An Open Discussion with Tee Soe and Kevin LaChapelle on Karen Day in DC 2025

S’gaw Karen Video Translation here

Tee Soe:

First, I would like to ask Dr. Kevin the main purpose of going to this trip and give us some details that we need to know for this district.

Kevin LaChapelle:

There was some unfinished business because in 2019 when Kain pastor and other ethnic individuals from the Tai Bremmer region were in the Oval Office with him and President Trump, when he learned about what they were going through, he said, I'm going to stand with you, and this is re-engaging that conversation. And some of the important things right now is for the United States to really start some very strong diplomatic engagement with Russia and China, who are really the only reason that the Burmese generals continue to not fall because of them being propped up by both Russia and China. And the third leg of this is to encourage Thailand to stand with our ethnic people like they always did in the past, and be very careful in holding hands with the Burmese generals. And so those three things are really the big issues. We're trying to understand that everybody has different ideas politically as far as what they see as the solution, as far as whether it's federalism, independence or whatever the case may be. This is really a time for Korean people to come and stand as one, a united front to stop the suffering that is going on with the attacks that have escalated since the coup in 2021 by the correct and brutal Brahma regime.

Tee Soe:

Yeah. Secondly would be, we've seen a lot of things in social media, all the misinformation, and so many of our people are divided. And so what do you suggest we should do or what do you suggest our people should do to so we can take the trip to DC and we can make it go smoothly for the benefit of our people and the future freedom?

Kevin LaChapelle:

Well, first I would say that it is part of the Burmese generals purposely divide the different ethnic groups against each other, but also within each ethnic group tries to cause division. So that's a tactic and a strategy that is well-documented. The other part of it is we're humans and we all have different ideas of what the solution might look like. And so the first thing is giving people permission to have different ideas and to try to move away from the notion that if you don't agree with everything that I think then something's wrong or you are wrong, that kind of a thing. We have to realize that there's different truths for different people depending on the experiences they've had and what ideas they may come up with. So what I would say is as part of a remedy is to recognize and understand the need for interdependence.

In other words, really there's no chance ever for the suffering to stop without the Karen people coming together and standing as one. There's no countries in the world that are going to try to invest in helping people that are all divided against one another. And so how do you get that? It's not easy because there's mistrust, because everyone will think that their idea is better than another group. But the reality is right now is not the time to look at what's the path forward right now is can everyone come together for one common thread? And that one common thread I believe that can happen to be united around is that we want the suffering to stop with our people that are being bombed villagers killed in. And that's the big issue. And then as those things happen and relationships maybe start being built, then there can be discussions in the future as far as what is the path forward.

So I think that's what we have to start being able to engage each other in and being able to forgive each other for harm caused because of things that we say or positions that we held that we really believe that this is the only path forward while others may see a different path. And so I think that interdependence is realizing and recognizing none of us will be successful if everyone can't come together. And I think this trip to Washington DC is not a time for polarization and different political ideologies. It's a time to just focus on getting the suffering to stop, to put a stranglehold on the Burmese generals so that they will actually fall so that they will not be able to continue in the devastation that they're doing. For all of the Chen Han Man Akan, everybody that is suffering under their reign,

Tee Soe:

Tell us about the Burmanization, for example. Since time, until now, somehow it seems like the population went down, decreased, and also our lands also dramatically. We probably lost at least 70 to 80% of our lands, and somehow when the Burmese fight the current people, they took their family with them, they took their civilian with them and put it into current city. Now pretty much majority all the current big cities, the main language is Burmese and also the majority of the current schools, most of the principal are Burmese and they're funded by the Burmese and the racism the Korean people have to face when they go to the Burmese University or any higher level of education to the Burmese school. So tell us more detail about the ization and what we should do for a better future.

