My name is Paw Kue and I was born in Burma. When I was approximately three or four years old I went to Mae La Camp. My parents sent me to go to school there. When I was younger, I wanted to be kindergarten teacher. My favorite male teacher was Mr. Granter. I went to school only up to fourth grade. The people I used to hang out with all live in a different state now. I have five siblings, and they all lived with my parents so that they could help them out by getting rice, fish, beans and peppers from working. My Parents would go to the jungle to find bamboo and other vegetables. Later on, they would sell them. That was how my parents supported the family. My grandparents worked on the farm and planted rice. My mom was from Burma, and my dad was from Mae La Camp. The house in Mae La Camp was built out of bamboo and the roof was made of leaves.

When I was young, I had to wash clothes, cook, and carry buckets of water to the house. I learned how to cook at age nine or ten years old. The food I cooked was curry and rice. I have never been to Mae Sot or anywhere that has big buildings. I went to Karen New Year celebration and saw people build baskets and performing traditional dances. I have never experienced dating. We would only write notes to one another and one note led to love. I got married when I was nineteen years old, and my parents approved of my marriage. The hardest thing about raising my children was when they got sick, and I needed to take them to the hospital. At that time, I did not have money, so I had to borrow it from friends or family members. The most satisfaction I got while raising my children was that they had a chance to go to school and get an education. I taught my children that if something does not seem good do not do it, but if it seems good then do it. When I was young I struggled with financial problems, but I am still happy.

When I got to America the difficult thing was not knowing the language and not owning a car to go to places, whether it was the hospital or the markets. The first day I went to an American school, I was really nervous because I did not know the language. As the days went by, I felt so much better. Now I know a few words. I want to let the younger generation know that they should use good words and influence others by teaching them good examples. I think that girls who are smarter are good.

Karen traditions should keep on going, such as wearing Karen clothes and Karen New Years. The older generation did the same so we should keep on pursuing it. I want to thank Karen Organization of San Diego for helping me with paperwork and contacting whoever, whether it had to do with hospitals or anything else.