life, you know, okay in the camp?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
[24:13]
EHI: Well I prefer to live in United States, because living in Thailand – I wasn’t a Thai citizen; they didn’t accept me and it’s not my country. Here, they accept me as a U.S. citizen, so I would prefer to stay here.
WV: So you arrived in Salt Lake – did you move here, to Logan, for work?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Correct.
WV: I know there is a fairly large community here, how do you like living in Logan?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Well it’s not the place that I like, you know, I think it depends on someone’s heart (I guess). You know if my heart is like living here, then yeah. So it depends on my – [speaks Karen] it depends on my heart I guess.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Some people doesn’t like to live here, but –
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: So as long as there isn’t any war – as long as there isn’t any fighting then yeah, I don’t mind living in Logan.
WV: So you like it here because it’s peaceful? Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 12
WVI: [Repeating question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Yeah.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: And another thing is everybody follow the rules here – they respect the rules. So, yeah.
WV: Were you raised with any particular religion?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: [Speaking in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Oh, okay. Well yes, I mean everybody grew up –
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Everybody grew up with a different religion, but for me it was different, you know: I grew up believing in nature, I would say. You know, like a mountain – they might have a mountain spirit; for water they might have a water spirit. So that’s what I believe in.
WV: So was that a more traditional belief in Karen?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: So I think it’s not just for Karen people, you know, the religious tradition; it might also be for other people as well.
[27:08]
WV: Let me rephrase: so was that, I guess, a common belief there?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 13
EHI: [Speaking in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Well yeah, that back then a lot of people in my village – they had the same belief as me, you know: they believe in nature in my village.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: But right now I think there aren’t many who still believe in nature because everywhere, you know, there are Christian, Buddhists, and it’s just surrounded by that particular religion (my religion); so there isn’t a lot of people who still believe in nature.
WV: It’s not as common these days?
EHI: No; yes.
WV: So I guess one thing that I’m curious about is if there is one thing that, you know, you could tell people (either, you know, in the area, or the U.S.) – like if there is one message that you would want for people to hear, what would it be?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: So I think he is asking – there are many messages, but for what purpose?
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
WV: Okay, so from your experience, you know, what you’ve seen and what you’ve been through, if there is something that, you know, you want people to know (either about you or where you come from)?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
[30:17]
EHI: So basically, when I was 15 years old my dad died, and then after that (like I said) I was forced to become a porter. Because my mom and my sister was female, there was no way they could do that.
[Speaking in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 14
EHI: So he is saying that he doesn’t feel very comfortable like saying – it’s not he is not comfortable – he has to stop at a certain point for me to translate that, it’s just not coming out.
[Speaking in Karen.]
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Well of course I had many bad experience, but I’d like to share two, particularly. One is that when I was 18 years old (it was in 1998) –
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: I mean 16 years old. Like I said, people were coming, taking us as porters. And because my mom and my sister was female, they couldn’t do it. And the thing is like each house has to go five weekdays to do a porter, and if we don’t go then they will charge us $100 each day if we don’t go. We didn’t have any money; we were so poor, so I had to go do it. Everybody was so big and old; I was the smallest to become a porter.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: So you know, as I was doing porter – at the beginning I was told, “It’s only going to take ten days, and because you’re only like 16 years old we won’t put you in the front,” you know, “where there are higher chances of getting hit by the bullet.” That is what I was told, but that wasn’t the case, you know; it doesn’t matter you were young or old, I was put at the front. It doesn’t matter I was young or old, they gave me big bags, you know, (just like everybody) that I had to carry – they are all the same weight. And then what happened later was, because there was war going on, they told me at first that they were going to protect me and put me in the back, but that wasn’t the case. And after ten days – it’s because there was a war going on, they just couldn’t get any help and they didn’t protect me, or they can’t ask other people to come or take my place because I’m already, you know, at the front and it’s really dangerous to replace people. So, yeah.
[34:32]
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: So like I said, after ten days you know, I was hoping that people would replace me with the other bigger and stronger person, but they didn’t. And because I was so small, you know, the military didn’t think I would come up with a strategy or a way to escape the situation, but I did. I thought of it, I didn’t want to stay here, you know; it’s dangerous. So as war going on, because I was only 16 years old and the military didn’t think of me as anything – and that is also when I escaped from that place.
[Speaking in Karen.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 15
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Oh, and as I was escaping I didn’t go straight to the refugee camp, I went back to my home: to the Karen state.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: So as I was escaping that place, you know, I also helped two old men. They were telling me that, “It’s dangerous, don’t escape this place,” you know, “there are bombs everywhere and you might get hit, so just don’t do it.” And then I said, “No, believe me; I’m going to walk at the front, so if there was a bomb then I would get hit first. Because I was so small, even if I get hit you guys can carry me with you. But if you guys get hit by the bomb, I can’t help with it.”
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
[37:39]
EHI: So you know, that day it was a run and there was when everything was quiet down, you know, the war is like kind of – everybody was resting. And at the same time we had a duty where we had to go and fill up water and bring it back to that place. And I told those two old men, “Don’t bring anything with you; just bring your clothes and a container to pretend like we’re going to swim to get water.” And that’s when I escaped from that place.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: As I was doing porter with the Burmese military and they were speaking Burmese and I was speaking Karen, and there was also some challenges between me and the Burmese military (because of language barrier).
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: In the process of escaping, you know, those two old men – they know the place and they know the roads; but at the same time they know there are bombs, but they don’t know where it is. So as we were escaping, they showed me where to go, you know, they showed me this is the way back home. So I thought that, “Let’s say if this is the road, of course there are going to be bombs.” So what I did was I kind of walked in a place where people won’t usually going to walk on it. So that’s how I escaped through those bombs.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Let’s say from the place where there is war going on, and the place to my house it would take about a day to walk; but because I had to try to avoid those bombs, it took about one and a half or two days. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 16
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: The distance is about from here to Bear Lake.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
[40:38]
EHI: So as soon as I get to my village, you know, I went to ask those people who told me that it’s going to take ten days and I won’t be put at the front, and then I went straight to them (it was in the evening-ish), I went to see them and was going to ask them those questions, you know.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: You know, the person that told me it’s going to take ten days, and I won’t be put at the front was like a leader in the village, you know; he is like – he is really old and he is really nice. I went to him and ask him, “Why was I put at the front, and why does it take longer than ten days? And why didn’t you replace me with other people?” So that leader, you know, that old man (that leader) – he told me, “I’m really glad that you escaped that place. I didn’t think that anybody would come up with a strategy to escape that place, because we don’t have anybody back here to replace any of you out there.” So he was glad that I escaped that place.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Starting then, starting from the time I escaped – you know, as I was thinking, “Although I escaped that place, they’re going to come back and force me to become a porter again. And if they do that each time, of course I am going to get older and older. And as I get older they’re going to, you know, force me to do much, much heavy work and much, much harder things.” So I decided, “It’s no use living here,” you know, “If I die out there, it won’t benefit me or my family or my people.”
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: As I was coming up with those thoughts, I ended up in a refugee camp.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Like what I said earlier, I asked my mom, saying that I’m going to go to a refugee camp to live, and she’s like, “Okay, you can go then.”
[43:40]
EH: [Speaking in Karen.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 17
EHI: So before I left my village, you know, I asked my mom for permission. She said, “Okay, you can go.” But before my left, my mom told me, “Son,” you know, “you can go there; you can go to the refugee camp, but I cannot support. Of course they’re going to give you pencil, books to go to school, maybe food – but if you want any other particular things, you know, such as good clothes or any other thing, there is no way I can support you. So if you want to go, just think about – just keep that in mind.”
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: And like I said earlier, I go to school for five days and I work on the weekend, and that’s how I support myself because I didn’t have any help back then.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Before I got to the refugee camp I already knew someone, and fortunately he went to the – there is like a place you have to put your name to get food – and he went ahead and put my name on the list, you know, saying that I’m going to be coming, I’m going to get some food. And yeah, I liked that idea, but in order for me to get food that person had to lie for me, you know; he said that my parents were dead, and I had to live that way. I didn’t like lying, but I had to lie to get food. I had to say that my parents are gone, and that’s one of the ways to get help, I guess.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Okay well like I said, in that program if you tell that your parents are gone – well in this case my dad was really gone, but my mom isn’t – then they put my name saying that my parents are gone, and in this case they will help me for 20 years (that was the promise). They gave me umbrella, toothpaste, toothbrush –
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Soap and shampoo, and a candle to study (so I can see in the dark).
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: And they gave us those every year (once a year).
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: [Speaking in Karen.]
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Okay, actually it’s not like that – for umbrella they give it once a year, but for the other five items, they give it every month. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 18
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: And I’m really, really thankful for that, and you know, for helping me and giving me those items (those are really needed).
[47:55]
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: That’s pretty much the end of my story, I guess. Like I was saying, I go to school five days, I work in the weekends. My work is – I woke up at three in the morning – my work is dependent on the season I guess. If people were selling this particular item this three months, and I will have to do the same thing. So what I have done was at three a.m. I went out in the deep forest and looking for bamboos (like small bamboos), and I have to you know, it could be rainy, it’s dangerous, I have boots and it was kind of dangerous. But yeah, I won’t get home until five p.m. in the evening, so it’s all day work.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: So bamboos are really heavy, you know; each day the most I can get is about 60 kilogram – [speaking to Eh Htoo] Kilogram?
