Christian Karen Under Fire in Burma
ICC Note:
Another report on the worsening fate of the Karen people of Burma. The Karen are a largely Christian group who have struggled for autonomy for decades.
8/21/09 Burma (AmericanSpectator) Although public attention in Burma focuses on Nobel Laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi and her worthy struggle for democracy, the military junta has been even more brutal in the ongoing wars in the eastern part of the nation.  Unfortunately, the Karen, a largely Christian group which has struggled for autonomy for decades, continues to lose ground.
Reports the New York Times:
For the first time in at least a decade, Myanmar’s central government controls most of its own border with Thailand. By the standards of most countries this might not be considered a major accomplishment. But Myanmar has been fighting ethnic Karen rebels along the mountainous border for nearly as long as it has existed as an independent country.
…
The main losers of the most recent fighting, however, were not combatants but villagers, many of them children, forced to flee their homes in the remote and impoverished Karen hills. The Karen Human Rights Group, an organization that monitors the conflict, counted 4,862 villagers who crossed to the Thai side of the border, where already crowded refugee camps hold more than 120,000 people.
There’s not much that can be done to help the Karen on the battlefield.  But organizations which help relieve the suffering of Karen refugees deserve support.  
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