Educational Media Reviews Online

Karen Refugees focuses on struggles experienced by the Karen minority group in Burma (Myanmar), in the form of discrimination from the Burmese majority. More than seven million Karen people have been driven out of their villages by the ruling State Peace and Development Council and live in camps for internally displaced people in Burma and in United Nations (UN) refugee camps across the border in Thailand. The documentary reinforces the notion that people experiencing ethnic conflicts share the misery of war, human rights abuse, and forced migration.

The camera captures scenes from two independent refugee camps. The camp in Burma hosts “back-pack medics” from the Karen Relief Organization. They offer a make shift clinic that represents the only medical care available, and villagers with all kinds of ailments walk many days to receive medical assistance. Karen refugees in Burma are technically internally displaced people, thus unlike their counterparts in Thailand, they are not eligible for services offered by the United Nations to refugees, including relocation to Western countries. The camera follows a group of Karens in Thailand accepted by the Canadian government as refugees. In anticipation of their departure, the UN Office offers English language crash courses and other services, including the distribution of appropriate winter clothing and shoes, items essential in their new environment. Although the selection process or eligibility of those who migrate is left unclear, the documentary suggests that those who stay behind are less educated and not as healthy compared to those who leave, reinforcing the negative stigma of refugee camps in general as pathological. The film closes with the Karen people at an airport boarding a plane for Canada. The scene makes the viewers wonder about their future, especially if their dreams of a better life will indeed be fulfilled in a foreign country.

The production quality of the documentary is somewhat uneven with amateur and professional news footages juxtaposed. The images of the Burmese refugee camps are especially unfocused compared to the scenes in Thailand. The majority of the interviews, by Karens and Westerners, are in English, but minimum captioning makes their identity obscure and their viewpoints difficult to follow. Despite these issues, the film serves as a starting point for productive discussions on ethnic conflicts and discrimination generally. It also serves as a vehicle to create awareness about the oppression experienced by the Karen people.