Kevin LaChapelle:

So one of the tactics of ethnic cleansing and the strategy that the Burmese military has deployed is one to start pushing and taking land and rewriting history. And so that's one of the things that we have to remedy. The other one is the notion that they have ized in a number of ways. General Anan was the father of ization, and it goes as sinister as the women being raped by the Burmese soldiers to ize their blood. There's all sorts of issues that went on there, but right now, what's very consequential is the fact that when refugees began going to different countries and they were forced to have their identification like their passport, that it's a Burmese passport. Some had Thailand, but the majority were Burmese. And when they came to the United States, for example, they were told to put on any kind of documentation for census, different government documents to say Burmese.

What that did was the Burmese has used that to incredibly inflate the numbers and to deflate the numbers of Kareni, Akan, shaman, everybody, they have done that to where now they assert that their percentages like 60, 70% and everybody else is less than 10% for all of the Etta groups put together. And so how do we do that? One is just recently I put a paper together talking about that and being able to identify that that is a tactic and that is what happened. Because otherwise what goes on is then you would artificially get people to believe that the ethnic groups are very, very small when that's actually not the case. So that did a lot of damage. There's not much we can do about the fact that that was done, but we can correct history and do everything we can to help shed light on that and explain so that people will realize that those numbers are not trustworthy and that they are very much inflated and deflated based on what was in the best interest of the Burmese generals.

Tee Soe:

One more question about our people. Give us the ideas of what the culturally independence will be, because when the career revolution started, they started, their ultimate goal is to have the nature of our own and to have our own new year, new everything for the current people. But federalism is a different story, but give us the most important things and the benefit for our people to have. It depends on initial file.

Kevin LaChapelle:

Well, when you look at federalism like the United States, federalism works fairly good, although now we're seeing conflict between the states versus the federal government. That is going on now. But the challenge I see with Federalism in Burma is that historically that is not a new term. And so I did another paper documenting the fact that that has been tried and stated many times that each time it resulted in either the elite Bermans or those in power to continue to marginalize the amazing ethnic people to where ization was at the forefront of that quote. Federalism. On the other hand, what I've seen is independence is a great opportunity, but the problem now is it's been politicized. And so I now see that as something that has polarized Karen of are you for federalism or are you for independence? And the problem with that thinking is by having it that way, now you have those that believe one way fighting against those that believe another way.

And so basically that's doing the work for the Burmese generals. They love to see that because people will self-implode, they will deteriorate on their own. What the best outcome could be is for people to stop being locked into either one of those notions and first start looking at a greater priority than thinking about federalism or independence is Karen Unity is coming together. And it's hard because we have to have humility. I'm a different person now than I was a few years ago. A few years ago. I was very stuck in certain thought processes to where I've learned over the years that maybe that wasn't so healthy because there were unintended consequences. So if we can't grow as we move forward, then there's something wrong with us. And so we have to start looking at things differently and have dialogue and try to have understanding, because it could be that there's a hybrid solution of something that could be somewhat of federalism, somewhat of independence.

There's all sorts of different opportunities. The problem is none of that can even transpire without there being a united front of Karen people. And I think that's what the greatest thing that needs to happen is. And I think it can happen that Corin are such amazing people. Everybody that meets Corin falls in love with them. Corin is so incredible, such risk history. So that's an incredible love that they have for people, love for family, love for God, all those things. And so I think this is plausible. It's it is going to take hard work, but instead of everybody wanting the other side or the other group to take the first action, we should all say, why don't we, instead of looking at everybody else, why I can't control others' behavior, but I can control my own. So if everyone would start trying to look at things a little differently, that might be a way that everybody can come together and have something that will impact the Karen people like never before and time's running out. The reality is there's a very short window of opportunity. And so hopefully this will rise up to be a priority for everyone.

Tee Soe:

With that, I guess if you guys have any questions, you guys can comment on below and we can definitely make another video later on and to give you guys information about the path we are taking to the DC and the path for our people, the current situation we're facing. Thank you. Thank you. And we'll see everybody in DC Okay.