EH: Um-hmm.
EHI: But the way that people are buying it, they buy it one gram is one dollar – not one dollar, but one Bahts in Thai money; so I would get about 60 Bahts a day.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: And that takes all day long: from three a.m., to five p.m.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: And if we were to compare it with U.S. dollar, it would be two dollars a day.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: And that would take around ten hours (I think) – ten hours of work.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Well this is pretty much it about my story. Of course there are other things, but they are not really important or significant.
WV: Thank you for sharing. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 19
WVI: [Repeating statement in Karen.]
EH: Thank you.
WV: So that’s about all the questions that I have. Meagan or Bethany, do either of you have questions for Eh Htoo?
WVI: [Repeating the statement in Karen.]
BH: I did think of a couple
BHI: [Repeating the statement in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Yeah, no problem.
BH: You mentioned – well you talked a lot about escaping from the military – was that a common thing? Were there many people that escaped?
BHI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Well it really depends, you know. For people who sees things different like, “This place isn’t right, we have to escape,” then yeah – it’s possible for them to escape that place; but for people who fear that “There are bombs, there are military, they are going to catch you” – then I don’t think they will ever come up with a thought of escaping that place.
BH: What would have happened had they caught you while you were trying to escape?
BHI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Well for me (I was only 16 years old), so even if they caught me it won’t be much of a problem; but for those two old man – yeah, it’s a big problem.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
[53:25]
EHI: Well yeah, even if – let’s say the people were trying to escape and they got hit by the bomb, it just cause a problem for that leader in the village camp, and it cause a problem for the military as well. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 20
BH: Oh, thank you.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
MG: Good?
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: He is saying it doesn’t matter what country it is, but refugee occur mostly just like this, you know, because some country are not stable because there is war going on, there is no protection for people. I guess that’s how most refugee occur.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: He wants to ask you guys a question now.
BH: Sure.
EHI: So do you guys think that the more refugee we have, is that a better thing or not? Is that a better thing or not?
WV: Do we think it’s good that we have more refugees here, in the States?
WVI: [Repeating the question in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: So he is saying around the world – the whole world. Is it better if there isn’t any refugees? Or is it better if there is some refugees?
WV: Well I mean, for me at least, I wish there didn’t have to be.
WVI: [Speaking in Karen.]
WV: I would much rather have people be in a place where they are safe.
WVI: [Repeating statement in Karen.]
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: As you were saying, you know, you want people to have peace and you know, no refugees; but is there a way for that to happen?
WV: I don’t know; hopefully some day.
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 21
WVI: [Repeating statement in Karen.]
[55:58]
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Do you know why there are refugees these days?
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: The whole world, yeah. Do you know why there are refugees?
WV: You mean still?
EHI: Yeah, still? Or why did they even happen in the first place?
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: [Responding in Karen.]
Yeah, like why did it occur? I don’t know.
WV: I wish I had an answer; I don’t know. It’s just some people do what they want, regardless of the price to others; there is no real reason for it.
WVI: [Repeating the answer in Karen.]
EH: [Responding in Karen.]
EHI: Well I have an answer; I think you know, it’s because of three reasons why there are refugees: one is because of business and economy; secondly it is because of religious; thirdly it is because of politics.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: That’s what I think.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Well I think those are the answer, but I don’t know which is the right answer. I don’t know how to solve this problem either. But I just hope that, you know, people who has more power could maybe come up with an idea to get rid of this, I guess.
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Eh Htoo Page 22
EHI: Yeah, I’m sure that those are the three reasons why refugees occur. I really hope, you know, people who have more power can help, or maybe other countries can help.
WV: Well and I agree that I think those are the causes; but as far as, you know, I don’t think there is a good reason why people do those things (is what I was trying to say).
WVI: [Repeating the statement in Karen.]
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Well for my conclusion, I guess, of course I have many other things I want to share with you guys (but I don’t think there is enough time) – let’s say if I were to graduate from here in the States, you know, and let’s say if I was invited to the White House just to talk about these issues – it would be nice. But currently I am nobody, I don’t have an education; so yeah, I just don’t have the power or hope to even say that, talk about those issues.
WV: Well that’s one of the reasons why we’re here, and why we are doing this. You know, we are one school, but our hope is that we can help you get your story out there, so that maybe we can do something.
WVI: [Repeating the statement in Karen.]
EH: [Speaking in Karen.]
EHI: Yeah.
WV: So thank you for giving us the chance, and for talking with us.
WVI: [Repeating the statement in Karen.]
WV: I think we’re good.
[End recording – 60:25]]]> Eh Htoo; 1984]]> Eh Htoo]]> Chit Moe]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> Van de Water, Wes; 1989]]> Gross, Susan]]> transcripts;]]> application/pdf]]> 397801 Bytes]]> ENG, KAR]]> Text;]]> Karen; Burma; Thailand; Salt Lake City]]> Karen; Refugees; Karen Refugees; Religion; Sports; Takraw; Cache Valley; Cache Valley Refugees; College; School; Utah State; Utah State University; Burma; Thailand; Refugee Camps]]> CACHE VALLEY REFUGEE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
TRANSCRIPTION COVER SHEET
Interviewee(s): Snay Tun
Present: Wes Van de Water, Snay Tun, Bethany Hanks, Meagan Gill
Place of Interview: Logan, Utah
Date of Interview: May 19, 2015
Language(s): English
Interviewer: Wes Van de Water
Recordist: Meagan Gill
Photographer: Bethany Hanks
Recording Equipment: Tascam DR-100mk11 linear PCM recorder; Senal ENG-18RL broadcast-quality omnidirectional dynamic microphone
Transcription Equipment: Express Scribe software
Transcribed by: Wes Van de Water May 23, 2015
Transcript Proofed by: Wes Van de Water May 23, 2015
Brief Description of Contents: Snay Tun talks about his youth in the Umphiem Refugee Camp, moving to the United States, his life as a college student, his family, Karen traditions, and about the sport of Takraw.
Reference:
WV = Wes Van de Water
ST= Snay Tun
BH = Bethany Hanks
MG= Meagan Gill
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 2
Tape Transcription
[00:01]
WV: Okay, so we are here meeting with Snay Tun, it is 11:22 on May 19th- um, I am Wes Van de Water, I will be doing the interview, Bethany Hanks is doing the photography, and Meagan Gill is recording the interview. Um, so Snay, if you would, could you tell us your full name and birth year?
ST: Well, my name is Snay Tun, my birthday is October 13, 1994.
WV: Thank you. So, I guess to start off, could you just tell us a little bit about your family, about- are you from Burma or Karen?
ST: Uh, I am from Burma, but I our country is inside of Burma.
WV: Okay.
ST: We are Karen.
WV: Oh so you're form Karen state?
ST: Yes, Karen state.
WV: Ok. So could you just tell us a bit about your family in the Karen state?
ST: Well, I don't really know, but because they said there is a war, so we had to move over to another country. So, yeah.
WV: Ok. So, did you grow up in a refugee camp then?
ST: Yes. I grew up in a refugee camp.
WV: Uh, which camp were you from, or did you grow up in?
ST: I grew up in Umphiem.
WV: Umphiem?
ST: U-M-P-H-I-E-M
WV: Where was that located, do you know?
ST: It's in Thailand.
WV: Thailand.
ST: Yeah. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 3
WV: So, how old were you when you first went there?
ST: Oh, I was like five years.
WV: And how many- or how long did you live in Umphiem?
ST: I lived there for nine years.
WV: So, what was life in Umphiem like? What was it like living there?
ST: Well, if, like, it was just- it was a refugee camp. As you see it's not like, not really free to go outside. We just stayed in the camp. But we do receive food and then medicaid. Yeah, like it's a hospital or children free to get medication for free.
WV: So what were the setups of the camps like? Like what kind of, were, they, um, were they sort of like temporary buildings that could be moved, or were they, um, places built like this where they're not really designed to be moved?
ST: uh, well, I'm not really sure, because like, you know the home was built with the wood-
WV: Mhm
ST: So, yeah, if they moved like that, to, like, like... um, broke down everything and moved to another one, because we're not sure like, it's still good to move or not, you know.
WV: Um, so where or how did you wind up leaving the camp? And where did you go after you left the refugee camp?
ST: After I left the refugee camp, I just moved to here. Moved to USA.
WV: Ok. Um, so did you where did you arrive when you first came to the States?
ST: Salt Lake City, Utah.
WV: So what caused you to move from Salt Lake to Logan?
ST: To Logan, at first my father he got a job here, so yeah. He like, told us to come and move with him in here and stay here. So, he could take care of us, like if we lived close to him.
WV: Ok. Where does your father work?
ST: JBS.
WV: So and you said that you- so you moved here to Logan and you started going to school, is that right? Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 4
ST: Yes.
WV: What are you studying here?
ST: Right now?
WV: Yes at Utah State
ST: I don't have major yet, I am an undeclared student. I just take a major, like general class.
WV: Uh, what do you think you want to study?
