Karen, S'gaw in Myanmar (Burma)

People Name:	Karen, S'gaw
Country:	Myanmar (Burma)
10/40 Window:	Yes
Population:	2,028,000
World Population:	2,257,200
Primary Language:	Karen, S'gaw
Primary Religion:	Christianity
Christian Adherents:	53.00 %
Evangelicals:	41.17 %
Scripture:	Complete Bible
Ministry Resources:	Yes
Jesus Film:	Yes
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	Karen
Affinity Bloc:	Tibetan-Himalayan Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

The Sqaw (or S'gaw) Karen tribe inhabits the mountains and jungle valleys of eastern Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). They have lived there for thousands of years and are thought to be the original inhabitants of the region. They are the largest of the Karen tribes, numbering over two million people.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The Lord has pursued the Karen people for a long time, and the first Christians among them came to faith in the 1800s. Today, there are many Sqaw Karen believers, but they have been isolated from the rest of the world, and decimated for the past 50 years by the brutal, evil Burmese military junta, who have killed hundreds of thousands of Karen people in one of the worst genocides in modern history. Often the Buddhist Burmese have attacked the Karen people for no other reason than the fact that many are Christians.