I know most people will not care so much about the the article below, but it is very dear to me. In 1993-4 I moved to Thailand and lived in a refugee camp along the border of Thailand and Burma. I was a missionary amongst the Karen people sharing the hope of Jesus, giving out medical supplies and clothing. With a dismal amount of hope and intensified violence in the camps, the Karen people were fighting daily for their lives. I spent many weeks trekking camp to camp with live chickens hanging from my back pack to bring hope to those the Lord put on my heart. Living in huts, eating beetles and dumping water over my head to clean myself was just a snapshot of my time there. The last camp I stayed at was the one mentioned below.
As evening grew dark in the camp, I sat by candle light with teenage boys and girls surrounding me in the dirt. Many didn't know how old they were or if their families were still alive. They had all fled over to Thailand trying to escape the brutality of the Burmese government. As we sat by candle light for hours (through translators) the kids asked me deep questions about why God would let this happen, what my thoughts on God were and what it felt like to be safe in America. These kids had NO concept of safety. My heart broke for them.
Interrupting our precious time, the camp doctor said we had to blow out our candles and get to our huts ASAP! Apparently, the Thai soldiers were switching shifts and we would not have protection for the night. It was well known that on these nights when the guards switched shifts that the Burmese soldiers would come in and make hits on key leaders.
Here I was in my young twenties full of relentless passion for these people, now fearful of my life. I laid all night in a ball praying for God's protection like never before. It was so dangerous that we were not aloud to go to the bathroom or move.
Before sunrise, our team (five students) was quickly ushered into a jeep and rushed out of the camp back to Chiang Mai. We reunited with the rest of our team (45 students) and thanked God for our protection. Sadly, the next day that same camp was burned to the ground, the doctor was killed and many karen children were left to wander around abandoned yet again. A huge malaria breakout occurred shortly after taking many more lives including the pastors daughter. It was a very sad and dark time for our team.
Through this experience, my life was changed. It was in this season of my life when I knew I would fight for injustice and live to help help others forever.
The news below is as real to me as receiving a letter informing me of a wounded family member. The area mentioned in the article is the exact camp I visited. I have photos from my time there and I remember it like it was yesterday. The struggle is still on. The Karen people are in constant survival mode to this day. We have no idea. No idea what people go through here in America land of the free. I had a hard few days and after reading this article I am humbled by the freedom I have, yet so often forget about. Pray for the Karen (KUH WREN) people. Most are Christians, yet are being killed daily because of what they believe.
As we were celebrating Valentine's day, the day of "love", this is what was happening in Thailand...
Burmese rebel leader is shot deadThe secretary general of Burma's largest rebel group, the Karen National Union, has been killed.
Pado Mahn Shar, who was in his sixties, was shot at his home in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, his family said.
He was targetted by two men in a pick-up truck, while sitting on the veranda of his home. He died instantly.
The KNU and its military wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, have spent nearly 60 years fighting the Burmese government.
They want to establish an autonomous Karen state in the east of Burma, and to protect the Karen people from what they say are abuses by the government.
Setbacks
KAREN STRUGGLE
The KNU, through its armed wing the KNLA, has been fighting for greater autonomy since 1949
The KNLA split in half in 1994, with the new group, the DKBA, making a pact with the government
The KNU and the junta reached a 'gentleman's agreement' in 2003, but it quickly broke down
The Karen are just one of many ethnic minorities in Burma. Much smaller rebel groups still exist in the Shan, Karenni and Mon states
Despite their fighting spirit, the Karen rebels have suffered a number of recent setbacks, including political splits and defections to the government.
Militarily, they have been driven further and further back towards the Thai border.
However, Pado Mahn Shar told the BBC last year: "Whatever happens, we cannot surrender.
"If the government won't offer us a proper peace settlement, we have to carry on fighting."
The BBC's Kate McGeown, who met Pado Mahn Shar on the Thai-Burmese border, says his death will be a serious blow to the Karen rebels.
As it is, they face a huge challenge against the Burmese army, which is vastly superior both in terms of numbers and equipment.
Analysts said it was not clear who was behind the shooting.
It might be the result of rivalry within the Karen rebel movement, Burmese expert Aung Naing Oo told the AFP news agency.
Thai police said the gunmen approached Pado Mahn Shar and addressed him in the Karen language before opening fire.
But what the KNU really feared, Aung Naing Oo said, was that the Burmese government might have ordered it.
"Everybody is terrified that there could be a hit list from the Burmese military circulating around Thailand of people to be killed," he said.
Pado Mahn Shar had himself predicted an increase in bloodshed, telling Reuters this week that violence might rise ahead of a constitutional referendum in Burma in May.