ST: Well, I think I want to study political science.
[04:22]
WV: Do you have any, what do you plan on doing, or what would you like to do after you finish college?
ST: Uh well, after I have finished college, I'm not really sure what to do yet. But I thought if I get my degree, I might, like, plan to go to back to Thailand or something. Yeah. Or Burma.
WV: What would you like to do if you moved back there?
ST: Moved back there? Um, well, for what I'm thinking maybe, like, join some kind of like, community. Like
WV: what exactly do you mean?
ST: Like join some of kind community like, Karen community or something.
WV: So would you, I guess would you be interested in, trying to you know, trying to help stabilize the situation in Burma, you know, try to maybe work with the government on fixing things?
ST: Yeah, I plan to, yeah. If I got my degree. But I'm not really sure will study that.
WV: Right, so when did you start school here?
ST: I start school here since like 2009. I, like, well, I get in Salt Lake City, I stay there for 10 months, so I study 8th grade, when I move here, I studied 9th, and then, yeah.
WV: So you lived in Salt Lake for 10 months?
ST: Yeah. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 5
WV: Ok. And then you moved up here. So how big is your family? Is it just you, your mom and your dad?
ST: No, we have like, I got two brother and one sisters.
WV: Ok. How old are they?
ST: The, my sister is older. She is around 27. 28.
WV: What about your brothers?
ST: He is 25. And another one is 23.
WV: Ok. So, you're all a bit older. Adults then. Do they all live here in Logan?
ST: No. Two stay in Thailand. One in Logan.
WV: Ok.
[06:39]
WV: Um, so, let's see... so I guess- well, both here in Logan as well as um, growing up in the camps, did you uh- have any celebrations that you guys would do, like any special holidays?
ST: Yeah, like, especially like birthdays, yeah, we celebrated. Also, like New Years in camp, we did it. But, in here, we have a really big space. But they did it in Salt Lake City.
WV: Um, so, I guess how do Karen people celebrate birthdays? Do they do things very differently?
ST: Um, not really different. But, like most of them kinda do it on Sundays after church. So, like, they just go and announce it at our church. So, after church, everyone gonna come back and like, at the house and but, yeah, we celebrated together.
WV: Ok. Uh, where do you go to church? Or what church do you attend?
ST: Uh, it's in Smithfield.
WV: It's out in Smithfield?
ST: Yeah, and its' in Smithfield.
WV: What church out in Smithfield?
ST: Uh, I don't really know what to call it. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 6
WV: I'm trying to think what that would be. I've only been there a few times. Is it, mostly just other members of the Karen community that go there, or is it, sort of a mixed group?
ST: Uh, no, just Karen people.
WV: Ok.
ST: Just Karen that go there.
WV: So it's a lot of, so I guess a lot of your celebrations are just within the community, so sort of everyone's welcome?
ST: Mhm.
WV: Um, so do you remember much, growing up in the camps, about maybe the political environment, or did you just, know that you weren't really supposed to go outside?
ST: Well, I grew up in a camp, but you know sometimes they will tell us not to go out of the camp, or something. Yeah. That's how, but sometimes they let us, you know it's kind of difficult. If you don't have jobs, you need money, right? So you have to go out, but if like, they catch you, they just gonna take you away. Because, yeah. You are a refugee, so, yeah.
WV: You were about 14 when you left, right?
ST: Yeah, I was about 14.
WV: So did you, I guess, what was the youngest age that people would work there in the camp?
ST: Work, I think, maybe, I don't know, like 10? 12? I don't know, if you want to, you can, because there's no limit of age.
WV: Ok. What kind of jobs are available for you know, 10 or 12 year old kids to do?
ST: I, well, you know, just random jobs. Like, maybe, just going and like plant corn, maybe, yeah. When I was like, 12, like, they just go and like cut rice. Harvest.
WV: Were the fields inside the camp?
ST: No. Not inside. Like, just everything just outside of the camp.
WV: Ok.
ST: Because inside of the camp, just only going to be homes, adn then, yeah.
WV: Oh, so they just had houses and things? Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 7
ST: Yeah, house, school, and hospital. Yeah. Church, monastery.
WV: So, like about how big was the camp?
ST: How big?
WV: Was it pretty small and kind of cramped together, or was it pretty spread out?
ST: You know, some part is, like, homes are less sticking together. It depends on how you build them. Some people they wanna build homes that stick with each other, but some people have like a bit space. Small space between each home and another one.
[10:45]
WV: Um, so was the camp you lived in, was it one of the UN camps, or was it a Thai military camp?
ST: It's a UN camp.
WV: So is that how you found out about being able to come over here to the States was from the UN workers?
ST: Well, I think, I'm not really know about that, because like my parents took care of that, so yeah. I think they might hear from their friends.
WV: So when you first moved here to the US, how was it adjusting to living in Salt Lake?
ST: Adjusting? Well, you know, first time when I get here, I don't really know, like live, or act. But, later I get used to it, after I go to school, and like, yeah. That's how.
WV: So did you have, um, did you have help from the government, or any of the local community, as far as adjusting to living here?
ST: Yeah, we do. Because, like when we moved here first, we received medicaid and stuff like that.
WV: Was that through the government, or was that people in the community helping?
ST: The government.
WV: Okay. Um, so what about, um, living here up in Logan, how do you like it?
ST: Well, I really like it, because I, well, in my sight, I see like homes, there's space between one and another, but when I live in Salt Lake City, I saw the apartments like kinda sticky. So I just Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 8
used to living in home that, like, live like with space between other ones, so I like it better than Salt Lake.
WV: Yeah, Salt Lake is- [LAUGHTER] pretty packed.
ST: Yeah. Sticky traffic.
[LAUGHTER]
WV: Yeah, traffic is really really bad.
ST: Heavy traffic.
WV: Um, so how has it been, um, adjusting to being a college student for you? Because you said you were doing 8th grade when you first arrived in Salt Lake?
ST: Yeah.
WV: So how has going to college been for you?
ST: Well, going to college, well, it's kinda hard to say. You know, but, because like you have to study a lot, so yeah.
WV: So did you learn any English when you were over in Thailand, or did you start learning when you were arrived here?
ST: When I live in Thailand, I used to learn abcs and stuff like that, I learn the alphabet later. So yeah, just, yeah, later.
[LAUGHTER].
WV: Ok. So you knew a bit before you got here?
ST: Yeah.
WV: Um, so, how does your, like your home here in Logan, compare to your home in the camp?
ST: Well, it's a lot better. Because there, um, you know, inside of the camp, so it's like, the home was made of wood and stuff like that. In here like you don't build with that. So yeah, but it's a different thing. There just only from one family stay inside here in an apartment. So, like, people stay, like stay away from one another.
WV: So, I guess one of the things that, you know, that we're looking at, and sort of asking the people we've been meeting with is, is there anything that, you know, you feel, is important for you to be able to share with other people here in Cache Valley? You know, either about your Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 9
experience, or your family, like is there anything that, if you could, um, that you would like to tell us? Does that make sense?
ST: Mhm. Well, I think that living in the USA life, live under regulations and stuff. Then, it's good to be better for us if we follow them than if we didn't. Because we know that in the US everyone live under the rules, so we can get in trouble if we don't follow them. Yeah.
[15:30 PAUSE FOR A FEW SECONDS]
WV: So, as far as what you've been able to accomplish since you came here to the US, what things are you most proud of, that you've been able to do since you came here.
ST: Well, um, I'm proud of like, I can speak better than I used to before. So, yeah. I'm proud of that, so I can like help my family and my brother who need my help later on.
WV: So are you the one that, do you speak, um, are you only one in your family that speaks English?
ST: Yeah.
WV: Ok. So I guess one of the things that I'm just curious about is, what do you do for fun or in your spare time?
ST: Well, in my spare time, I like to play Takraw, sometimes I read a book.
WV: What was the first one?
ST: Takraw.
WV: What is that?
ST: It's a game. Southeast Asian game.
WV: Uh, could you tell us a bit about it?
ST: Yeah, well, it was [clears throat] the ball is about this size big. It's like, well, you know, it's kinda hard when it's like not really new, it's kind of getting soft. So yeah, it's just like foot volleyball, you call it. You can only use your head, your knee, your side foot and front foot. But you can't use your hand.
WV: So it's kind of like a cross between volleyball and soccer then?
ST: Yeah. Volleyball. Like, yeah, volleyball and soccer, like just only three touch.
WV: Ok. Um, so how, like, what are some of the rules to it, how does it work?
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 10
ST: Three people in a team. Well, you can touch it only three times one side. So you can pass one, to you, and one to her, and then over the net. I can do this only three time and then put it into another side, like just over the net. Just like that.
WV: So what exactly is the ball made of? I think I've seen maybe a picture or two,
ST: Yeah, plastic.
WV: Just plastic?
ST: Hard plastic.
WV: So how does it work with, you know, like scoring, how do you determine who wins?
ST: Well, there's a score, so, like, if you score like, there's a line, just like a, yeah. A line. You have to hit inside of the lines. So, yeah, you get a score, or like put it- there's a lot of activity you can do, called roll spike, back kick, so yeah.
WV: Um [LAUGHTER] I don't know anything about it... so you said roll spike?
