Daniel J. Gilhooly, Samber H too , Hser Gay Htoo , and Hse ku Htoo

1. A Collaboative Ethnographic Case Study of One Karen Community in Rural Georgia Daniel J. Gilhooly, SamberHtoo, Hser Gay Htoo, and HsekuHtoo General Findings Related to Karen in Rural GA The Scope of Karen Resettlement • High percentage of employment • Rural life maintains cultural lifestyles • Generation gap in terms of language and acculturation • Health Issues related to diet and hygiene • Poor housing conditions • Churches are providing institutional, economic, and religious support • Strong ethnic and family networks ties • Limited education of adult Karen • Many of the school-aged children were born and raised in refugee camps in Thailand. • Most Karen under the age of 19 were born in refugee camps Background Language Issues The following information is based on a 2 year collaborative research project between 3 Sgaw Karen brothers and me, a language and literacy PhD student. The focus community has a population of 52 • Lack of functional English seen as negatively impacting: • Accessing services and employment opportunities • Negotiating bureaucratic systems • Language isolation for older Karen • Limited socialization outside ethnic enclave • Age at resettlement was found to be an indicator of language proficiency and academic success. Older Karen student at time of resettlement are dropping out at high rates. • Younger Karen are often misperceived as “native” speakers because of native-like pronunciation and do not get needed support in schools • Karen youth are active users of social media, allowing youth to maintain pre-resettled friendships and share music, opinions, and information • The use of new technologies is felicitating English language development Karen in Georgia • Most Karen are being resettled in and around metro Atlanta in Clarkston County.. • Although an estimated 4,000- 5,000 have been resettled this does not account for those who migrated to Georgia from other US cities. The Karen Research Questions The Karen are an ethnic minority group originating from Burma and North West Thailand. Sgaw Karen represent the largest Karen sub-group in the USA. The majority of refugees listed as “Burmese” are either Sgaw or Pwo Karen. Theory • This collaborative ethnography was predicated on critical theoretical principles promoting inclusivity, cooperation and mutual respect. and the belief that the stakeholders are best positioned to identify and respond to their community’s needs. Participatory Action Research (PAR) provided the methodological and theoretical framework • Burma was the first destination of the American Missionary enterprise, 1813 • Since Independence in 1948 the country has been at civil war • Over a million ethnic minorities have fled to Thailand and Bangladesh over the past 25 years • Third country resettlement to the USA, Australia, Sweden, Canada since 2006 How are Karen immigrants in one rural community in GA adjusting to life in the USA? What can refugee youth learn from such a projects? Qualitative Methods • Duration: 25 months • Formal 27 interviews conducted • Informal 30 interviews conducted • Field notes • Weekly Research Meetings • Video- 15 hours • Photography and Drawings • Field work dialogues • All phases of research were designed and executed by our team collectively A Brief history Implications and Conclusions Collaborative projects are opportunities for refugee youth to: Voice their personal and community narratives Become active in identifying and addressing local issues Authentic language learning opportunities and, therefore, second language development and language confidence Develop new literacies via the different modes appropriated throughout research process (i.e., video, audio, art, music)