In late 2008, after spending some time in central Thailand, I had to make a trip across the border to Burma to renew my visa. My visit to the border town of Mae Sot introduced me to the plight of Burmese refugees who are victims of one of the longest ongoing conflicts in the world – a brutal war that was fought in the remote jungles of southern Burma for nearly half a century.
The Burmese junta systematically and violently targeted ethnic minorities in different parts of Burma for decades. Most ethnic minorities started organising their own rebel movements to fight the repression of the Burmese army. The Burmese soldiers burned down villages, raped women, and kidnapped and recruited younger children into their ranks. They made it a custom to surround entire villages with landmines to prevent the fleeing villagers from returning to search for their loved ones.