Featured Image: Angelina Jolie at Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp, Daily Mail
In light of June being Refugee Awareness Month with World Refugee Day on June 20th, the US Campaign for Burma would like to highlight the history of refugees and internally displaced peoples in the various states of Burma. This installment will cover Karenni state, following our installments on Shan state, Chin state, Arakan state, and Kachin state.
Karenni state is Burma’s smallest state and is estimated to hold between 250,000-300,000 people, the majority of whom are ethnic Karenni, or Kayan in Burmese. The Karenni practice Christianity, Buddhisim, and traditional practices, and live alongside an ethnic Shan minority that resides in the state. Ethnic subgroups in Karenni state include the Kayah, Kayan, Kayaw, Yindaleh, Paku, Yinbaw, Gehko, and Gehbar. Karenni state has been regarded as one of the poorest and most underdeveloped in Burma, as the state has the lowest number of teachers and schools as well as widespread illiteracy and little economic development. The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) heads welfare initiatives that aid local villagers as well as the state’s displaced populations, however, armed conflict as perpetrated by the Burma Army has caused large numbers of Karenni people to become forcibly displaced and flee to nearby mountains and jungles.
Within the year 2007 alone, the KNPP estimated that over 150 clashes with the Burma Army took place. Human rights abuses against villages have been reported, notably arbitrary arrests, discrimination, murders, and torturing. Burma Army troops also patrol certain areas in Karenni state and impose curfews on villagers. Karenni people and other refugees fear to return to Karenni state or Burma in general because of widespread violence and instability as incited by the Burma Army.
2018 estimates state that there are roughly 102,000 refugees who have fled Burma and are now living in nine camps along the Thai-Burma border. Two of these refugee camps in Mae Hong Son, Thailand, are predominantly Karenni, whose inhabitants remain with no protection from basic labor or civilian rights. Although current numbers are likely much higher, the Karenni National Peoples Liberation Front declared a total of 81,000 internally displaced peoples in Karenni state, many of whom take shelter in rebuilt villages, forced relocation sites, or the jungle. Karenni refugees also make up a portion of resettled populations in the US, Australia, and Finland.
Another common form of forced displacement in Karenni state is land confiscation and extractive development projects. In 2016, the Karenni State Social Development Center estimated that the Burma Army confiscated over 10,300 acres of villagers’ land across four villages. Confiscated land has been utilized as Burma Army training grounds and a military base and severs villagers’ ability to grow food for themselves and earn money. In March 2020, 41 Karenni farmers were jailed for six months following land confiscation protests, despite the Burma Army’s unfair land seizure. Additionally, “development projects,” as implemented by the Burmese government and backed by foreign investors such as China and Thailand, have uprooted the lives of thousands of villagers in Karenni state. The Salween Dams are located in conflict-ridden areas and have forcibly displaced ethnic minorities from their homes with no resettlement or compensation plans. Villagers are also commonly subjected to forced labor and are coerced to working on government-implemented projects. The Tasang Dam area alone has caused over 60,000 people to become internally displaced.
According to Burma Link, the Burmese government does not allow foreigners or humanitarian aid services to enter Karenni state. As conflict continues to ravage across Burma and zero justice is served, the USCB encourages all civilians and the international community to step up in educating themselves and others on the struggles of current-day refugees and IDPs. The Burma Army and Burmese government need to be held accountable for the plethora of atrocities and human rights abuses committed against the nation’s ethnic groups.
Click here to view a documentary about Karenni refugees on the Thai-Burma border. For more information on conflict and IDPs in Karenni State, click here to access USCB’s Crowd Map and read articles from each state.
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