Nine hundred Karen refugees head home

Thursday, 01 April 2010 22:12 Kyaw Kha

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - In what is ostensibly a voluntary action, 900 war refugees, who had stayed back in the two refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border, are going back home today, despite the fear of landmine explosions.
An official of one of the warring groups, the ‘Democratic Karen Buddhist Army’ (DKBA) has admitted on condition of anonymity that the danger of landmine explosions in the areas where the refugees hail from, is very much real. And they are risking their lives in going back home.

The Karen Refugee Committee (KRC) said the return of 785 refugees from Uthu Tha camp and 108 refugees from No Boe camp in Thar Saung Yang Township, Tak province is on a voluntary basis.

“The Thai Army escorted them till the river bank but there was no one to receive them. They came here because of war in their areas, not out of choice,” KRC Secretary (1) Saya George said.

The refugees are ethnic Karen people hailing from Pai Kyone and Hlaing Bwe townships in Pa-an District, Karen State. They fled to the two refugee camps because of war between KNU and the joint forces of the Burmese Army and the KNU breakaway faction, the ‘Democratic Karen Buddhist Army’ (DKBA). The number of refugees in the camps was over 2,400.

An officer of the 999th Battalion of the DKBA, who wished to remain anonymous, admitted the danger of land mine explosions in the villages where the refugees hail from.

“We are aware of the return of the refugees and the landmines cannot be seen. Their lives are in their hands. Though they are our fellow ethnic Karen, under the circumstances, we cannot do anything for them,” he said.

“We have to start our lives afresh but we cannot live in this crowded place,” a refugee from Pa Nwe Pu village, Pai Kyone township, who is going back home today, told Mizzima.

“The hardships and difficulties compelled us to flee from our homes. If there is peace and tranquility, we would like to stay in our country. We have to flee from our homes again if war breaks out yet again. Our family has fled home three times,” another refugee said.

“The Thais wish them well on their return home. The refugees want to work on their farmlands again. But KNU cannot provide any assistance to them,” Karen National Union (KNU) Vice-Chairman David Tharkapaw said.