Karen Refugees

The issue of refugees has once more got renewed attention thanks to the U.N. Refugee Agency, which celebrated World Refugee Day on Saturday. According to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, there are 13.6 million people who are refugees worldwide, with well more than half “trapped in refugee camps.”

One of the more persistent refugee crises involves the Karen villagers, who are caught in the middle of the world’s longest running civil war in Myanmar, also known as Burma. The Karen have been in conflict since 1949, when they first began to seek independence from Burma. This month, an estimated 6,000 Karen again are fleeing to Thailand to avoid renewed fighting between the Burma army and Karen rebels. According to news reports, the Burma army is shelling villages and many are also leaving to avoid recruitment by a Karen group allied with the Burmese army called the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.

An estimated 100,000 Karen refugees have been living in nine camps along the Thailand border run by the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), a consortium of 12 international non-governmental groups.