Refugee Situation at Burma/Thai Border

Right now there is a very hostile situation going on the Burma/Thai border town of Mae Sot, where Corto and I were for the falls. Don't worry, we're not near any wars or village burnings... but all of that stuff definitely occured over the past few months. Have you all seen the movie Blood Diamond? If you have, well, that is pretty much the situation going on right here on the border. If you haven't, picture Burmese rebels and militants going into quiet villages, killing the men, raping the women, and taking the children as soldiers. There is alot of supression in the Karen villages of Burma, inhabited by the native Karen hill tribes. The rebels are vying for their land, rich with gem stones and other vast natural resources. But these Karen people, who have turned into freedom fighters, are desperately trying to protect their home. How does Thailand play a role in this?

As a result of the insurgency, Burmese refugees are crossing into Thailand by the thousands, in hopes of living a peaceful life. But the Burmese government basically said to Thailand, "Do not allow any illegal Burmese into your country. In exchange, we will better define our mountainous borders, ensuring you get a nice cut of the excavations." As a result, as Corto and I travelled the border all the way down to Um Phang from Mae Sot, there were about a dozen military checkpoints, and any Burmese/person without idenitification was removed from the bus.

So remember Alexandra, the nice girl who gave us a ride? She developed an oraganization to help the Burmese refugees, with a focus on the Karen hill tribes who have slowly been killed off. Her organization, Quebec-Birmanie, works to help protect the villagers by feeding, clothing, and schooling the children in their refugee camps.

I've attatched the link of the organization's website to the right. The site is only in French but you can click on some stuff to see pictures of what life is like for these people. Below is a picture of a Burmese refugee camp and a group of people tubing across a river that seperates Thailand from Burma, illegally entering the country.