Homeward Bound
Insight Myanmar14 Tammi 2025

Homeward Bound

Episode #301: “I want to invite everybody to see the Karen people not just as victims, but to experience the real beauty in the culture, the uniqueness, the simplicity.”

These are the words of Saw Sha Kerpaw Wah, a humanitarian from Karen State, Myanmar, who shares his story of displacement, identity, and commitment to his people. Born in 1995 during the fall of Manerplaw, the headquarters of the Karen National Union, his family fled through the jungle, marking the start of their journey as refugees. Sha Kerpaw Wah spent his early childhood in a refugee camp in Thailand, before his family resettled in Norway. There they found safety, but engendered a sense of cultural dissonance. Although warmly welcomed in Norway, and living there for 20 years, Wah always felt a deep spiritual connection to Kawthoolei, the Karen homeland, feeling that it was his "duty" to return and serve his people.

A major turning point in Wah’s life came during his final year of college when he watched a video of Karen indigenous leader, Saw O Moo, inspiring him to leave his studies and fully dedicate himself to humanitarian work. He began making frequent trips back to Kawthoolei, working to support those displaced by Myanmar’s ongoing civil war.

Today, Sha Kerpaw Wah continues to serve the Karen people, advocating for education, self-reliance, and a united leadership among Karen leaders. His ultimate dream is to see a peaceful, independent Kawthoolei where future generations can grow up free from the violence and trauma that have shaped his life.

Jaksot(505)

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Home Is Where the Heart Is

You are listening to the second episode in our ongoing series, titled “Love Letters to Myanmar.”This series features guests who share their warmest memories and anecdotes, discuss what life lessons th...

9 Touko 20211h 40min

Operation Defection

Operation Defection

For his contribution to the resistance, Ven Detta is seeking inspiration from Vladmir Lenin, spending the last several months studying the history of how soldiers are coaxed to defect during insurrect...

5 Touko 20211h 6min

Literally A Nightmare Scenario

Literally A Nightmare Scenario

Thiri is no stranger to the trauma brought on by the military coup. She spent five years with Human Rights Watch listening to people with cruel and brutal stories of their families killed or harmed by...

30 Huhti 20212h 12min

A Risk-Taker at Risk

A Risk-Taker at Risk

“Thurain” (not his real name) had planned to spend the start of 2021 building on his already impressive worldly achievements. Though a “country boy” from birth, he had made his mark in Yangon, establi...

25 Huhti 20211h 49min

Touches with the Golden Land

Touches with the Golden Land

Our team has decided to present a new series that focuses on our love and appreciation for the Golden Land. We hope that upcoming episodes in this series can help to provide some kind of counterbalanc...

21 Huhti 20212h 15min

Going Rogue: A Doctor on the Front Lines

Going Rogue: A Doctor on the Front Lines

Coco’s career path in medicine wasn’t supposed to end up this way. But on February 1st, for Coco and so many others, “all of the dreams just got wasted away.”He was initially hesitant to join the stre...

14 Huhti 20212h 27min

The End Justifies the Memes

The End Justifies the Memes

What is the deeper, symbolic meaning of an overturned alms bowl? What reasoning goes into the decision as to whether a protest sign is written in English or Burmese, or as pictograms, or emojis? And h...

10 Huhti 20212h 6min

A Screeching Halt: The Military Coup Shoots Down Reforms

A Screeching Halt: The Military Coup Shoots Down Reforms

Maw Htin Aung, a Kachin Christian by birth, appeared to be a leader right for his time, the kind of progressive champion needed in Myanmar who could help move the country towards a promising future. I...

5 Huhti 20211h 34min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
viisupodi
rss-podme-livebox
otetaan-yhdet
rss-asiastudio
the-ulkopolitist
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-kalevi-sorsa-saation-podcast
rss-polikulaari-pitka-kiekko-ja-muut-ts-podcastit
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat
rss-kuka-mina-olen
rss-tekkipodi