ST: Yeah. You flip and kick in the air.
WV: Like, you flip through the air?
ST: Yeah, you kick in the air.
WV: Um, hmm. What kind of court is it played on? Is it cement, do you play in the sand or the grass or?
ST: Well, you can play anywhere, maybe. Yeah, cement. On grass. But, you know, it depends on people, where they wanna play. So you can do that.
[18:57]
WV: Um, let's see. So does the net, is it like a volleyball net?
ST: It's small.
WV: In the one picture I saw,
ST: Yeah, it's smaller.
WV: OK. Just to keep the teams on opposite sides.
ST: Yeah, because, you know, people kick the ball really hard. If you have about this size big, the ball can't go through it. The ball... Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 11
WV: So are you supposed to go, sorry... So you said it's about, maybe,
ST: The ball is about this big.
WV: So the ball is maybe a small watermelon size,
ST: Yeah.
WV: and the net is, are you supposed to shoot through the net?
ST: No, over.
WV: Over. Okay. How high up does it sit? Like, where does the net hang?
ST: Five feet and maybe, yeah. Five feet or five one or two. Or um,
WV: Okay. So it is very [LAUGHTER] sorry, I just find it really interesting, I've just never heard about this before. So it is very difficult to kick up over the net, do you have out of bounds, can you kick outside of-?
ST: well, you can, like, if you kick it out of the line, so it's out, so you won't receive a point.
WV: Mhm.
ST: So you're supposed to get the ball and kick it inside of the line. Where they tell you to kick, because three people in the team. Maybe one people serve it at the back, the other one's going to give another people ball, so the other one is going to spike it. Like, yeah.
WV: So, about how big is the um, I guess, the court?
ST: The court? Yeah, well, probably about this wide. Maybe a bit wider.
WV: So maybe, fifteen feet across? Roughly?
ST: I think so. But I don't really get it down. I would have to check it on the internet.
WV: So do you just decide when you're playing, is there a regular point limit, does it go by time?
ST: No, just like regular point limit.
WV: Ok. So what do you usually, what's the score to win typically?
ST: 15 point.
WV: 50? Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 12
ST: 15.
WV: Oh, [LAUGHTER], 15.
ST: Yeah. But it just, we do it kind of like international count. So, yeah, if I get the ball, I score it. I got one point. If I get the ball, but I didn't score it. The point goes back to 0-1. But like you get the ball. You might, play like that.
WV: So you can lose points?
ST: No, you cannot lose points. If I score yours right?
WV: Mhm.
ST: Right now, I've got the ball, so I score into yours, so I get one point. Next ball, I kick it, but I didn't score it, so the point goes back to 0-1. If you score, then you get 1-1 like me. If you score another one, you get 2-1.
WV: Ok. Gotcha.
[LAUGHTER].
ST: If I got the ball, so you score my point first-
WV: Okay. I think I got it. So is that, is that just like from the Karen or Burma area, or is that common all over Southeast Asia?
ST: Maybe not all over. Because they play all over. Not just Karen people. Thai. China. Japanese. Korean. Philippines, Malaysia. Indian. A lot.
WV: Hmm. I've never heard of that before. What was that called again?
ST: Takraw.
WV: How do you spell that?
ST: S-C-P-A-K
WV: S-C
ST: P-A-K. Space. T-A-K-R-A-W.
WV: T-A-K-R-O what?
ST: R-A-W. T-A-K-R-A-W. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 13
WV: Oh, it's two separate words? Gotcha. So, how often do you play then? Is it something that you-
ST: Well, when we have the time and we're not busy. And it's on a sunny day to play one.
WV: [LAUGHTER] So you haven' t been able to play recently then? With the rain.
ST: not really. When it's cloudy or rainy, you don't really play, because its' kind of cold. Then like we're worried it's going to be slippery too, because you just use only your foot. So yeah, that's why.
WV: So do you play indoors in the winter, or do you guys not play at all here?
ST: We don't really have a space, so we don't really play indoors, so we don't play.
WV: Okay. Um, so what's the uh, sorry, I just looked up at your flag, and I see that you have these little pictures pinned to it, what are those?
ST: No, that's- [LAUGHTER], we just pin that up.
WV: So there's nothing to it.
ST: No, nothing. Just only, we just, yeah... the flag.
WV: So I'm kind of curious, because again, I've seen a couple of these, what exactly does the flag, or the marks and colors on the flag mean?
ST: Um, well, you mean the mark? There is nine like, nine. Is that what you mean?
WV: Well yeah, the lines, the stripes, and then the-
ST: There is nine mark right. It means like nine place.
WV: What does that symbolize?
ST: Nine place. Like, nine place.
WV: So just nine different places?
ST: Yeah. Nine different places.
WV: What exactly is that referring to? Like is it nine specific places, or?
ST: Yeah, nine different places. So, but I don't really know. My parents just told me about it.
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 14
WV: Ok.
ST: So like, we learn about it from school. Nine different places. Or, maybe [LAUGHTER], I don't know.
WV: And what's the, I think that's a drum? The yellow thing in the center?
ST: Yeah, it's kinda maybe drum? Yeah.
WV: Does it, have any specific kind of drum or is it-?
ST: Yeah, specific kind of drum, like for Karen people.
WV: Where is it used?
ST: Used? Like, in it have, like many different kinds of it. Because like, there is not just only one. It has different specific names. So yeah.
WV: So there's like different types of drums, then?
ST: Yeah.
WV: Are they all called the same thing, and there's just different shapes and sizes?
ST: Different shapes and size.
[25:55]
WV: So what kind of, I mean, you know events or things are those drums used for?
ST: You know, some people, they're gonna hit it while they announce things, or yeah. Sometimes, they gonna hit it, like, you know, depends on what situation they got. Like, maybe on the solar they're gonna hit one. So like there's a different drums on the solar, lunar or solar, or something like that. Maybe on a, maybe fast, or celebration they're going to hit, like a different one. It's not the same one. There's, like, many kinds that are different.
WV: Okay. Um, what are those drums called? Do you know?
ST: I just know in my language. [LAUGHTER].
WV: Okay, you don't have a translation for it?
ST: No, no.
WV: Um, so besides, so you have, Karen New Year is in December, is that right?
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 15
ST: January.
WV: Oh, January.
ST: January first.
WV: So what other, uh, do the Karen people have any other specific holidays?
ST: Maybe, Independence Day. Independence, yeah.
WV: When is that?
ST: August 12th.
WV: OH, that's my birthday.
ST: [LAUGHTER] Really?
WV: Yeah. [LAUGHTER]. So that's Karen Independence Day?
ST: Uh-huh. I think it was the revolution day instead. Revolution.
WV: Okay. So is that, is that what started the conflict with Burma?
ST: Uh, yeah. That is. No, it's like the president, like, dead day. Like, they go to a congress, along the congress, like rest, they got killed. So, like they mark it as the revolution day.
WV: So one of the things that I don't know too much about, maybe you could tell me, is, what exactly started the conflict between Burma and Karen?
ST: Well, at first, like, after maybe British leave, but they left the land, so they thought like, maybe Burma, like, so, like, they can just discuss to each other, like if their land goes to like everyone, or something. But after the Karen go and declare, their like land, from Burma, they didn't ask for it. But Burma's like, uh, told them, I don't really know what to call it now. They didn't give the lands to like, so like, they have to fight. So, yeah.
WV: So, Burma didn't honor the deal that was made, is that it?
ST: Kind of like that. If we call it Burma, it's not right, because there's a lot of nations that is Burma, who's not soldier, you know? So yeah, there's a specific name for the soldier that we are fighting with.
WV: Okay, so you guys make a distinction between regular Burmese people and the Burmese military?
ST: Yeah, so if we call Burmese like, that's almost everyone who lives in Burma. So, yeah. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 16
WV: Um, what, term do you use to distinguish the two?
ST: Well, uh, one I don't really what to call it. MSPDC, I don't really know what to call it. In our own language, or Burmese language, we call it like another one.
WV: So you just have a separate term for the military?
ST: Mhm.
WV: So how big is Karen as a state?
ST: Uh, I don't really know, but I use to learn it, but I already forgot.
[LAUGHTER].
ST: Like several, eight nations inside of Burma, each nation go to separate one states, so like, you know, we have this big, each one takes a small one. Small one just is a small one after.
WV: So is it organized sort of like the United States the country, but Utah is a state. Is it the same kind of thing?
ST: Yeah, it's just like another state, but in here, but just everyone is like the same. Like same nation, same- you know like, but this place is different. Different nations that are separated from another one. So, like, everyone have their own state. They speak different language. Just not the same. The Karen are, but Burmese is just the dominant language in Burma. Everyone speaks it.
WV: So do most people speak multiple languages there/ So does everyone learn Burmese, but you might learn Karen as well?
ST: Burmese is the most dominant language. Because we call it Burma, so, like everyone is just supposed to know Burmese.
WV: So how many languages do you speak?
ST: Two or three. Three maybe? Yeah.
WV: So what are the three?
ST: Just my own language. And then English, and then, yeah, Thai.
WV: Okay. And did you pick up Thai in the camp? When you were growing up?
