About our Karenni language and literacy

Last month at a linguistics conference in Yangon, experts called for multilingual education to be made a priority. Here at SDC, we would like to provide our supporters with some background of the history of our Karenni language. The Karenni language has a long history as a spoken language. It is known by many names. It can be called Western Red Karen, Karenni or KayahLi. Kayah refers to the largest ethnic group in Karenni State as well as the language. This language is part of the Tibeto-Burman linguistic family. This is the native tongue of the majority of people in Karenni Refugee Camp 1. It is estimated that there are over 100,000 speakers of KayahLi. The language is spoken in Mae Hong Son province of Thailand and Kayah State, Burma. Many Kayah speakers are now dispersed across a number of countries including Australia, New Zealand, Finland and The U.S.A. There are three different alphabets for KayahLi. The first two are based on Burmese...
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Shar Myar Kay’s story

Shar Myar Kay’s story

Q: What is your background and history? A: I was born in Daw Liah Lee, Demawso Township, Karenni State on August 6th 1995. When I was young, I stayed with my family. When I was seven years old, the police arrested my father. He was accused of being a thief. He said he did not do anything. At this time, my mother looked after me and my seven siblings. She could not find enough money to support us so I moved away to stay with my uncle in another village. During those two years, my younger sister passed away. After two years my father called me to the refugee camp with him. My mother and other siblings did not come here. My mother moved to camp in 2010.   Q: Can you describe your experience in Karenni Refugee Camp 1? A: When I started living in the camp, I missed my village and I was not happy. Before, I came to the refugee camp...
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