Recent Updates (click here to see archived Recent Updates)

• [25 Apr 2008] Uttica Refugees (Fred de Sam Lazaro, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly)
• [23 Apr 2008] Dr. Simon of Kawthooley Karen Baptist Bible School and College (KKBBSC) asks for prayer for referendum
• [15 Apr 2008] Problems finding agricultural jobs for Karen refugees in St. Luis Valley in southern Colorado (Denver Post "No Tidy Answer to Labor Pinch")
• [19 Mar 2008] What do the Karen learn about America before being relocated to the U.S.?  ("U.S. Cultural Orientation Guides" added to Karen Konnection in English and Karen)

Welcome to Karen Konnection!

The purpose of this website is to help the newly-resettled Burmese Karen to connect with American Baptist-USA and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship churches throughout the U.S. We hope to help churches and church leaders hosting Karen congregations to connect with each other to share resources and ideas, and to help the Karen scattered across the country and around the world to re-connect. This effort is the new work of Duane and Marcia Binkley who are being jointly appointed by ABC-USA and CBF to oversee this Karen support initiative.

We hope you find this site useful. Let us know what we can do better. Use the link to the Karen Konnection blog under "Helping Karen refugees " on the left to tell us what you think.

The Story in a Nutshell

The Karen people are an ethnic group in Southeast Asia enduring an ethnic cleansing program in eastern Burma. The result is between 500,000 to 1 million Karen people living in hiding within Burma. In addition, a series of nine refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border house some 155,000 mostly Karen refugees. Thousands more live in refugee-like situations in Thailand and Burma, and millions of other Burmese from a variety of ethnic groups seek refuge and a way to make a living in surrounding countries.

No end to the difficulties is in sight for Karen refugees, so governments around the world are beginning to accept Karen people from the camps in Thailand for resettlement. Several thousand Karen from Tham Hin, the southern most camp in Thailand, were brought to the U.S. in 2006. In 2007, the goal is to begin Karen resettlement from the Mae La camp as well. Tens of thousands of Karen will likely be coming to the U.S. over the next few years.

The Karen were some of the earliest converts to Christianity in Southeast Asia, and one of the fastest-growing churches after American Baptist missionary efforts began with the arrival of Adoniram Judson in Burma in 1813. The excitement and interest of these early mission efforts were the reason Baptist churches in the U.S. formed societies to work together that led to the formation of our Baptist denominations that exist today. For nearly 200 years, the Karen have been graciously receiving our missionaries and their message, and they are proud of their links to Baptists in America. Now it is our turn to receive and help them become a part of our American communities.

It is with sorrow we see the Karen forced from their homes in Burma, but it is with great joy that we welcome the Karen people to America.