Kwe Ka Lu
Project Description
The Kwe Ka Lu is a Karen language newspaper which provides news and commentary help to give awareness to the Karen people.
Why is the Kwe Ka Lu Important?
Information for Action is one of the three major objectives for Burma Issues. Through different projects. BI works to provide information to different groups: the international community, the Thai community, etc. As BI works at the grassroots level, however, one of the most important target groups are ethnic people themselves who are involved directly with the struggle for a true peace in Burma.
Kwe Ka Lu (KKL) is the first ever Karen language newspaper designed to help give the Karen people of Burma an awareness of the situations that are affecting them, with the hope that they can use this information to develop strategies to rebuild their communities and regain the dignity and power which people everywhere deserve.
KKL was also formed with the dea that literature shapes thinking. One example is that ways of thinking between English speakers and non-English speakers are different. Based on the Karen founder of BI's international and local experience, he believes that the promotion of Karen literature will help develop their analytical thinking.
Finally, the KKL is a feiant and effective non-violent action against ethnic chauvinism which seeks to "burmanize" the KAren culture and language. While the Burmese government promotes the Burmese literature, ethnic literature is not allowed to be officially written in their own language. Language is a part of the most fundemental level of culture, retaining the Karen language and usage is essential to the preservation and development of Karen culture.
Aims
- To develop a newspaper which can become a tool for empowerment among the grassroots Karen villagers by building up their awareness of local, reginal and global issues, and by encouraging them to express their views on issues which affect their lives.
- To develop anewspaper to encourage grassroots Karen villagers to improve their reading skills.
Objectives
- To promote awareness of the causes of national issues (from all ethnic groups) which directly and indirectly affect the ethnic Karen. The Karen people must understand more about the political, social and economic systems which affect their lives.
- To build a better understanding of global changes which relate to the struggle of the ethnic groups and other democratic forces.
- To make Karen people aware of international support activities for the people's struggle in Bruma.
- To serve as a communication line between people involved in the struggle and the people.
- To promote Karen literature by creating new vocabulary terms, which will help the Karen people to articulate their situation more clearly.
Target Group
The priority target group for KKL are the Karen people who have no access to any local, regional and global infromation because of a lack of mass media pressence, or a lack of mass media in the Karen language. Since the people are a source of support for the Karen effort to end the long civil war, news concentrates on five objectives above, to help the people think more clearlyabout plans and strategies to build the society they want for the future. It is important for the Karen people to understand more about the civil war and the suffering of rural Karen people. Since Karen literature is disappearing because of ethnic chauvinism, KKL starts a process of trying to preserve the Karen arts and literature.
The second priority target group are the Karen migrant and immigrant workers in Thailand, refugee camps and overseas Karen. These people already have access to the media. It is important to help these people to know the situation and suffering of their people and to help them to be involved and to support the struggle.
Name of the the Newspaper
The newspaper's name, Kwe Ka Lu, means "Call of the Horn" in english. The horn is traditionally made from a buffalo horn and is blown as an alrm to awaken people from sleep so they can assemble together around the blowe of the horn who can inform them about outside news. The horn also allows communication inside the Karen community. The aim of this newspaper is to inform the Karen community in many different places about the events that will affect their lives.
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