ST: Yeah.
[31:39 BRIEF PAUSE] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 17
WV: Um, so, if things in Burma were, you know, not as chaotic, would you wanna move back, or do you like living here in the United States?
[Faucet in the kitchen is turned on]
ST: Probably maybe just, stay here for a while. And but I'm not sure about going back. Probably some time I might go back.
WV: Would you go back to visit, or would you go back to live?
ST: Just for a visit.
WV: So you said that you had a sister who is still in Thailand, is that right?
ST: Mhm. Sister and brothers.
WV: So did they grow up in the camp, too, and just not leave? Or-
ST: Uh, yeah. Because they already have wife and husband, so they just stayed there with their husband and wife.
WV: Oh, so they just stayed with their own families.
ST: Mhm.
WV: Okay.
[32:43 BRIEF PAUSE]
WV: Trying to think. So is there anything else that, I mean, you, maybe that I haven't asked you, that you'd like to talk about or,
ST: Uh, well, probably. [LAUGHTER]. Not. I, can't think of anything.
WV: I guess, when, so Chit Moe contacted you about meeting with us, right?
ST: Yes.
WV: So what, I guess was your initial interest in talking to us?
ST: Talking to us? Well, like... [PAUSE]. So, just like, if we talk about ourselves. If you come visit, if you're new, and you talk about our nation, or you question us so you know about part of it, so yeah.
WV: Ok. Um, okay, I think that's most of the questions that I have, do Meagan or Bethany have any questions? Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 18
BH: I, I have some questions.
ST: Okay, sure.
BH: Um, so, back- back to the game that you were talking about, it just sounds really interesting. Takraw, right?
ST: Yeah, Takraw.
BH: Uh, is that a game that you learned in the refugee camp?
ST: Yeah, we learn it since we were little. We used to play. We just tried to play random things.
BH: Okay, so you played that quite a bit there?
ST: Just tried to kick around.
BH: Um, are there other games that you would play in the camps?
ST: Uh, soccer as well.
BH: Just those two pretty much?
ST: Mhm.
BH: and was that because, you were there, as a young a pretty young child, right?
ST: Yeah.
BH: So- oh, sorry.
ST: Go ahead.
BH: So, is it kind of most of what you would do in the day, or did you have other responsibilities?
ST: Well, because we're students, so we're supposed to read, but I was lazy to read. So, yeah. Sometimes, after we read, we just kinda go and just maybe watch movies. Except for when we had free time we just go out and shoot birds. Well, we never found, or when we never found them we just kind of go like that. When we have a friend we played soccer.
BH: Okay. So it's cool that you kinda had different activities.
ST: Mhm.
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 19
BH: Different things that you could do by yourself and things that you could do with other people.
ST: Yep.
BH: And, um, I... I actually, I'm curious about this-
ST: Oh, that's a calendar.
BH: A calendar?
ST: Yeah.
BH: Is that from Burma?
ST: Yeah, I think that's form Burma, or-
BH: Is that Burmese written on there? Burmese or Karen?
ST: It's Karen. It's,yeah, it's Karen.
BH: Cool. Is that, I guess, is the calendar system the same?
ST: Yeah, the same, but, you know, we have like New Years, and like, you know, sometimes we kind of like there's some another month, there are differences from USA calendars. So yeah, that's how we do it. Sometimes we compare. Sometimes which one... [LAUGHTER].
BH: Okay. I guess, I'm not really close enough to like, look at the, the material, but.
ST: You can go and look
BH: I can go and look?
ST: Yeah, yeah.
BH: Because it looks, um, okay. So it's like
ST: There is- there is an English, I think.
BH: Oh, there is?
ST: Yeah, I think so.
BH: Cool. So it, I mean, it looks like, uh, I was thinking maybe it was something kind of like your carpet here, that was, uh, or the rugs that was maybe liked stitched together, but it looks like something that's printed off. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 20
ST: Yeah, that one is printed off.
BH: Okay. Cool. I might have had another question, do you have any questions? [To Meagan]
MG: So you said you were going to church.
ST: Yeah.
MG: What religion are you?
ST: Christian.
MG: Okay.
WV: So it just like a general Christian church that you go to?
ST: Yeah, just like that.
WV: Okay.
BH: I just thought of another. [LAUGHTER].
ST: Sure.
BH: So I'm looking, I'm trying to look at different pictures. And so I see up here there are these two photographs, are either of these, are you in these?
ST: Yeah, I'm in the small one. My brother is in the other one.
BH: In this one?
ST: Uh-huh. When I came to Logan.
BH: Yeah? SO these pictures are from when you first got here?
ST: Bear Lake.
BH: Oh, Bear Lake?
ST: Mhm.
BH: Cool, I was just curious about those. Is there, and this is just a curiosity, but is there anything about Burma, or Karen that you, uh, that you kinda miss?
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 21
ST: Well, a thing I miss? I don't really know about what I miss, but you know, a good thing that I miss, because in Thailand there's a war, that we didn't get to face it. So yeah, good thing for us, so we didn't have to flee. Yeah, but, if you ask the elder people who used to live, like sixty or seventy years, if you ask them, they will you about the stories of like having to flee from Burma. Or like the army, yeah. If it like getting dark, they have to pack up things, and call up their family and start leaving. Yeah.
WV: So your family was able to avoid most of that, then?
ST: Well, I don't really choose to ask my parents about that.
WV: Mhm.
[38:56]
WV: You don't really remember having to deal with any of that.
ST: No, I didn't have to, because I was just born in the camp. And we couldn't really go anywhere, so, I didn't know like, what happened later. I know that we're like still a kid when it happened, so I didn't really know about anything.
WV: Do you guys have any other questions, or- [PAUSE] So, I mean, I guess we're just about done, then. Is there anything else that you, maybe, again, that we haven't asked? That you'd still like to talk about?
ST: Probably not. [LAUGHTER]. I don't really know how to ask questions.
WV: I guess, maybe, okay, final question. How exactly are these made? These rugs? I've seen a lot of them.
ST: Yeah, just like a carpet for us. Where we lived, we used to cover our floor with this.
WV: Mhm.
ST: Like, if you cover your floor with this, and it gets dirty, it doesn't like, get on the carpet. So you can clean it easily.
WV: Right.
ST: Yeah, so yeah. It's made with plastic, I think. I'm not really sure.
WV: I was going to say, because are these from- did you bring these from Burma, or did you get them here?
ST: Just get them here in a convenience store.
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Snay Tun May 19, 2015 22
WV: So these would normally be, made out of this kind of plastic material then, or are these usually like uh, cloth or something that these are usually made out of?
ST: Probably, I am not sure about them being cloth.
WV: Or, cloth... what else do you make rugs out of? [LAUGHTER]. I clearly don't know much about rugs. Um, yeah. That's just about all the questions that I've got. So thanks again for being willing to meet with us. And I think we're good.
ST: So you wanna see the game? I'll show you the games.
WV: Sure.
ST: Yeah?
[Movement. End of recording.]]]> Snay Tun 1995]]> Hanks, Bethany]]> N/A]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> Van de Water, Wes 1989]]> Van de Water, Wesley; 1989]]> Audio Recording of Oral History]]> application/pdf]]> 98115 Bytes]]> ENG]]> Text;]]> Karen; Thailand; Salt Lake City]]> ]]> ]]> Utah State University]]> ]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> ]]> Utah State University]]> ]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> ]]> Utah State University]]> ]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)--Commencement;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 241279 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://www.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1910-1919; 20th century;]]> Commencement ceremonies;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 712345 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1910-1919; 20th century;]]> Commencement ceremonies;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 511711 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1910-1919; 20th century;]]> Student registration;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 282853 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1910-1919; 20th century;]]> Technical assistance, American--Iran]]> Agriculture--Iran]]> Iran--Foreign relations]]> Utah State University]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/ Islamic Republic of Iran, http://sws.geonames.org/130758/]]> 1910-1919]]> 1920-1929]]> 1930-1939]]> 1940-1949]]> 1950-1959]]> 1960-1969]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Plants--Water requirements]]> Irrigation]]> Sanborn, J.W. (Jeremiah Wilson)]]> Utah Agricultural Experiment Station]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1890-1899]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Irrigation--Utah]]> Irrigation--Research]]> Widtsoe, John Andreas, 1872-1952]]> Utah Agricultural Experiment Station]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1900-1909]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Irrigation]]> Irrigation farming]]> Israelsen, Orson Winso, 1887-1968]]> John Wiley & Sons, Inc.]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> 1950-1959]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 727745 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://www.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1920-1929; 20th century;]]> Anderson, Jennika]]> application/pdf]]> StillImage]]> Anderson, Jennika]]> application/pdf]]> StillImage]]> Housing--Utah--Mendon; Muir, James, 1882-1956; Muir, Elizabeth Charlotte Kidman, 1890-1955;]]> Homes; Buildings;]]> Richards, Jennie;]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng;]]> Image;StillImage]]> http://digital.lib.usu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/Mendon/id/3651]]> Mendon (Utah); Cache County (Utah); Utah; United States;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> THIS SPACE MAY BE USED FOR WRITING THIS SIDE FOR THE ADDRESS ONLY.]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 199800 Bytes]]> eng]]> Image; Still Image;]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://sws.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1910-1919; 20th century;]]> Sorensen, Thomas Kay, 1909-1994;]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng;]]> Image;StillImage]]> http://digital.lib.usu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/Mendon/id/3645]]> Mendon (Utah); Cache County (Utah); Utah; United States;]]> Sorensen, Thomas Kay, 1909-1994;]]> May Day celebrations;]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng;]]> Image;StillImage]]> http://digital.lib.usu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/Mendon/id/3626]]> Mendon (Utah); Cache County (Utah); Utah; United States;]]> Karen State, Burma, Refugee camp, Immigration, Family, Languages, School]]> Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
1
CACHE VALLEY REFUGEE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
TRANSCRIPTION COVER SHEET
Interviewee(s): Kyaw Eh
Present: Meagan Gill, Wes Van de Water, Bethany Hanks, Kyaw Eh
Place of Interview: Kyaw Eh’s home, Hyrum, Utah
Date of Interview: May 16, 2015
Language(s): English
Translation:
Interviewer: Meagan Gill
Interpreter: None
Recordist: Bethany Hanks
Photographer: Wes Van de Water
Recording Equipment: Tascam DR-100mk11 linear PCM recorder; Senal ENG-18RL
broadcast-quality omnidirectional dynamic microphone
Transcription Equipment: Express Scribe with PowerPlayer foot pedal.
