(DVB)?Human trafficking within Burma remains ?significant?, whilst trafficking of young women into forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation is a ?major problem?, according to a US state department report.

The Trafficking in Persons report cited statistics released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that estimate that at least 12.3 million people worldwide are in forced labour, bonded labour or commercial sexual exploitation.

Many Burmese women and children are being trafficked to Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Korea, China and Malaysia, the latter two often for forced marriage.

Within Burma, however, the problem was ?significant?. Trafficking of girls for the purpose of prostitution ?persisted as a major problem, particularly in urban areas?, and was seen to drive Burma?s reputation as ?a destination country for child sex tourism?.

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the phenomenon as ?modern slavery? that ?weakens legitimate economies, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, shatters families, and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress.?

The report also highlighted the ongoing phenomenon of forced recruitment of children into armed ethnic groups and the Burmese army, the latter largely as a result of increasing cases of desertion of adult soldiers.

The recruitment of child soldiers is often seen as a means of maintaining the Burmese army?s troop levels, with children often bearing the brunt of its frequent recruitment drives.

?The military junta?s gross economic mismanagement, human rights abuses, and its continued widespread use of forced labor are among the top causal factors for Burma?s significant trafficking problem,? the report said.

Complainants of forced labour are ostensibly protected under the ?supplementary understanding? agreement the ILO has with the Burmese government, although in 15 of the 152 cases reported to the ILO since 1997, the organization has received information alleging harassment or reprisals by government authorities.

Earlier this month the ILO called a revision of a clause in the Burmese constitution that justified use of forced labour ?in duties assigned by the Union in accord with the law in the interest of the public?.

In 2002 Human Rights Watch named the Burmese government as the world?s leading recruiter of child soldiers.

The US report did note however that the regime had made ?significant efforts? with regards to tackling commercial sexual exploitation, although overall the government ?is not making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking?.

Reporting by Francis Wade

(DVB)?Burma has the world?s third largest population of stateless persons according to the UN refugee agency, while at the same time Burmese refugees were last year the main beneficiaries of UN resettlement programmes.

The issue of stateless persons in Burma was thrown into the spotlight earlier this year when around 1000 ethnic Muslim Rohingya refugees from western Burma washed up on Thailand?s shores, only to be towed back out to sea and set adrift by Thai authorities.

The incident shed light of the plight of the Rohingya, who are not recognized by the Burmese government and suffer frequent discrimination due to their lack of legal status.

In total, around 723,571 people are considered to be stateless in Burma, according to an annual Global Trends report released yesterday by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The report warned however that figures do not ?capture the full magnitude of the phenomenon of statelessness - a significant number of stateless people have not been identified and statistical data on statelessness is not yet available in many cases?.

Alongside the Rohingya, other ethnic groups such as Burmese Chinese, Burmese Indian and Panthay are not recognized by the government.

Burma is also home to over 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), the majority of which are in eastern Karen state, who have been forced out of their homes largely by fighting between the Burmese army and the Karen National Union.

No data was available for the total number of Burmese refugees living abroad, although Burma is thought to contribute the majority of the total 3.5 million stateless persons living in neighbouring Thailand.

That situation has been compounded by the exodus of around 4000 civilians from eastern Karen state in recent weeks who are fleeing a government offensive against the Karen National Union.

Furthermore, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Monday warned that even children with migrant status in Thailand were struggling to access education.

However around 23,200 Burmese benefited from UNHCR-facilitated resettlement programmes last year, the majority of these departing from Thailand. This, according to the report, was the world?s highest proportion.

Globally, however, the situation last year for refugees was bleak, with a total of 42 million people had been uprooted by conflict.

The UNHCR found that numbers of IDPs in the world was at an historical high of more than 28 million, catalysed latterly by the intensification in recent months of conflict in Pakistan?s Swat valley, which had forced some 2 million to leave their homes, and in Sri Lanka where 300,000 were held in intenrment camps following government offensives against the Tamil Tigers.

Reporting by Francis Wade

(DVB)?A pro-junta militia in Burma believed to be responsible for the burning of Karen villages and forced recruitment of civilians as troops has said it intends to make Karen state ?peaceful?.

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), who broke from the opposition Karen National Union (KNU) in 1994 and allied itself with the Burmese government, is involved in the current offensive against the KNU that has forced around 4000 civilians to flee to Thailand.

The clash began on 2 June. Yesterday two KNU battalion outposts were captured by the Burmese army, adding to the one captured on Sunday.

The KNU have said that the offensive is motivated by the looming 2010 elections, with the Burmese army keen to save face amidst mounting international criticism by proving it can effectively carry out difficult wet-season offensives.

