Refugees Relate Experiences as Milestone Celebrated
Voices of Refugees
Posted: Monday 12th April 2010 14:09
by BRIAN MCINNIS
The Guardian
After living “like an animal in a zoo” for 12 years in a Thai refugee camp, the thing that impresses Pwaytha Kerhtoo about living in Charlottetown is the freedom to go anywhere and do anything without being stopped.
Kerhtoo is a member of the minority Karen people of Myanmar, formerly Burma, who were persecuted by the government. They were forced to flee to Thailand in 1994 and spent the next dozen years in the camp.
“They tried to kill us and burn our houses so we just had to run for our lives and so we had no place to live so we had to escape to Thailand,” she said in an interview.
She and other refugees living on Prince Edward Island Saturday celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Singh decision that was made by the Supreme Court of Canada that decided “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right is not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.”
The PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada hosted the special event to celebrate this milestone and recognize the significance of this day. The theme of the event was Voices of Refugees and featured personal refugee experiences told through short stories, poems, music and dance.
Kerhtoo, her parents and brother have lived in Charlottetown for three years. Because they lived in the camp for so long and the Thai government wanted the refugees out of the country, she said they had a choice of coming to Canada or another country, becoming Thai citizens or going back to Myanmar, but that was not an option due to the persecution of her people. “We could not go back to Burma because we going to be killed so we decided it would be a better choice to come to Canada than become Thai people.”
With the help of the United Nations she and her family made it to Canada. Kerhtoo has decided to remain on Prince Edward Island because it “is a really, really beautiful place to be.” She is a member of the board of directors of the PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada and also is an interpreter with the group. The Association helps to settle approximately 70-80 refugees each year from a variety of countries including people from Bhutan, Myanmar, Colombia, Somalia, Congo and Afghanistan. The Bhutanese, Karen and Afghan communities number about 40-50 people each and the Colombian community is significant as well with over 30 people now in Charlottetown.
The Karens are an indigenous people to the southeast Asian countries of Thailand and Myanmar. The population numbers around 14 million with the majority living inside Myanmar. Traditionally, most Karens are farmers who farm southern Myanmar and eastern Thailand. The religion of the Karen is Animism and Buddhism although there is a sizable population of Christians among them.
