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I was teased sometimes at soccer this year by RAMS middle school students because I attend Parkview Center School, a K-8 school. In preschool I was pushed around- by another kid who called me "stupid7, and now sometimes I am called "ner&'. But besidri those occasional instances, I rarely feel threatened. When I am skipping to the park while babysitting my adorable tbree-year-old cousin, a 12 year-old Karen boy in Myanmar MI'ght be sprinting away from pursuing soldiers while trying to avoid being shot. It is terribly difficult for me to imagine that if our soccer team's fearless goalie hadn't escaped from k4yan it 1014" x"t 7 that he could have been that 12 year-old boyrunning away from the milhary. We all have had bad nightmares. But many Karen here in Roseville have practically f ived a nightmare. Looking at what the Karen people suffered 'in Myammar makes my 6veryday American life seem easy and uncomplicated. In our established daily lives in Mnnesota we take for granted many fights that the Karen people are deprived of in lqyanma,r. Their persecution was a direct violation of Human Right #1 of the Uniteii Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "All human beings are born free and equi in dignity and rights. They axe endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards oN e another 'in a spirit of brotherhood."' Hopefully the Karen will find these rights anI_ The message '"Li li E!" meant almost nothing to me at the beginning of the soccer season, but now it has lead me to a whole new way of looldng at life. I am more t " I for iny own life and also for the lives, safety and new opportunities for my teammates and othei K'aren grants. I hope that the Karen can put their persecution behind them and thrive, ft ere 'in the United States,, On our soccer team, we all became a bit "Karen7 when we A used their simple call during our soccer matches. As a community, I hope that we aH can dil.