Long overlooked, a niche refugee population in Philadelphia is finally getting organized support

Editor’s note: Some quotes have been translated from the S’gaw Karen language and edited for clarity and readability.

At the Bok building in South Philadelphia, 87-year-old refugee Gay Lay reflected on the weight civil war has taken on her life.

For over two decades — starting in her twenties — she was living and hiding in Myanmar jungles. She moved from location to location with a small group to evade the Burmese army, after soldiers had burned down her village. Sometimes, they slept in trees. If she was caught, the consequences could mean detention, sexual violence or death.

“My whole life, I had to be afraid of everything,” she said. Her English is limited, so she told the story in her native language of S’gaw Karen, through a translator.

Gay Lay is a Karen refugee. Karen (pronoun