Nationalism in Refugee Camps at the Thai-Burma Border: Karen People''s Struggle for Kawthoolei
Date Issued
2009
Date
2009
Author(s)
Chung-chi, Chao
Abstract
The contemporary world consists of sovereign countries. It has been perceived as a globally accepted national order of things. The global order prescribes that all people must belong to a particular country. However, cross-border’s refugees do not belong to any countries. If they are resulted from communal war, the nationalist movement will also exist among them. The nationalism among Karen refugees is one of the most obvious examples. Before degraded into refugees, the Karen launched their nationalist movement in their land to politically territorialize the land. However, as refugees, they are fenced in refugee camps locating in Thailand rather than freely living in their homeland. They can not use the camps as the base to launch counterattack. But, they still to the greatest extent make use of the situation facing them to continue the struggle. In some condition, the displacement even becomes a force useful for their nationalism. Nationalism is a movement to territorialize the space belonging to particular national community. The KNU attempts to continually territorialize their homeland through hard and soft struggles. The former is proceeded with by deploying landmines and strategic fighting while the latter is processed through political alignment, humanitarian programs, and human right campaigns. Refugee camps are in Thai soil rather than in Karen land. Therefore, such kind of territorialization seems not possible to exist in the camps. Yet, because of a tacit consensus existing between the KNU and Thai authorities, the camps to a certain degree are transformed into a extension of Karen territory. Within the extension of territory, refugees even build their displaced societal culture. The societal culture is built by various daily practices. With practicing the various daily activities, the experiences of running away from homeland as well as the collective memories of the unsuccessful revolution are internalized and become the fabrics of the camps. Living in such fabrics, Karen refugees use various activities, including economic and socio-cultural, as well as organizational and non-organizational, to re/forge their national consciousness and to inspire people’s blood loyalty toward their struggle. Because refugees are fenced in the designated spaces, not only displacement but also fencedness constitutes the inner feature of refugees’ societal culture. The reality and experiences of displacement and fencedness, through these activities, are continually used to re/forge Karen refugees’ national belonging. As a result, Karen nationalism in refugee camps becomes practices processed in everyday life. The most important is, through the daily practices, their relation to homeland is linked up. Consequently, refugees are symbolically “restored” to their aspired homeland. Nationalism always places the potential or real nation at the centre of its concerns and seeks to promote its autonomy, unity and/or identity by pursuing an ideal kingdom. Such an ideal kingdom is the ultimate goal aspired by the members of particular nation. Karen nationalism also has an imagination of the utopia. Yet, a unanimous perspective on how to reach the expected new world had never existed in Karen history. Fortunately, probably after been refugees for over 20 years, the KNU eventually has a blueprint for realizing the ideal kingdom. It is the pursuit of a democratic federal Burma. However, such a blueprint does not acquire unanimity from the Karen. Notwithstanding, Karen refugees still stand with the KNU. For a belief that one day "going back to live in the aspired Kawthoolei with dignity" is not merely a dream, they thus still support the KNU and their nationalism. Where does the notion derive from? The notion is firmly rooted in their past and a system of interpretation of their present plights and prospective happiness. Nationalism in this regard is defining social practices interwoven with people’s daily lives and institutional arrangements in defiance against the adversaries surrounding them.
Subjects
extension of Karen territory
displaced societal Culture
social memory
simultaneity
SDGs
Type
thesis
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