Transcribed by: Susan Gross, May 25, 2015
Transcript Proofed by:
Brief Description of Contents: Mr. Kyaw Eh describes his home village and family in Burma,
and what his childhood was like growing up and working on a rice paddy farm. He talks about
the civil war in Burma, and the inequalities and suffering the Karen people were put through by
the Burmese military. He discusses life in the United States, and his religious (Buddhist) views
on life, as well as his dreams of being able to help orphaned Burmese children attain health care
and education one day in the future.
Reference: MG = Meagan Gill
KE = Kyaw Eh
BH = Bethany Hanks
WV = Wes Van de Water
NOTE: [You will have to modify this as appropriate—whether using CommGap or in-person
interpreter.] The interview was conducted with CommGap Interpretive Services; the interpreter
joined the interview via a cell phone. False starts, pauses, or transitions in dialogue such as “uh”
and starts and stops in conversations are not included in transcript. All additions and added
information to transcript are noted with brackets.
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
2
TAPE TRANSCRIPTION
[00:01]
MG: Today is May 16th, 2015. This is Meagan Gill, I am with Wes Van de Water and Bethany
Hanks; we’re students at Utah State University, and we are working on a project called
“Voices: Refugees in Cache Valley.” I am interviewing Kyaw Eh?
KE: Yes.
MG: At his home in Hyrum, Utah. Thanks for letting us interview you. My first question is can
you state your full name and your birth year for me?
KE: My name is Kyaw; my birthday is August 15th, 1979.
MG: Thanks. And what languages do you speak.
KE: My home language is Karen (K-A-R-E-N) – Karen; but I can speak four languages.
MG: What other languages?
KE: Burmese, Thai and English (not really well).
MG: Tell me about your family.
KE: My family: I have two sister, and one brother – including me we have four in my – I have
my mom and she live in [??], but my dad (since 1995) because he disappear (because we
have our Karen Revolution to fight the Burmese government). They’re fighting since that
year – he die or – we don’t anything about it; so he lost. There are a lot of people (Karen
soldier) die in the war – we have a civil war. My dad – he die, or we don’t know
anything; we don’t have any information – nobody can tell us if he is still alive or no. But
we don’t know [??].
MG: There is no program or way to find out if someone has died or not?
KE: No, no, no because it is really difficult because in the Karen state we live in the jungle in
a mountain; we don’t have any electricity, we don’t have any internet, we don’t have any
phone to contact each other. It’s really hard to find each other if somebody go away (for
example). We have no way to meet each other again, I think.
MG: Can you describe the ethnic or religious community you belong to (if any)?
KE: I was born in Karen state in Burma – I am Karen ethnic group. My religion is Buddhist,
Buddha, Buddhism.
[03:41]
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
3
MG: Tell me about the place where you were born.
KE: I was born – about what? The place, what – describe?
MG: Yeah.
KE: The place where I was born is a – how is it called – it’s regional, like kind of the
countryside (it’s not in a city). We had like a paddy farm: we grow the paddy: rice (paddy
farm). We had a farm and we had animal like a cow, buffalo (something like that). We
live just natural in the jungle or something like that; it’s not in a city. We don’t have any
electric in our village.
MG: How long did you live there?
KE: Since I was born until – I grew up there, but I think because I moved to the refugee camp
I lived there eight year. I moved from my place to the refugee camp since 1999 (around
that), since I was born.
MG: Okay. And why did you leave?
KE: Because there are a lot of problem: we had a problem with Burmese soldier troop – when
they come to our village they just give us whatever they want: torture us, and they just
give us the (how’s it called?) – the bullet, the big – like they fire the gun. We have to
carry, we have to follow them in the jungle wherever they go. We have to carry the heavy
thing, the heavy bullets (something like that). For example, if we cannot carry it, they do
whatever they want: even they can kill us, something like that. That’s why – especially
for the men and the boy, for the men and the boy; but the woman is better than the man to
live there. Mostly they just capture the men or the boy – have to follow them.
MG: What all did they make the boys and men do?
[06:23]
KE: Excuse me?
MG: What kinds of things did they make the boys and men do?
KE: That’s what I told you – we have to carry the bullet or the gun with them, their food –
because over there we don’t have any (how does it call it), the road, the car or the
motorcycles go the road – we don’t have of the car road. We have to walk by our foot,
our feet. We have to walk and go to the jungle because the Burmese troop – they go fight
the ethnic group; they go to fight the ethnic group, that’s why they call us go with them.
If they die, we die there; kind of like they are scary enemy – they just keep us the cover
for them. That’s why we are scary or afraid to save our life – to save my life, that’s why I
escape from my village and come to the refugee camp: to save.
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
4
MG: Okay. Where did you relocate to first?
KE: Pardon me?
MG: Where did you go – where was the first camp that you went to?
KE: Oh, yes – Mae La camp is where I live. Mae La camp we called – Mae La camp is on the
Thai/Burma border. That’s went into in Thailand – is the border we have the refugee
camps there. It is like the United Nation – they have the food, they give the clothes for
the education, for the house; everything they provide the refugees there. There I study the
camp a year – I go to school there.
MG: What was it like there, from day to day? What kinds of things did you do?
KE: We just go to school when I live there; we don’t have nothing to do because we cannot go
outside the camp.
MG: Um-hmm?
KE: The Thai military – they control – the Thai authority, they don’t want the refugees go
outside, spread anywhere (something like that). We have to stay at only in the camp:
morning, go to school; after school, go home. We play: we have the playgrounds and play
soccer, visit each other in the camps – just like kind of in a jail. I can say in a jail, like in
a jail: we cannot go anywhere; just I would visit a friend in the camp.
[09:20]
MG: Can you tell me more about the food and any medical care you received in the camp?
KE: The medical care?
MG: Um-hmm.
KE: I would say really good; pretty good. We have like a hospital: a medical care center; we
have everything like that – it’s like other countries, and better than in Burma (a lot better
than in Burma), but we don’t have to pay nothing. We go whenever we sick we go to the
hospital, we have medicine or something, they check everything – it’s for free. We don’t
have to pay nothing.
MG: Did you celebrate any holy days or holidays in camp?
KE: Oh, yes. Our Karen holidays, kind of like our Karen New Year, and then our Karen [??]
Thai ceremony (we call it) we celebrate like a traditional celebrate every year in August.
MG: Okay. Did you get any special materials to use for the holidays?
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
5
KE: Oh no, we don’t have – no, we don’t have any specials give to [??]; no, nothing.
MG: Were you able to make any like special food?
KE: In celebrate?
MG: For celebration?
KE: For celebration?
MG: Um-hmm.
KE: We used to have like our Karen food and Karen New Year; yeah, we have just – we call
(how do we call it) – it’s almost the same Thanksgiving in America (but we don’t have
any turkey over there) [laughs] – it’s not turkey, but other food we ate.
MG: Okay. What was it like working a paddy farm?
KE: Paddy farm?
MG: Um-hmm.
KE: You have not seen – never seen paddy farm? No?
MG: A few pictures, that’s it.
KE: [Laughs] Alright, so how do you want to know the paddy farm?
MG: Just day to day activities?
KE: Oh, because you’ve seen the rainy season we grow the paddy since the seed, the rice (the
paddy) seed we grow, and (how is it called) – we put the nursery (nursery, right?). We
put the nursery and they grow for about one (how is it called?) – feet?
MG: Um-hmm?
KE: One feet, two feet, right?
MG: Yeah.
KE: Oh yeah, for about one and a half feet we have to take it off and transplant to the ground,
to the paddy ground. We have to plow – you know the plows?
MG: Um-hmm.
