SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA- In June, Metropolitan State University student, Gay Ka Mwee, arrived in Washington D.C., for an advocacy mission. “My trip to Karen Day in Washington, D.C. on June 18, 2018 was to advocate and raise awareness for Karen, Rohingya Muslims, Kachin, Chin, Shan and Karenni ethnic minority groups in the Myanmar region who are currently under attack and experiencing ethnic cleansing.” In addition, Gay Ka used the trip to raise awareness of the stepped-up incursions into the Karen 5thand 7thBrigades and others who are suffering at the hands of the corrupt and brutal Burmese army dictators.
Gay Ka attended Karen Day with Pa and Say Say Eh, a husband and wife team deeply involved in advocacy, as well as leaders of the youth group at the church Gay Ka attends. “…it was a blessing being able to attend the meeting with the couple who treated me as their daughter.”
Although Gay Ka knew she wouldn’t be able to create change and peace on her own, she was driven to do what she could.
“I knew I could not completely stop the atrocious, evil and deadly actions toward the ethnic minorities by the corrupt and brutal Myanmar government and its military. However, I believe I can raise awareness in the United States and other parts of the world about the continual dehumanization, oppression, attacking, shooting and killing being committed by the immoral, deceitful, cruel and brutal Myanmar government and its military.”
“I am a fighter”
Gay Ka believes in independence, freedom, peace, human rights and equality for every human being. “I fight for those expectations…I could make my voice heard by making a powerful, logical, influential, inspirational, and successful speech about the corrupt and brutal Myanmar government and its military who are persistently oppressing, attacking, looting, torturing, raping, hanging, burning, shooting and killing the ethnic minorities, particularly Karen, Rohingya Muslims, Kachin, Chin, Shan and Karenni people…”
Thousands of people, particularly Karen people, from countries including the United States, Australia, Netherlands, England and Myanmar, attended the event to join together on the peaceful mission. Gay Ka’s team of five met with four U.S. Department of Human Rights officials, including Director of Policy and Media Relations Scott E. Flupse.
“My team members and I talked about human rights and religious rights—specifically Christian and Islam religions—and rights violations in the ethnic minority areas by the cruel, corrupt and brutal Myanmar government and its military…I talked about my uncle and his two other friends who were killed by the evil, cruel and barbaric Myanmar military in 1990s.”
Gay Ka says the trip has changed her. “After I did a powerful, motivational and successful speech about the violations in Myanmar, I felt more confident about myself. I felt like I am now a true leader. Right now, I am trying my best to connect the Karen Organization of Minnesota and Metropolitan State University, so Metropolitan State University can help our Karen students and those students, including me, can go back to Myanmar, share our knowledge and intelligence, fight against human rights abuse and change Myanmar into a more democratic, independent, beautiful, peaceful and equal nation…Gay Ka looks toward her future with no plans of letting up on her fight for peace and equality for Karen people, saying “If there is another Karen Day at Washington, D.C., I will work even harder on my speech to make sure everyone in the audience understands what I have to say.”