08/21/2025
https://www.kawthoolei.institute/From-Oceans-to-Engines
by Mu Hsi
Published on August 21, 2025
The migration of Karen people to Thailand and Western countries is a significant part of Karen history that has shaped both the revolutionary movement and community. When discussing the future of Kawthoolei, it is important to remember the people who have resettled abroad due to war, persecution, and displacement. After all, Karen people did not leave their homeland by choice; instead, we were forced to flee in order to survive. In hopes of living a better life, the ‘lucky’ refugees chose resettlement to a foreign country, often at the expense of the life they knew and the physical disconnection from their homeland.
Now, as the revolution enters a critical stage, this physical and emotional distance has created both opportunities and tensions that must be addressed. During my time in Kawthoolei and the border area, I often hear that we need more human resources—from organizers, teachers, translators to researchers, engineers, and entreupenuers—but there are challenges in finding someone with those skills. The Karen diaspora community could fill in those missing gaps, bringing the skills and education they gained abroad to help rebuild Kawthoolei.
However, meaningful repatriation requires more than just identifying needs and resources. Currently, there has been little effort to reach out to the diaspora community and create sustainable mechanisms for their return. While many diaspora members express desire to contribute to the movement and Kawthoolei’s development, they often lack clear pathways for engagement or return. Unlike older generations who retain ties to the motherland, younger diaspora members often raised abroad have never stepped foot in Kawthoolei and are preoccupied with establishing themselves in new countries, making Kawthoolei feel distant and intangible. This emotional disconnect, combined with practical barriers like unfamiliarity with border-crossing from Thailand to Kawthoolei as well as limited knowledge of Karen organizations and current structure creates barriers that require structured reintegration support. At the same time, the Karen National Union (KNU) and other Karen organizations lack the capacity and funds to prioritize diaspora reintegration programs.
Moreover, the disconnect between homeland and diaspora communities have caused misunderstandings and tensions that threaten to undermine potential collaboration. Karen people inside/near the homeland often hear criticism from the diaspora communities, attacking the KNU and its governance without fully understanding local complexities and constraints. From the perspective of those partaking in the resistance movement, diaspora members are voicing complaints without taking meaningful action. The sentiment is clear: unless you come back in person, you will not understand the situation on the ground. Until diaspora members demonstrate real commitment through action, their criticisms risk appearing to tear down the revolution rather than contribute meaningfully to solutions.
On the other hand, these diaspora members are not physically present in Kawthoolei nor directly engaged with the movement and development, so their understanding is limited to what they see on the news and social media. They are inevitably presented with incomplete pictures of the complex situation. This creates a cycle where well-intentional criticism based on limited information prompts defensive responses from those managing the crisis under severe resource constraints, causing the criticism to be misinterpreted as destructive rather than constructive.
Before my return and trips to Kawthoolei, my understanding of the conflict was limited to my brief background as a refugee in Thailand, my parents’ stories, news reports, phone calls and messages from family members in the border area, and Facebook posts. Like many others, stories of persecution and conflict were passed down to me, but compared to people who experienced the war firsthand, my knowledge was secondhand. Still, like many diaspora members, I wanted to ...
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https://www.kawthoolei.institute/From-Oceans-to-Engines
