Young Cash Karen

Young Cash Karen (Y.C.K.) is an ongoing project about a close­-knit community of young refugees from Myanmar who have resettled in Rochester, New York.

"Young Cash Karen" is an ongoing project about a close­-knit community of young refugees from Burma (or Myanmar) who have resettled in Rochester, New York. They are members of the Karen (pronounced kuh-ren), a Burmese ethnic minority that has fought a decades-­long civil war against the Burmese government over the native lands of their people and for their very right to exist. For most or all of their lives, the young men of "Young Cash Karen" lived in refugee camps across the Burmese border in Thailand, until taking the leap to resettle in the United States. Some came with family members and some came alone.

"Young Cash Karen" is the self­ chosen name of the brotherhood they have formed here. The project has developed into a multi­layered and nuanced exploration of the intersections of culture, ethnicity, and gender. It portrays a tribe of young men who are experiencing the difficult process of displacement and cultural adaptation. Yet despite their hardships they retain a sense of unapologetic pride of their identity and history. Both the subtle and apparent effects of colonialism, assimilation to American society, and the preservation of parts of their endangered Southeast Asian culture create a compelling mixture of fashion, music, language, and lifestyle. My own identity as a Thai-American woman is a part of the work as well, as it shapes my relationship and interactions with this community.

This project is still in the start of its development, and will greatly benefit from my continued dedicated time towards research and shooting. I am committed to see the potential of this work through, and any kind of support to continue working on it is a big necessity.

jadethiraswas.com