Saw Ba Thin Sein
Memorial
 On June 14, 2009, Drucie Batin and
family held a memorial service for Drucie's father, Saw Ba Thin Sein,
in Denver Colorado. Saw Ba Thin Sein was the chairman of the Karen
National Union. Born in 1927, Saw Ba Thin Sein joined the Karen
Revolution in 1949.
He
served the KNU in various positions
since
1963 when he was appointed Education Minister. In 1984 he
became the
General Secretary ans was elected Chairman at the KNU Congress of 2000.
Saw Ba Thin Sein served as Chairman until his
death in May of
2008.
Saw
Ba Thin Sein was honored by many
organizations and people for his strong leadership and dedication to
the Karen and all Burmese people in their struggle for freedom and
equality.
The
memorial service included Karen
music and dance as well as a large banquet after the service.
During
the service, three Certificate
of Appreciation were awarded to individuals that have helped Karen
refugees in the Denver area. The three recipients were:
 Inge
Sargent
Inge
was born in Austria. She was in
the first group of Austrian college students to be selected for a
Fulbright Scholarship to study in Denver, Colorado. While in Denver,
Inge met Sao Kya Seng, then a student from Burma at the Colorado
School of Mines in Golden, CO. They married in 1953 and, upon their
arrival in Rangoon, Inge discovered that her husband was not only a
mining engineer, but also a ruling Shan prince. She then lived as a
Shan princess (the Mahadevi of Hsipaw) till her hurband's
assassination by the current military regime in 1962. After two
years of house-arrest in Burma, Inge was allowed to leave for her
native Austria. She was able to smuggle her two daughters out with
her. Inge then lived in Vienna for two years before returning to
Colorado, getting BA and MA degrees and becoming a school teacher. She
taught in Boulder Valley Schools, married Howard Sargent, wrote a
book and, together with her second husband, founded Burma Lifeline in
1996 to help refugees from Burma survive in Thailand. An
international feature film, based on Inge's book "Twilight over
Burma" is in the works. The military government of Burma has
never acknowledged that they killed Inge's first husband in 1962.
 Carl
“Jack” Johnson
Jack
comes from a long line of American
fighting men dating back to Daniel Boone, who is Jack’s great
grandfather many times removed. Jack himself served 23 years in the
military, retiring as a Captain in 1982 as Commander of Detachment
10, 25 Weather Squadron, Bergstrom AFB, TX.
While
stationed in Nakhon Phanom
Thailand in 1972 and 1973, Jack became familiar with the Thai culture
and people. After retiring from the U.S. Air Force, he surrendered
his life to Christ and met missionaries from Thailand who were
visiting his church. This meeting “piqued” his interest to
return to Thailand. In 2003, he and his wife Evelyn made the trip,
and during the excursion he became acquainted with the Karen
hilltribe.
Ever
since, Jack has made mission trips
back to the Mae Sariang, becoming involved with Karen people in
Burma, the Thai refugee camps, and here in the Denver area. He
generally takes a medical team who treat illnesses at many Thai Karen
villages, and help spread the Gospel. He also has worked with
members of the Karen National Union in Thailand, and in IDP camps on
the Burma side of the border.
Jack
is the founder and president of
the Colorado Burma Roundtable Network (CBRTN.ORG). The purpose of
this organization is to carry on the work informally begun in
Thailand and Burma, and to assist the refugees from those regions who
resettle here in the Denver area.
Jack
has been married to the former
Evelyn Marie Bruner for the past 44 years. They have been blessed
with 4 Children and 10 grandchildren. They reside in Elizabeth,
Colorado.
 Maria
Sanchez RN, PhD
Maria
is director of Realizing our
Community, a Colorado Trust grant whose mission is to create an
environment that promotes and sustains a diverse and vibrant
community. Maria has worked for many years with diverse populations
in the Greeley community, including Karen, in the health care and
insurance industries.
TestimoniesP'Doh Ba Thin was a great man, leader and friend to me. His sincerity, calmness, wisdom and steadfastness blessed us all.
He once came to visit me when I was in Umphang hospital- sick with Malaria and Typhus at the same time.
He
went out of his way to visit me as I lay in bed and prayed a beautiful
and powerful prayer for me. I will never forget that and he taught me
more about the power of prayer and how even when we seem unable to help
someone we can pray.
I love him and miss him and am grateful for all he did for the Karen and other people of Burma...including Galawa.
We
the Free Burma Rangers would not have been able to work without his
support. We look forward to seing him in Heaven and until that day will
miss him but will always be thanking God for his life.
God bless you,
David Eubank
Free Burma Rangers Saw Ba Thin Sein, was a man whom I never knew existed for the majority
of my life. It was not until a little more than a year ago that I
discovered such a man existed. Through his extended family, I not only
learned for the first time the injustices that were occurring in Burma,
but I also learned there was a man with incredible determination to
bring justice and freedom to his fellow Karen people. In my opinion, a
great man is one who dedicates his life to the well being of others.
Saw Ba Thin Sein is one of many few men that can truly be remembered in
this way, nothing less than a great man. Today, we do not mourn his
death, but celebrate. Not only his life, but his relentless efforts for
a people and a cause he believed in. In 2003, he stated that, “For the
Karen people to develop freely, they must have educational, health,
economic and cultural freedoms, and the full rights of
self-determination and democracy.” Those who stand here today have
fought hard and have been fortunate enough to have those privileges
where they stand. I am not, and will never be worthy to speak on behalf
of this great man. But if I had to guess what his message would be
today based on what I have learned of him, I would say that he would
want all the Karen to embrace all opportunity that they are fortunate
enough to bestow upon. Embrace, and never take for granted. Flourish
your cultural freedoms, and educate not only yourself, but your
neighbors as well. I am a neighbor that has been educated after years
of not knowing about the Karen. Now that I know, I try to educate
others. One by one each and every Karen can grant the wishes of the
late Saw Ba Thin Sein by uniting for their rightful cause. Although he
is no longer with us, his words speak as loud and strong today as the
day they were spoken, and with the unity of the Karen, and the
education of the free world, justice and freedom will result for the
Karen, and Saw Ba Thin Sein’s inspirational words will continue to live
on with us, and our ongoing generations, forever.
Jordan Michaud
Additional
information, including more
photos, can be found on our FKPB page on Facebook. If you are
a
member of Facebook, feel free to become a fan of the page so you can
keep up to date on the activities of Friends of the Karen People of
Burma, Inc.
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