The Karen Minority…
Landmines, whole villages burned, ten-year-olds
forced to carry the packs of the military men who just killed their family. These are common stories for Karen people.
The Karen people are a minority group in Burma (also called Myanmar).
Since 1962, when the brutal dictator, Ne Win, took control of Burma,
the Karen have been fighting for their lives. Ne Win began ethnic
cleansing practices in Burma to rid the country of all minority groups
and solidify his power. Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced
because their villages were burned, and families
murdered.
More than 130,000 Karen have crossed the border into neighboring
Thailand where they live in refugee camps. While the Thai government
tolerates the Karen, they cannot handle the enormous immigration
challenge that the Karen pose for their economy. So the government does
not allow them to leave the camps. Because no government has offered to
help them, these people are literally being held captive in camps along
the Burma/Thai border.
God’s Kids in Thailand…
God’s Kids supports a home for orphans, and
recently built a dormitory for 50 orphans in one of the refugee camps.
Thailand
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