The Kumjing Storytellers

The Tai people are from Shan State, Burma, where an estimated 6 million of them live. Many have fled persecution by the Burmese junta and are now living in refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border. Since July 2009, the military regime has renewed a scorched earth campaign in central Shan state that has driven more than 10,000 villagers from their homes. Troops have burned down over 500 houses and scores of granaries, and forcibly relocated almost 40 villages. In one month, more than 100 villagers were arrested and tortured, and one woman was shot trying to retrieve her possessions from a burning house and her body thrown into a latrine. Another woman was gang-raped in front of her husband.

The women who make up the Kumjing Storytellers are among those who have fled to the Burma-Thai border region, often leaving their families and friends behind. The Journey of Kumjing is a performance in which these persecuted women can talk about their situation, challenge discrimination and assert their human rights.

Some 250 papier-mache dolls and their human companions, The Storytellers, travel across Thailand and the world to raise awareness of their plight and those of refugees. In the Tai language, Kumjing means precious jewel. These refugees, who have fled the brutal persecution of the Shan in Burma by the junta, have taken the name of something beautiful to contrast with the horror of their experience and the degrading stereotypes that surround refugees.

The women talk about their lives through the dolls. In this way, they say, the audience quite naturally is brought on side with the women, respecting their courage, cheering their successes and laughing alongside them. The public no longer see the women as migrants bringing disease, crime and trouble, but as people, just like themselves, albeit in extraordinary situations.

The performance has been inspired by a Burmese tradition of oral storytelling, where younger generations sit at the feet of older aunts, uncles and grandparents, to hear tales and legends. This traditional form of home entertainment is also a form of education, where children learn their family history, cultural roots and begin to understand how their society operates.

The Journey of Kumjing is not simply an artwork but a living art action, that brings local residents and migrants together in a dialogue about common humanity and the right to dignity, protection and assistance whoever you are and wherever you go, say the women. Each of the dolls represents an individual and tells the story of how she fled her home and had to journey into the unknown.

The dolls are part of the performance, but also sit among the audience as a reminder that migrants are everywhere. The message of the piece is one of courage, hope and inspiration. We want to humanise migrants in the eyes of society, say the women. The Journey of Kumjing showcases the best in the human spirit and tries to give hope to other women and migrants. The Storytellers also want to inspire society to change the way it thinks and behaves towards outsiders. Kumjing's message is global, they point out. There are more women migrants than ever before in the world.

Freedom to Create is incredibly grateful for the support, partnership, guidance and encouragement that we have received from our amazing supporters, artists, participants, judges and other organisations since we began in 2006. We have made the difficult decision to suspend Freedom to Create's Prize and Exhibitions from 31 December 2011 for a period of strategic evaluation. Thank you for your support and wishing you courage and creativity in all that you do.

close