SYNOPSIS

Far From Kawthoolei explores the community that forms around the Karen family
center in San Diego, California and its self-help network of refugees from Burma (Myanmar).
Multiple perspectives guide a story that offers a better understanding of the Karen diaspora
and their relationship to history as they envision a future unbound from war or refuge.
Refugees from Burma unite at the Karen Organization of San Diego,
an ethnic community based organization, to support the prosperity
of a new generation born in the US who have not experienced the trauma
of war crimes or the affinity of a people bonded to fight for self-determination.
Far From Kawthoolei asks how Karen youth and their foreign-born refugee parents
support one another’s integration into American society and
reveals complexities in generational identities.