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
6
KE: With a cow – but right now they did lots with a machine. We plow the field – before,
when I was young, we don’t have any machine: we have the cow or buffalo with a (how
is it called – I don’t know how it’s called it) – we plowed the field to make the ground
soft, we can plant the paddy plants in the field. And then for about two or three months (I
think) it’s going to make a kind of flower and for about five months we can harvest. And
then we can carry in our house or in paddy place.
[13:38]
MG: What was the political climate towards refugees in the camp?
KE: Political climate?
MG: Um-hmm.
KE: I’m not sure regarding the political – I don’t have any idea of things regarding the
political climate; I don’t know anything about it.
MG: Did you feel safe in the camp?
KE: It is more safer than in Burma.
MG: Um-hmm.
KE: It’s not like America; America more safer, better than the camp; a lot better than in the
camp. But in the camps, better than in Burma (in Karen state) – it’s really bad, and the
camps a little better. In America is a lot better.
MG: How did you learn about the U.S. refugee program?
KE: When I live in the camp, because we have (how does it call?) – we have a Karen leader
(refugees leader) over there: they told us in 2006 or [200]7, around that. They have a ten
country who were receive the refugee [??] to their country: kind of like Norway,
Australia, Canada, Denmark, Poland, something like that, and the U.S. They have ten
country – you can choose which country you want to go. Some of my friend (when I live
there, we go to school the same: the same school, the same class) I have a lot of friend
there – right now we are spread around the world. Some friend are interest in Norway,
some other friend they go to Australia; but I choose the my choice: U.S. That’s why I
come to here; that’s why I came here.
MG: What made you choose the U.S.?
[16:01]
KE: I like because U.S. speak English. If I go to Norway, I have to learn another language
again, and English again – that’s why I have to learn many language; that’s what I
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
7
thought. And if I come to U.S., I have to learn just only one language: English; and then
the U.S., that was my idea was better than the other country: the education, for
everything. But I never been the other country, but I just learn it in a newspaper or in a
magazine; I just read about it.
MG: Okay. How did you apply for the program?
KE: Because we have to go to – because they have a (how does it call it?) the place to enroll,
to enroll who want to go which country, you can come here or our refugee leader – they
open like the United Nation or the UNHCR – the leader, they go to the refugee camps,
they announce every refugee people who want to go to this country, this country. They
have a opportunity lie there, they have a chance lie there, they have a different, like (how
does it call it?) different chance, different opportunity, different rights. Each country is
not the same; they let us know about this.
And then I want to come to U.S., that’s why I enrolled – I put my name I will go to U.S.,
that’s why they take my names and my U.N. number or evidence. For about three or five
months they put on a boat – we have to go and check our name are there; if my name is
there I have to go, if I don’t have my name there, “What happened?” Or, “What have
problem? I didn’t see my name there?” You can go to the refugee camp leader office, you
can ask your name or what the problem – they reject, or what the reason they reject
(something like that)? You can ask.
MG: Who helped you apply?
[18:45]
KE: Because our leader over there – our leader in the camp, they help us.
MG: Okay. When did you and where did you first arrive when you came to the U.S.?
KE: Salt Lake City, Utah (2007), I think it was August 8th (around that). To this day I never
moved to other state; since I arrive here I just stay here.
MG: What were the first months like?
KE: It was really shock for me; it was different, very different from my country. But I’m
happy, the other ways I’m happy also because I have seen the different thing: different
culture, different food – everything is different from my country.
MG: What was the biggest shock?
KE: The biggest shock was when snow time – when the snow was coming [laughs]; it was
really, really shock for me.
MG: Um-hmm?
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
8
KE: Because when I live there since whole my life over there, I never seen snow. I just see in
a video or movie like that, but I didn’t know how does it look like – that’s why it was
very shock for the snow.
MG: Have you tried skiing?
KE: No [laughs], never.
MG: Okay. Did you receive any help from U.S. or religious organizations?
KE: Here?
MG: Yes.
KE: Yes, what about can I say for the food stamp, Medicaid (something like that) from the
U.S. government; it was really good for me. Yes.
MG: Okay. Do you have any suggestions for improvements for those programs?
[21:09]
KE: Which program?
MG: The food stamp, or Medicaid – do you see anything that could be changed with that? Or
do you think it worked okay?
KE: It work okay; yeah, it’s okay for me but I’m not sure of other people. I think for me it is
okay.
MG: Let’s see – and how long have you lived here, in Cache Valley?
KE: Since 2008 until now.
MG: What do you do here?
KE: I just work at JBS Swift Company beef plant here.
MG: What’s it like for you and your family to live here, in Hyrum (or Cache Valley)?
KE: I like here because it is better than Salt Lake (for me), for my personality I think – it is
more safety here. And then there is no crowded car, there is not a lot of the car – it is
really easy to go to the downtown Logan, we can visit easily. I like – it is the same is
similar like my country here, like with a cow and a lot of horse and the buffalo (or
something like that) in the field – like my country with the paddy field. That’s why I like
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
9
it, and the mountains and the stream with the lake; that’s what I’m growing in my
country, it’s similar here so I like it here.
MG: Okay. Do you feel included in the Logan community?
KE: Included?
MG: Um-hmm?
KE: I’m not clear how to say “included?”
MG: Do you feel like you’re a part of the community, or do you feel a little disconnected from
everyone else?
KE: Oh no, is yeah, included in that community, yeah; I feel it’s good, really good. It’s a
family with the people here in Cache County, many people. And a lot of people (when I
first arrived here) they help me a lot to go to store, to go to the shopping mall (something
like that). And from here they have a – at first when I met her, Katie (do you know
Katie?) – English language singer – they teach the English language for the refugees is
really good here. Yeah, they help me a lot.
[24:15]
MG: Do you think that there is anything else that the community can do to help refugees?
KE: Oh I think they still help the refugees until now, but do you know Nelda – I’m not sure
what’s the organization she had up there – but Nelda, she help refugees a lot to apply
food stamp, to apply to Medicaid, to read the letter from the school, read the letter from
the DWS for the refugees. Because most refugee, they don’t know how to read and write
in the letter, they have a problem: Nelda help them a lot. Yeah, it’s good.
MG: Tell me a little bit about how your home looked like in your home country, and the
difference with your home now.
KE: Oh yes, it’s a lot different because in my country – my house in my country, we just built
with the wood, the roof with the leaf (you know the leaf, the tree leaf, the big leaf) – we
just made the roof of our house. We don’t have any like the wall close every side like
this; we have to like – we can open the wind come through, come and go through our
house. And it was a lot of different because we live style different, completely different
from here because here is we have snow, we have to turn on the heat; in the summer time
we have to turn on the air condition – but over there no, we don’t have nothing: no
electricity, nothing, no internet, no phone, no TV.
MG: Did it get really hot there?
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
10
KE: Because we used to grow up there, it’s not really hot for us – it’s not really hot for me
because we used to grow up there. If the people from the other country go there it is very,
very difficult, very hard for them I think to live there; everything is different.
MG: What would you like people in Logan to know about you and your family?
[27:21]
KE: I don’t know how to call it – to make the people in Logan to know my family?
MG: Yeah, is there anything you would like to let them know about your family and you, or
your ethnic group?
KE: [Laughs] I don’t know because I don’t know how to answer it.
MG: Would you like to go back to your country?
KE: Yes, maybe one day; I have my dream. I still waiting the politic to change over there, the
government change. If they change from communist to democracy, maybe one day I
would go back there.
MG: To live or just to visit?
KE: To live [laughs].
MG: What are you most proud of?
KE: Here or there?
MG: Here, or there – yeah?
KE: Proud of – I don’t know what I’m proud? I’m proud that I am Karen ethnic group (Karen
people), that I came here, I have learned English and the other language (even I can speak
some Spanish right now because in our company they speak only Spanish); that is why I
am very happy I learn their other language and I can speak four language right now –
that’s why I’m proud of myself.
MG: Okay. What are your dreams for the future – for yourself or your children?
KE: Okay, so in the future my dreams are maybe one day (that I told you) I would like to go
back to my country (if the country change everything). I would like to help the people
who need help (like orphan children) – do you know what I am saying “orphan” – that is
the people they don’t have parents.
MG: Right.
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
11
KE: I would like to help them if I have money, if I have my business or my own jobs; if I have
incomes, a lot of income, maybe one day I would go back and help them for the
education for the health to get the hospital or the clinic for them, or the school for them.
Because it is really hard – there are many people over there in our Karen state (our Karen
people) they don’t have receive any education, any health; it’s really hard over there.
Because in our place there are many malarias disease – do you know that malaria? Yeah.
There are many people die every years over there because we don’t have not enough the
medicine, we don’t have equipment to check the disease, to check up everything for the
health – that’s why they have to give their lives a lot every years over there.
[31:15]
MG: Would you like to own your own business some day?
KE: I think, yeah; I think so [laughs], yes.
MG: What kind of business.
KE: Just for my dream, yeah; because I don’t have any – I don’t have my graduate like a high
education – I cannot do the business, like the big business. I just that I can do just only
the agriculture and poultry – do you know poultry?
MG: Chickens.
KE: Chicken – oh, yeah poultry like the chicken, or what about the pig farm to grow the
chicken, pig, goat, cow or something like that, right? With the agriculture – plant the
food, the vegetable, the fruit in our place; that’s why I like to work with like that.