"Our view is, they are carrying out offensives against the KNU for the 2010 election and trying to make the whole area the DKBA's border," said KNU secretary-general Naw Zipora Sein.

But a commander from the DKBA?s Battalion 999, Colonel San Pyone, said the offensive is an effort to pressure the KNU to hold peace talks again.

"It is not for the gain or loss. It is just a kind of pressure [to make the KNU] reinitiate peace [talks]?and an effort to create a situation so as we can live together again,? he said.

?And this kind of army [KNU] should not exist, I think. They will not exist in the future -we will try to make sure that they will not exist.

?We will make Karen state really peaceful."

In February the DKBA Battalion 999 reportedly raided and burned down a Karen village near the Burma-Thai border. Villagers said they were forced to flee into the jungle to escape the attack.

Some of the 4000 or so Karen who have arrived in Thailand in recent weeks have said they fled to escape forced recruitment by the DKBA into the Burmese army.

A spokesperson from the Karen Human Rights Group said that villagers near to the fighting were being forced to porter military supplies to the frontline, as well as acting as minesweepers.

?They have to go in front of the soldiers because for the attack, if you go in front of the soldiers then probably there are landmines and they will step on the landmines first,? said September Paw.

Reporting by Naw Noreen

(DVB)?An appeal for the readmittance of two witnesses disqualified from testifying in the defense of Burma?s Aung San Suu Kyi has been accepted by the Rangoon courtroom in which she is being tried.

Three of Suu Kyi?s four witnesses were initially disqualified by the court on unspecified reasons, although one was later readmitted.

The two remaining witnesses, U Win Tin and U Tin Oo, will likely hear the decision on Friday, according to one of Suu Kyi?s lawyers.

?We [four lawyers] admitted our appeal statement at the central court this morning and a decision to accept the case was passed around 2:30pm,? said Nyan Win.

?We are to go on to another stage; lawyers from both sides are to present argument in a court hearing, and after that we will find out whether the trial will accept our two witnesses back or not.?

The court is yet to decide on the date for the next appointment but, Nyan Win said, they would likely hear on Friday.

?We are happy with the court?s decision to accept our appeal. This is good news for us on the legal ground ? now we can hope for a chance for our witnesses.?

The courtroom allowed 14 prosecution witnesses to testify during the hearing, although five were abruptly dropped by the prosecution team.

Tin Oo, the vice-chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, of which Suu Kyi is the leader, is currently under house arrest.

U Win Tin, a former journalist and member of the NLD?s Central Executive Committee, was released last year after spending 19 years in prison, the longest spell that any political prisoner has served in Burma.

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Two Burmese women?s organizations in the Indo-Burmese border town of Moreh were forced to cancel a planned protest rally to be held on Friday after authorities pressured the officer who had issued permission for the rally to cancel the authorization.

The Kuki Women?s Human Rights Organisation (KWHRO) and the Women?s League of Burma (WLB) sought permission from the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Tengnoupal Subdivision of Moreh in India?s northeastern state of Manipur, bordering Burma, to hold a protest rally demanding the release of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on her 64th birthday on June 19.

Though the ADC gave permission, the women?s leaders said they were later persuaded by the ADC to cancel the plan.

?We already received permission on June 16. But this morning we were requested to cancel the plan,? Ngangai Haokip, a presidium board member of WLB told Mizzima.

She said the reasons for the request to cancel the plan were not officially declared, though the ADC had been pressured by his superiors to rescind the permission.

?The ADC was also pressured to ensure that we publish the cancellation of the program in the newspaper,? Ngangai added.

Earlier, the KWHRO, an ethnic Kuki women?s group working to promote the rights of women in Burma, and WLB, an umbrella Burmese women?s organization, planned to march through Moreh in protest against the continued detention of Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the current trial against her.

The program was planned as part of the global action for commemoration of the detained Burmese pro-democracy leader?s 64th birthday, on June 19. On Friday, Burmese activists and supporters across the world are set to hold prayer meetings, protest rallies, solidarity concerts and speeches in honor and solidarity with the Burmese democracy icon.

But Ngangai said the program in Moreh had been rescheduled to a simple and small cake-cutting ceremony to mark the occasion

Pressure from the ADC on the women?s groups to cancel their program came after the Imphal-based online Hueiyen News Service published a critical article on June 17 questioning the authority of the ADC to grant permission to protest to foreign organizations.

The article, entitled ?How can an ADC permit foreigners to hold protest rally at Moreh??, points out that allowing Burmese activists to protest in Moreh could provoke Burma?s military junta and eventually jeopardize diplomatic ties between India and Burma.

?With Moreh, being a town bordering Myanmar [Burma], any activity such as an open protest rally held there aimed at criticizing the ruling junta in Myanmar [Burma] is bound to certainly provoke the junta,? the article argued.

