Alumni Impact: Ehler Win
Alumni Impact is a social media campaign that recognizes the excellent work being done by FIUTS alumni all around the world. This week, meet Ehler!
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Ehler Win, visiting a Karen Village in Northern Thailand.
“Where are you from?” and “What’s your ethnicity” are two of the most difficult questions for me to answer. As an Asian American, I understand the underlying connotation behind questions such as these, but as a refugee immigrant, my answers will not be as simple as telling you where I was born or in which country I resided before I made my way to the United States.
If I am giving you the short answer, it is because I am afraid of taking up too much of your time to explain to you an important part of my identity that not many know about.
Given the recent attacks from the Burmese military that displaced 7,000+ Karen ( pronounced kuh-ren) civilians since December, I have been feeling restless everyday to do something, anything, I can think of that will bring light to what’s happening to Karen people for the past 70 plus years. I use my social media platforms to share and write to my representatives but at the end of the day I feel helpless knowing that my efforts have no tangible impacts to ease the situation back home. Regardless of these feelings, I want to believe that something is better than nothing. I am pleased and grateful to FIUTS for the opportunity to share more about my story and my people. I want to take this opportunity to give you the long answer to the question “Where I am from” and “What’s my ethnicity”.
Family portrait of Ehler Win.
My name is Ehler Tha Win, and I am a Karen refugee, born and raised in Mae La refugee camp on the border between Thailand and Burma, or Myanmar. My parents are Karen, an ethnic people Indigenous to Burma. Due to the Burmese military’s persecution, which often includes but not limited to murder, burning villages and crops, rape, various forms of torture, my family along with hundreds and thousands of others crossed the border to seek refuge in Thailand and as refugees. As unfortunate as it sounds, I count myself lucky to be born in a refugee camp. If I’d been born in Burma, who knows if I’d still be alive today. Although the refugee camp had limited opportunities for people like us who had no real legal identity, I was safe from mortar shelling and didn’t have to hide in a bunker for my dear life.
When Karen refugees inside the nine refugees camps along the Thai-Burma border were presented the opportunity to resettle to the U.S and other western countries, I pleaded with my parents to sign us up even though I had never been outside and knew nothing beyond the perimeter of our barbed-wire camp, let alone the U.S. We didn’t speak a word of English. But still, my 9 year old self thought that it must be better than our current situation. I was a kid with a simple wish; I just wanted to be free and ride cars and airplanes and speak English. I still remember being the happiest girl when my parents finally told me they made the decisions to resettle after months of my trying to convince them.
“Karen Children.” Photo credit: Free Burma Rangers (FBR).
Thirteen years later, my life has changed 180 degrees. My wishes as a nine year old child have come true. I am an American and carry a U.S. passport and finally feel like I belong to a country. I have been in cars, airplanes, I can speak English, and I even became a college graduate recently. So many changes and so many opportunities that I have never dreamed of but I fully acknowledge each and every opportunity that I have. However, one thing that never changes is my people’s struggle for freedom.
To my friends and colleagues, especially on social media, it may seem like I have turned into an angry activist on social media overnight. But the truth is I have never really felt free because every year, for as long as I can remember, I always see and hear news of my Karen people having to run and hide and from the same perpetrator; the Burmese Military. I see images of families, including young children and the elderly, packing up their household supplies to run for their lives. And each time I feel more helpless and numb because I am just a small person with no real influence to make world leaders care, let alone take action. More often than not, I have tried to ignore the news because of the traumas that it triggers. I have never had to run and hide in deep jungles, but I hate the sight of Burmese soldiers and policemen. I still get anxiety whenever I visit Thailand and Burma, even though I carry a U.S. passport and know very well that they can’t deport me anywhere.
“Karen Grandmas.” Photo credit: Free Burma Rangers (FBR).
But I realize that there’s a limit to how long I can stay quiet. I can’t just watch and wish for things to change. I have to share stories and the cries that have desperately tried to make themselves heard for more than 70 years. Many people are now aware, and many world leaders have condemned the military coup on February 1st. Part of me feels relieved that, with the help of social media and news coverage, the world finally is finally learning how evil the Burmese military is. My heart and head are occupied with news from Burma. No one knows better what it is like to live under the military regime than ethnic communities. As an ethnic Karen person, I know full well the evil intent of the military, and that the atrocities they commit toward ethnic communities are far beyond what one can imagine and what the media will ever be able to cover. I also know that no matter who the leaders are in Burma , issues and needs concerning ethnic communities are rarely on agendas. I feel responsible to speak up for my people whose suffering has been ignored. It is my hope that people will acknowledge the suffering of ethnic communities on the margins; the Chin, Kachin, Shan, Rohingya, and Karen.
“Karen Children Learning.” Photo credit: Kaw Say Titus.
The freedom I enjoy is not free. I am indebted to the Karen freedom fighters for defending my family from the military while they were running and hiding. I am reminded again and again that before my grandparents and parents crossed oceans so my sisters and I could have better opportunities in life, they first crossed borders (yes, illegally) to escape persecution from the Burmese military. I am a by-product of the world’s longest running civil war. It is hard for me to say I am proud to be a refugee (who really is?) but I will say that I am proud to be Karen, people who despite generations of ethnic cleansing continue to resist and thrive. People who deserve to be heard.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart if you have read this far into the two simple questions of “Where are you from” and “What’s your ethnicity”. There are many issues and problems in our world. That has always been the case. But while we strive to be better members of our society and uproot different problems in our world, may I suggest that you learn about different Indigenous groups and their struggle for freedom. Learn about the Chin, Kachin, Shan, Rohingya and Karen. Be our voice and tell a few friends about us. Don’t forget about us.
And if you want to take the next time to help and show your solidarity, please check out the Free Burma Rangers who are currently on the ground providing humanitarian aid to displaced Karen people and the Phan Foundation, which is collecting funds to support the education of 180,000 Karen children.
I am forever grateful for your time to read about Karen people and my story that I often don’t tell.
Yours sincerely,
Ehler Win
FIUTS Alum
Guest posts on the FIUTS blog represent the experiences and views of individual writers. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FIUTS or any organizations or institutions affiliated with our programs.