from the border of Burma and Thailand

Living in the village of Mae Way for a week my eyes were opened and widened to a new heights and levels. And yet i have only touched on a small fraction of understanding the situation of Burma and the people affected by it. A special part of our microhydro team, were a group of young Keran engineering students in their early 20's learning and building with us. Many of them live in a refugee camp called Mae La near Mae Sot along with about 50,000 other refugees. This is the oldest and largest in Thailand, here since 1984. This group of students are very blessed for they have found a way to get out of the camp sometimes through their engineering program and through BGET. Freedom of movement throughout a country or the world, something in which a refugee is not personally familiar. The beauty, joy, hope, and resilience thriving in these humans that i came to know is something that i continue to carry with me each day. Thank you for that.

Below are some resources given to me by a friend, an advocate and ally who worked and lived in Mae Sot. Maybe you are interested in learning more. These links and words are for me as well as for you.


Here are some resources:

www.karenvoice.net -- This page rocks and just keeps getting better!!!

http://karenrefugee.livejournal.com/ -- Same guys that do the karenvoice.net

Article about what needs to be done by the international community to make for change in Burma:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EDIS-7BDNRU?OpenDocument

Chris's website: http://www.palangthai.org/ -- Regional Energy Information
BGET site: www.bget.org

Border news:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/
http://www.mizzima.com/
http://www.shanland.org/

Mae Tao Clinic (Dr. Cynthia's Clinic): http://www.maetaoclinic.org/

Borderline Shop:
http://www.borderlinecollective.org/
http://borderlineshop.blogspot.com/

Karen Womens Organization:
http://www.karenwomen.org/news.html

Karen Refugees in the US:
http://www.state.gov/g/prm/rls/fs/82822.htm .

Here is a link to a great report from UNC Chapel Hill on the background and lives of Karen refugees in the US: http://www.state.gov/g/prm/rls/fs/82822.htm