Rebuild, Recover, and preserve Karen writing alphabet for Karen youth who was born in the Multicultural.
“In the multicultural society likes ours, the issue of belonging is especially important. One of the first issue for an adolescent walking through the door or even thinking about trying a community program is whether he or she can belong to this group of people”
Eccles and Gootman
At the present, many ethnic youths must study other languages owing to the need to adapt for a better life. It is a great opportunity for understanding the culture which are not their own.
In 2019, there were 2 million Karen youths born in multicultural societies: Thailand, American, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, England, Myanmar, and Malaysia. Most of them are refugees. One might ask: who is the Karen ethnic group? How is writing the Karen script significant for the new generation Karen?
The Karen is a small ethnic group that originally lived Tibet. This ethnic group has its own unique tradition and language, which were resulting of their faith and their history. Because of the war in their native land, they needed to escape and migrate to neighboring countries. They did not have any power to fend off their enemies so they became practically nomadic.
Although most of them ended up as stateless people, their culture can be preserved through writing their unique script. It is both their heritage and an evidence which could bring about the spirit of nationalism for their descendants in the future.
In 2021, there are more than 8 countries where Karen youths are currently living in. They are growing up in multicultural societies from which they can learn other cultures and adapt to the modern world that has developed every time. We cannot expect them to reject the new society in which they live. It is quite difficult for them to preserve the Karen script if the sense of community is not strong and the parents do not encourage their children to learn about their ethnic history. They may be lose their ancestor’s unique style writing if they do not start to practice.
This serves as motivation to build a Karen Sunday school.
I will give an example of Karen people who are living in a multicultural society. In Minnesota, USA, there are a lot of Karen people. The children who were born in the multicultural can learn Karen writing through a Karen education community. It leads to building a Karen Sunday school which would serve as a place for teaching Karen script to children.
The students can learn their original writing, and can learn English at the same time. Every year, the Karen people who are good at Karen writing language will set up the activities for students who would like to learn Karen writing and they could also have a competition. For the students who win the Karen writing, they will get rewards. It is the one method for preserving Karen tradition writing and it will be the motivation for the new generation who were not born in native Karen society.
On other hand, the western people who are interested in Karen writing tradition can joined the course at Sunday school any time. The courses for learning are free.
One of the authorities say that “Cultures are the core values that cannot be disappeared just because of globalization. Globalization is system that helps us learn and explore different society culture by not forgetting our own culture because the main stream of any culture of any society is not weak that it can be affected by any globalization. But we can’t say there is no effect on cultures but, they won’t change the rituals and values of a culture of certain community or society”.
Finally, community, collaboration, unity, and awareness could help the Karen youths who are born in multicultural societies.