MG: Have you ever thought about going back to school?
KE: Yes, because I don’t have a opportunity, I don’t have a chance right now because I
borrow my house here, I have to go to work. If I go to school, who is going to pay for my
payments here, right? It’s really hard to live here. I would like to go to school to get a
degree or something like that, but it’s really hard for me here. It’s a balance make it
which way I can do, that’s why I choose the – I have to work to live here.
MG: Okay. You said you’re Buddhist – has your religious practices changed at all since you
came to the U.S.?
KE: Changed, like what?
MG: Is there any like changes you’ve had to make practice wise? Is it hard to be that here, in
Cache Valley?
KE: No, that’s not hard for me, but it depends on the people. Some of the people, if they like
religious, if they don’t have their temple or monastery (we call it monastery in the
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
12
Buddhist), in the Christian they call it the church – it is really hard for them to live
because they love their religion, right? It is for me: I love my religion also, because it is
always in my mind. And Buddhists, they just teach the people if you are the human, you
are the human: if you do the good thing, you will get the good thing; if you do the bad
thing, you will get the bad thing. In America I like, I really like – that’s why I’m [??]: if
you broke the law, you have to go to jail, right? Your mother, your father, your brother
cannot help you; nobody can help you – even the God cannot help you. That’s why my
religion said if you do the bad thing, you will receive the bad; if you do the good thing,
you will receive the good. That’s why I live here, it is easy for me – it’s not really hard.
I can communicate with every people, every religion. That is why we are the human
being. We have to love each other. We need to help each other. If we see the people who
[??], we have to help that people: even the black, yellow, white, or whatever. We don’t
have any discrimination – it’s not good; we need to help each other. That’s why I’m here,
I like America.
[35:28]
MG: Is there a monastery here, in Cache Valley?
KE: No, in Salt Lake City: Thai monastery is over there.
MG: Do you get to go down there?
KE: I’ve never been there. I live here almost eight year, I never been there. Just only in my
mind – if I think the good thing, if I do the good thing, if I speak the good thing, I am the
good people. If I do the bad thing (like to do whatever the people don’t like) – even I go
to the monastery or the church, right – every week you go to the church, you go to the
monastery – if your mind is no good, you are not good people. You go to the church, you
pray, you go the other where you do the bad thing – that is not fair. I live in my house, I
just pray in my house for my family, for the people around all the world. That’s why I
believe. I never been to the monastery; never.
MG: Would you like to go there some time?
KE: Some time, yes – because we are different language; we don’t know how do they speak,
how do they pray, right? [Laughs] If they pray, we don’t want to stand like something is
not fair for me, it is not good for me. But for the religion, they pray every religion they
pray for the good people for around the world: they ask them to do the good thing, right?
But if I go to Thai monastery, the monks (the Thai monks) – they pray in a Thai
language; if I don’t understand, how can I feel the good thing, right? It’s really good here,
but that’s what I’m saying; I don’t understand they pray, because it in Thai language. I
know they are Buddhist, I am Buddhist – I respect them, I like them, but I never been
there. I don’t understand how they pray in their language; it’s different with my language.
Yeah, so something like that.
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
13
MG: Okay. I think I’m done with my questions. Is it okay if they ask you questions if they
have any?
KE: Sure, sure.
MG: You look like you have a question.
[38:17]
WV: I’m just trying to think. I guess what I would ask is, you know, based on just your
experience and what you’ve been through (both in Burma and Thailand and here), is
there anything that you wish you could help other people outside of your community
understand? Does that make sense? Is there something that you would like if you could,
you know, tell other strangers like us (who maybe don’t know), is there anything that you
would like us to understand?
KE: To help the Karen people?
WV: Either way: here or over there?
KE: Oh okay, yes; I have a lot of things to let you know. I am very happy today to visit with
you, because you are from the university (US University), maybe you have a lot of
experience, you have a lot of education (high education) – I think you can help my people
a lot (more than me). Because maybe one day that I am talking about for awhile when I
go back there I would like to connect with you. And maybe one day if you go to
Thailand, go to visit or go do whatever, or go to work over there I just want to connect
with you and to help our people over there to build a school, to build a clinic: just only
two things that I’m really need.
And when I live here, in Cache County (Cache Valley), I just want to let you know
because our refugee from Burma (our Karen refugees here), we are almost 200 people
(before there were over 200, but right now they moved the other state some). And we
have a lot of children here that go to school; sometime they have a difficulty life here:
their mom and dad cannot speak any English because their mom or their dad go to work.
And that what I am saying sometime they have from the school, they have school
conference, parent conference (or whatever, something like that), or the other things is
really hard for them sometime.
That’s why from the university can help them some way (like to read the letter, if they
have time to apply for Medicaid, to apply for food stamp), because they have a better
chance. In U.S. I know we have equality rights – every people, we have equality right –
because our refugee don’t know anything (mostly) they don’t know anything about it,
how to apply that: where we have to go to apply for this; that’s why they need to know. I
say, “If you have some day you want to go to do this, you can go this building or that
department,” or if you can like a direction for them it will be better. For example, if you
print the paper like this – if you lose your social security card you can go apply this place;
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
14
if you need driver license you can go apply this department, this place – something like
that. You can contact if you want to do whatever (how can I say?).
But we have a lot of opportunity here, for the people. If you want to go to school:
agriculture school or nursing school – mostly they don’t know anything about it, which
program better (which one is better). If you mostly here we have high school student,
they already graduate and they will continue their higher education (go to college) –
mostly they don’t how to apply for the scholarship, the grant or something to go for their
school. If you can have the children like that will be better for them.
[43:39]
BH: I have a question –
KE: Yes?
BH: So I know right now we’re downstairs, but upstairs I saw there’s a lot of stuff on a wall –
KE: Uh-huh?
BH: Of like a flag –
KE: Uh-huh?
BH: And I saw a picture that I think –
KE: Me.
BH: Is of you – is it of you in a uniform?
KE: The soldier uniform?
BH: The soldier?
KE: Oh no, that’s my uncle.
BH: That’s your uncle?
KE: Yes, that’s not me [laughs].
BH: So I guess I’m just curious about that photo?
KE: For what?
BH: Is your uncle here? Is he in –
Cache
Valley
Refugee
Oral
History
Project:
Kyaw
Eh
Page
15
KE: No, he’s in Burma.
BH: In Burma?
KE: Yes. He is not here. I just respect him, because right now he is a soldier.
BH: Um-hmm?
KE: Karen soldier – fight for democracy, fight for our Karen to have a equality rights. He
fight for everybody to have equality chance, equality rights, to have like a democracy, to
get democracy in Burma. He doesn’t want to come here; he told me that he will die there
– he will fight for freedom, for the equality rights. That’s why I brang his picture here
and just put it and remember him. I miss him. He’s a really good because he suggests me
always whenever I call him, he suggests me, “When you go there you have to do the
good thing, you have to love your friend, you have to help your friend. If you have some
that are like education, or if you have experience better than your friend, you need to help
your friend who need help.” That’s about him.
BH: Thank you.
KE: You are welcome. Anything else?
[45:56]
MG: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us that we haven’t asked you.
KE: No, [laughs] I have no idea. If you have a question, I can answer you; if you have a
question.
MG: I think we’re good; thank you.
KE: You are welcome.
MG: For meeting with us.
KE: Yes.
WV: Thank you.
BH: Thank you.
KE: I’m also a pleasure, I’m very happy to be able to converse with you.
MG: Okay.
[End recording – 46:28]]]> Kyaw Eh]]> Van de Water, 1988]]> N/A]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> Gill, Meagan]]> Gross, Susan]]> transcripts;]]> application/pdf]]> 158736 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text;]]> Karen, Burma, Thailand]]> Matheson, A.C.--Correspondence;]]> Matheson, A.C.;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 303254 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://www.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1910-1919; 20th century;]]> Israelsen, Orson Winso, 1887-1968--Correspondence]]> Israelsen, Orson Winso, 1887-1968]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng]]> Text]]> 1910-1919]]> 20th century]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives]]> London, Jack, 1876-1916--Correspondence; Authors, American--20th century--Correspondence; Socialism;]]> Schulber, Selig;]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng;]]> Text]]> Sorensen, Alma Nicholas 1879-1958--Correspondence; ]]> Perry, E.--Correspondence;]]> Perry, E.;]]> Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> eng;]]> Text]]> 1900-1909; 20th century;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)--Letters; Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah)--Press releases;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 9407750 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://www.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1950-1959; 1960-1969; 20th century;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 1153611 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://www.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1920-1929; 20th century;]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Brigham Young College (Logan, Utah);]]> Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library]]> application/pdf]]> 612075 Bytes]]> eng]]> Text]]> Logan, Cache County, Utah, United States, http://www.geonames.org/5777544/]]> 1920-1929; 20th century;]]> Agricultural extension work--Utah--Riverdale; Home economics extension work--Utah--Riverdale; Boy's Club (Riverdale, Ut.); Girl's Club (Riverdale, Ut.); Jacobs, M.K., Mrs.--Pictorial works]]> application/pdf]]> eng;]]> Text;]]> Weber County (Utah);]]> 1910-1919; 20th century;]]>