Karen Interview: Family and Faith (Part 3)

Last fall, Elissa had the opportunity to interview some Karen youth in St. Paul, MN. They met at a Karen grocery store, shared a meal together, and talked about various aspects of the Karen culture. We have divided this interview into a four part series: Culture, Immigration, Family and Faith, and Food and Holidays. For authenticity, we have transcribed the interview material as accurate as possible.


The Karen People
We encourage our readers to visit the Karen Organization of Minnesota website in order to learn more about the history and culture of the Karen people.


Part 3: Family and Faith

Elissa: Are the roles of men and women in Karen culture clearly defined? Such as women do this, and men do this?
Re: Yes, oh my gosh, yes.
Kyeh: It was more common back in the day, because I know some older people where they believed that the girls weren't supposed to go to school because they were just girls. They would think that men were smarter and all of that. In my family when my mom tells me some days you’re a girl you should mop the floor, but I think a guy could do that, too. It's hard to sometimes go against it. But I think nowadays they are kind of understanding that it is a modern thing, like women and men are equally the same.

Elissa: Can we get a guy's perspective on it?
Htoo: Well, back in Thailand in general men view [girls] as weak, like they are not strong physically. They wouldn’t carry stuff along. They would just stay home. They were supposed to watch their children and clean and do the house stuff and for men to go out there and be a man like to carry the wood for their family and to go out and do dangerous stuff.


Elissa: In Karen families, are they usually pretty big? Are there a lot of kids?
Re: Yeah
Elissa: What do you think the average Karen family size is in terms of kids?
Kyeh: Five, probably.

Elissa: Do you live with grandparents or extended family?
Re: My cousin lives with us.
Kyeh: I live with my parents, and my sister who is already married lives with us, too. And my dad's uncle lives there, too.

Elissa: In terms of housing, do you live near a lot of other Karen people? Is your family really close to you?
Re: Yeah, we tend to really want to live close together.

Elissa: Did that make it easier when you first moved here to live around a lot of Karen community?

Re: If we knew that a new family was moving or something like that, if they don’t have any place to live we offer them a place to sleep for a few weeks or so until they find a new place. Our community is very welcoming.

Elissa: Are you actively participating in any kind of organized religion?
Re: I go to church.
Kyeh: No

Elissa: You said you were Christian, correct?
Re: Yes

Elissa: Are there other religions, too?
Kyeh: Buddhist
Re: Most Karen people are just either Christian or Buddhist.

Elissa: Is religion really important to the family?
Re: To my family it is very important, because my dad will always nag on me if I don’t go to church. He always tells me to pray and stuff. I also think that it is really important, too, because I do believe in everything that I have learned being a Christian. God has saved us all sinners and died for us, so we should praise him.

Elissa: Cool. So, have you guys noticed with families that are Buddhist, is that something that is very important to their family?
Kyeh: Yeah, it is the same for them.