Why Do You Farm? V
Some of you may know, some not, but I lived in Thailand for 16 years and in Rangoon, Burma, for 5 ½ years from 1985 – 2006. I met the Karen people (a large indigenous group in Burma and Thailand) in 1992 when my now dear friend came to Thailand looking for support in setting up a wildlife sanctuary in Tennaserim Division of southern Burma. There are about 150,000 refugees (mostly Karen) living in camps along the Thailand/Burma border due to the ongoing civil conflict in Burma. Some have been there for 25 years or more. For about 10 years now, many Karen are now choosing to resettle in other countries. It is a very difficult choice to leave one’s country, then to leave one’s region, and to settle in a completely new culture, society and climate. I believe that the main reason they choose to resettle is for their children. With children who are 5 years old, 10 years, 15 years old or more, with most of them knowing nothing but life in a refugee camp, with no end in sight to the political and military conflict, what are your options? We in Minnesota are truly fortunate to have the Karen people come to our state. The Karen people, culture and values will make our state a better place. I truly believe this. It saddens me to see how they struggle to get started here when I know how ‘rich’ they were where they came from. But they bring such warmth and caring with them. Minnesota is a better place and will be a better place because of them. I believe that.
We have had a number of Karen people in our farmer training program in the past two years. Recently I talked with Htoo Lwe who with her husband A Bee (his parents named him Abraham, after Abraham Lincoln, but then shortened it to just A B, and then added the ‘ee’ to B) farmed in our program for the first year in 2011. She is a health worker for the Karen Organization of Minnesota as her full time work.
I asked her why do you farm? You have so much to do with work, family, community, adjusting to America, so why do you farm?
“The first one (reason) is that is it organic, the way we always farmed. In America, you need to produce for yourself if you want organic produce. As a health worker, I see that we need organic produce for our people. We need to eat many varieties to get the nutrition that we need. As a farmer, I can give to my people for free or a cheaper price. Many of us refugees are coming here when we are old and our elders need good food. When I give them vegetables, they say to me ‘Oh, your vegetables are very good’ and this makes me happy and I know that I am doing a good thing. So part of it is economic. We don’t really make money, but we save money. We save money as a community. And it is social, for our community, our people, our elders’
We find this common thread among many new immigrant/refugee communities. I imagine that the ‘immigrants’ of 100 or 150 years ago also thought that way. We do it because it is the right thing to do. We shared for a common, larger good. Because strong and healthy individuals make a strong and healthy community which makes a strong and healthy nation. Many of us ancestors of old immigrants seem to have forgotten or lost that. I hope that our new citizens can hold on to their deep roots in community. We need it.
Glen Hill
Executive Director
Minnesota Food Association
