We had pre-determined our research groups before we
left. The other two groups had serious
focus on their theses – with some looking at displaced persons and why they
decided to cross borders and others looking at the health and education
systems. I realized in the formation of
the groups that I was the only one who was not writing my thesis on migration
issues, and felt a little out of place…until I found my group. They were all working on migration issues –
but they were migration issues in other countries and this field research was
ample practice for their theses, but in no way would this information benefit
their work directly. I have always been a sucker for justice and was desperate to learn more about the justice system in the camps – and whether the camp is successful in keeping order over nearly 50,000 people. A few of the other girls were interested in the religious components as well – so we morphed together our topics and decided to analyze the role of religion and women in the Mae La justice system. I can tell you – the research we found was fascinating and unlike any other justice system I have seen in the world.
As we walked along one of the main roads in the camp
towards the Justice Center, I tried to take in my surroundings. Huge bamboo houses with porches, gardens and
balconies stared back at me. Banana leaf
roofs rustled with the breeze, and the sun reflected painfully off of the
sparkling clean dirt roads. As we tried
to take the back roads to see what wasn’t on the main path, we were faced with
more large houses, bamboo frames perfectly aligned and banana leaves. People walked by staring at our group of four
women with notebooks, and we stared right back, admiring their perfectly ironed
longyi and white pressed shirts. Covered
in sweat and dirt, and sunburned after standing in the sweltering sun for a measly
ten minutes, we managed to muster our way towards the Justice Center.
First, we went to meet with a member of the Elder
Council – one of the main judges in the camp.
As we asked questions (and I had to sit on my hand to prevent myself
from asking TOO many questions) I realized everything I had studied about
Western democratic law – did not apply here. For starters:
- They do not have codified (written) law. There is nothing that warns or reminds the people of the law – it is customary, and said to be “understood.”
- Religion plays a significant role in law – even though the camp is not entirely Christian, the customary law of the camp is Karen law, meaning that Muslims and Buddhists must adhere to the same laws as Karen Christians.
- Precedent is not a concept utilized here. Each case is dealt with on an independent basis, with no reference to previous cases to determine appropriate penalties for crimes committed, comparing sentencing of previous cases, etc.
- Judges do not have any training or experience, other than that they are “elders” and old – having witnessed several generations. I asked if there was a balance in gender, ethnicity, or religious backgrounds and the judge said “it depends on who is elected.” So I then proceeded to ask if there had been any women, non-Karen, or non-Christian judges…“no."
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| Poster Board displaying families who have been resettled to U.S. |
Affairs were punishable with seven months in prison,
and Karen law appropriately sentences individuals who place magic spells on
others (such as a spell to kill or trick someone).
At first glance, I was incredibly impressed. I was amazed that the Thai people had
entirely handed the justice and legal matters of the camp over to the local
Burmese/Myanmar people. The justice
system, unless it needed to go to a higher level (which was at the camp level
and only for the most serious crimes), was entirely run by its people – making decisions
on sentencing, presiding over rulings, and guarding prisoners in the detention
center.