While it is still unknown who pressured the ADC to alter the original ruling, Ngangai speculated, ?Now the ADC is worrying for his life and position after having originally given permission.?

Meanwhile, observers in Moreh conjectured pressure by Manipuri militants on the behest of the Burmese military could be behind the reversal of fortunes, as several Manipuri armed groups, including the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), reportedly benefit from close relationships with the Burmese military, even maintaining bases on Burmese soil.

New Delhi (Mizzima News) -In a renewed crackdown on Burmese migrants, Mizoram authorities in India?s northeastern region have arrested over 100 Burmese nationals and ordered them to leave the state within 15 days.

Mizoram police as of Saturday began to crack down on Burmese nationals and arrested more than 100. They were produced in court in Aizawl, capital of the state, where they were made to pay a fine of Rupees 500 each and ordered to leave the state within 15 days.

?They arrested us and held us for a night in the police lock-up. The court told us that it would give 15 days to us to leave the country. It also warned us that if we are seen again we will be arrested and put in jail,? a Burmese weaver, who was also among the arrested, told Mizzima on Thursday.

The weaver said police raided their house and arrested all 12 Burmese weavers.

Explaining the court order he said they had to pay a fine of Rupees 500 each. Those who could not pay the fine were deported to the Burma border forthwith.

On Sunday, Mizoram authorities deported 15 Burmese to the Indo-Burma border for they could not pay the fine imposed by the court. However, the Burmese weaver and others were bailed out by their employers, who paid the fine for them.

?Yes, it is true that we have deported the Burmese. But there were only 15 of them. We deported them on Sunday. I cannot recall how many we have deported in the past,? Rozara, a police officer at the Aizawl police station, told Mizzima.

He said they had acted on the order of the court, which is also going through the legal steps following an order from the state government. He clarified that they had not targeted any particular section of the Burmese community.

According to the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO) office in Aizawl, the police have mainly targeted Burmese nationals trading in alcohol and drugs.

?As far as my understanding goes, the police have arrested mainly those who sell alcohol and drugs. The state government must have pressurized the police to do so,? Tehra, in-charge of the CHRO office in Aizawl, said.

But unlike Tehra?s view of the situation Burmese living in Aizawl believe that the police are making random arrests as several from the Burmese weaving community were also arrested along with others.

A Burmese weaver, Phoeni said ?Now the weavers are scared. It is not safe for them anymore,? he added.

According to him, there are an estimated 2,500 Burmese weavers working in various weaving houses in Aizawl town. Mizoram, which is contiguous to Chin state in western Burma, hosts more than 60,000 Burmese nationals.

This is not the first time that Burmese have been deported. In 2003, after a Burmese raped a minor girl, locals forcibly evicted several Burmese nationals from the state.

Sources said the influential Young Mizo Association (YMA), a youth organization in Mizoram, has been compiling a list of Burmese living in the state. However, the purpose of collecting the list of names is still not clear.

Local newspapers have highlighted the increasing number of Burmese nationals year after year and linked the increasing crime rate to the influx.

Most Burmese nationals find jobs in weaving, as gold-smiths, in construction sites, work as housemaids, farm hands and do other manual labour.

Mae Sot (Mizzima) ? Burma?s largest active ethnic rebel group has been forced to abandon its stronghold on the Burmese border with Thailand after weeks of fierce fighting with government troops and rival Karen guerrillas.

The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), will now resort to guerrilla tactics to fight the Burmese Army rather than waste lives trying to defend territorial bases in eastern Burma, KNLA Commander Jonny told reporters on Thursday.

"The withdrawal from our 7th Division base does not mean we are defeated. It is a tactical redeployment. We also do not want to kill our fellow Karens in this battle," he said.

But many analysts believe this may be the beginning of the end for the KNLA, which has been fighting for self-determination from the Burmese government for sixty years.

Nonetheless, KNU and KNLA leaders insist that the struggle is far from over. ?We will fight to the bitter end,? David Thackerbaw, a KNU spokesperson, told Mizzima. ?We have no option but to continue fighting. We must hold onto every strip of land."

?We know what is at stake. The Burmese Army will continue to commit human rights abuses, seize our land and control our natural resources if we don?t resist them,? he added.

In the past few weeks thousands of ethnic Karen villagers have been forced to flee across the border into Thailand as the Burmese Army stepped up its assault on the Karen rebels.

Fierce fighting and constant mortar fire close to the Thai border by the Burmese Army has thus far forced more than four thousand ethnic Karen villagers to flee for their safety, according to aid workers in the area.

More than two weeks ago the Burmese Army and a pro-government militia ? the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) ? launched a major attack along part of the border with Thailand in a last ditch effort to finally destroy the KNLA.

