ST PAUL, Minn — "You have to start from scratch. You have to learn everything from scratch," said Eh Tah Khu, co-executive director of the Karen Organization of Minnesota.
Eh Tah Khu recalls his experience moving to the United States from Thailand with his young family back in 2010.
From learning a new culture to learning a new language, he says it's something he still struggles with a decade later.
"I feel like until now, I'm still learning, and I don't know a lot of things," said Eh Tah Khu.
Eh Tah Khu is Karen (pronounced as Kah-Ren), which is an ethnic group who called Myanmar home until the Burmese majority gained independence from the British in 1948.
"[The Burmese regime] were attacking [Karen] villagers and burning down the villages. They were killing and torturing the civilians," said Eh Tah Khu.
According to the Royal Bank of Canada, this forced an estimated 200,000 Karen and thousands of other ethnic groups to flee to refugee camps in nearby Thailand.
Refugees were later resettled to third countries including the United States.
For those who stayed in Myanmar, the regime continued to eradicate the Karen culture by banning the teaching of the Karen language in all public schools in 1962.
"Keeping the language alive is very crucial and very critical," said Eh Tah Khu. "As a people, it is very important to continue the language and pass it on to the next generation."
With an estimated 20,000 Karen people, Minnesota is the largest Karen community in the country, according to KOM. And according to data from the Minnesota Department of Education, there are are 2,500 students who identify as Karen in St. Paul schools.
One of whom is Harding High School freshman Jenny Soe.
Soe hopes taking the district's new Karen language classes this fall will help her connect with her family and specifically her elders.
"Sometimes, I go to appointments with my grandpa," said Soe. "I get what [my grandfather] is saying and I'm trying to translate but I don't know how because there are a lot of words in Karen that I don't know how to say. It makes feel kinda helpless."
Soe added that the language classes is an opportunity for non-Karen people to learn about who she is at her core.
"When I was younger, not a lot of people knew about the Karen culture or Karen people in general," said Soe. "A lot of people make jokes saying I'm Korean not Karen."
Outside of bringing awareness to the broader community, Eh Tah Khu believes the classes will keep the Karen culture alive.
"We don't have our own country yet but there is a Karen saying that if we lose our language, we lose our nation."
The classes will be held in person at four St. Paul high schools: Washington Technology Magnet School, Harding Senior High School, Como Park Senior High School, and Humboldt High School.
Classes will also be offered online for all St. Paul high school students.
The Karen Organization of Minnesota is a Roseville-based social services agency with a mission to "build on the strengths of refugee and immigrant communities and remove barriers to achieving economic, social, and cultural wellbeing."
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