Displaced.

A few weeks over four thousand refugees crossed the border into Thailand from Ler Per Her village in Pa An district of Karen State in eastern Burma.

They were fleeing flighting, and the burning and destruction of Ler Per Her and surrounding villages, by a DKBA/SPDC armed offensive.

Ler Per Her (pronounced Luh Puh Huh) was itself already a camp for people that had been previously displaced - founded years ago by those who were forced from there homes and villages, but resisted fleeing to Thailand to become refugees. They settled on the border, and tried to begin again, periodically joined by new arrivals. That they have now come to Thailand speaks much about how impossible it has been made for them to continue living in Burma.

The refugees settled in several Thai Karen villages just across the river. The Thai Authorities were unprepared for the wave of arrivals, and somewhat perplexed about how to best meet their needs. Both international and local NGOs stepped up to provide aid, first emergency assistance including water, food, blankets, and tarpaulins, increasing to wat/san systems and health services. Though the refugees in Thailand had previously been closed to new arrivals, the Royal Thai Government, in recognizing that these people were fleeing active conflict (the only definition for a refugee, according to the RTG), agreed to allow them to register, and enter the nearest camp. That camp is Mae La, which is already hosting over the capacity it was designed for.

The refugees are of Karen ethnicity, and the Karen (Kah-ren) are no strangers to attack and displacement. But their political leadership, and affiliated armed resistance, have been steadily loosing power for the past decade. Whereas previously the KNU/KNLA were able to hold the SPDC and allies at bay, guarding large swaths of Karen territory, it now seems that most if not all of the state is vulnerable.

This most recent offensive is part of two ongoing SPDC campaigns. One is turn all of the border based cease-fire groups in to Border Security Forces, which are charged with controlling and guarding Burma's border (at the expense of land held by resistance groups, and hampering cross border assistance). The second is to weaken and destroy the KNU/KNLA, and in pursuit of this aim, it is expected that this offensive begun in Ler Per Her will continue deeper in Karen territory, putting several other major settlements at risk, and even potentially the largest IDP (internally displaced persons) camp, which sits on the border farther north. Both of the initiatives are related to the elections to be held in Myanmar next year. The junta's way of nodding to international critics, and attempt to gain legitimacy, it is widely assumed to be rigged, and many opposition groups have declined to participate. As the elections are to be held next year, it is speculated that the violence will increase over this next year as well.

In addition, cease-fire groups that do not participate may be asked to surrender their arms or yield authority in their territory, both proposition unlikely to meet with acquiescence, further increasing the chances of open conflict in the near future. It seems we are entering a bleak(er) time for Burma's border regions.

For the Karen, it seems the end of the active Karen resistance is near- the largest, oldest, and at one time most powerful resistance group in Burma, and with that collapse, the end of any space for Karen people to live and practice Karen culture in Eastern Burma. It's a shocking concept to intake. For a whole people to be systematically denied their home. Not a new story of course, but one that we watch unfold once again, and nothing is done.

The newly arrived refugees are receiving a lot of attention and assistance at the moment, as well they should, but it should not let us forget that so many of their brothers and sisters remain in Eastern Burma, similarly uprooted from their homes, hiding in the jungle or trying to settle in new villages, wondering when the next attack will come. These others are harder to reach, harder to assist, harder to protect, and all the more vulnerable to attack. As terrible is the fate of the new refugees, it is no wonder that they came. We try to support them, and help those still inside, and wait for the next attack. It is hard to see an end to this cycle of death and destruction. It is hard to conceive of a life so insecure, and seemingly hopeless. It is hard to know what to do.

So we try to continue our meager health projects, at least, but because the organizations we work with depend on cross border access to implement their health programs, we may also be looking at severe restriction, or significant strategy changes in providing health care to this region, even as need for care may increase.