In the past few days the Burmese Army has increased its offensive against the KNU?s armed wing, targeting the KNLA's strongest outfit, the 7th Brigade.

For several weeks the 7th Brigade was able to hold their own against the all-out joint assault, though the strategic relationship appears now to have altered. ?If we cannot stand our ground, we will move away,? Thackerbaw emphasized. ?We will not let our troops die unnecessarily.?

More than 300 fresh DKBA were brought up from Pa?an, capital of Karen State, over the weekend, reinforcing the already 600-strong force fighting alongside the Burmese Army, according to Karen sources in Burma.

?They intend to use a pincer maneuver to dislodge the KNLA,? a Thai military intelligence officer told Mizzima on condition of anonymity. ?There are six Burmese Army battalions involved, with the two thousand Burmese troops split equally at the northern and southern ends of the 7th Brigade?s territory.?

?But it?s the 900-strong DKBA that will bear the brunt of the fighting as they lead the attack, with logistical support from the Burmese Army on either side,? he added.

The 7th Brigade is the KNLA's largest and best trained force. More critically it controls a long and strategically important stretch of land between the KNLA?s northern and southern forces.

Now that they are retreating the other two Karen strongholds are isolated and susceptible to being easily surrounded, according to military analysts in the region.

The KNU has been fighting for independence in the hills of eastern Burma and the world's longest running insurgency. They are one of a handful of rebel militias not to have signed a ceasefire agreement with the junta.

?There is no doubt that the junta, with the help of the DKBA, are going all-out to wrest control of the area along the border from the KNU,? Burmese academic and military specialist Win Min told Mizzima.

The renewed military campaign against the KNLA has been prompted by the regime?s planned elections next year and the proposed creation of a national border police force ? comprised of disarmed ethnic rebel armies having reached ceasefire agreements with the regime.

However, thus far most ethnic groups have rejected the junta?s plans, though the DKBA has agreed in principle to become a border police force.

In the area along the Thai border where the KNLA is active, the Burmese Army has closed some 30 of its 100 military camps in the last few months, in anticipation of the DKBA taking control of the area, according to the Free Burma Rangers, who operate inside the country.

?They want to eliminate the KNU now because we have called on all Karen to boycott the elections,? speculated Thackerbaw. ?The last thing they want is for other ethnic groups to follow our lead.?

Meanwhile, across the border in Burma many villagers are bracing themselves for further fighting and shelling, with the next few days likely to see the Burmese military substantially step up their operations, said a senior Thai military officer.

As the fighting continues more Karen refugees are certain to seek safety across the border in Thailand. So far refugees have fled from seven villages in the war zone, but there are more than 40 villages affected by the current fighting.

?If the fighting continues, at least 8,000 more villagers will have to escape across the border or die at the hands of the soldiers,? Zipporah Sein, General Secretary of the KNU, told Mizzima.

"Too much exercise," said Capt Maung Kyit Aye, laughing quietly and nodding.

When I asked him why he was so much thinner than two years ago when we had first met, he said, ?I'm getting old too."

Back then, he still had the occasional "luxury" of spending time with his family in Thailand. Now he spends most of his time on the Burmese side of the river in Karen State with his troops, fighting to hold back the increasing attacks by Burmese soldiers and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army against KNLA Battalion 21 of Brigade 7.

?I don?t know exactly when,? he said. ?But I will have to go back to the frontline soon.?

It was only a few days after we talked that the Burmese military opened a fierce offensive against the area controlled by Brigade 7. Battalion 21 headquarters was eventually lost, because it was defended only by a small number of KNLA soldiers and a few troops from the Arakan Liberation Army.

When I left Kyit Aye, he was studying a piece of paper filled with hundreds of radio frequencies which are alternated daily to avoid interception by the DKBA.

Strolling around the headquarters, I ran into an elderly Karen woman who had served as a midwife for a young Karen woman in child birth whom I had photographed two years ago.

The woman and her husband and their 2-year-old son were still alive, but I was told that if I visited them at their home, only a half hour boat ride from where we stood, I would need a heavy escort because the area was experiencing heavy mortar fire from enemy troops.

Asked about the deteriorating tactical situation, the Karen I spoke with answered proudly that the KNLA was still strong and capable of holding the Burmese in check.

?The Karen will never lose, because we will never give up the fight,? Kyit Aye said with a bright smile. ?If not this generation, the next generation will continue the fight until we have our freedom.?

After enjoying a special supper of freshly killed chicken, I rested on a wood floor, trying to get some sleep. As I closed my eyes, I heard a sound of a guitar and someone singing a slow ballad. I got up and followed the sound of a soft, cracking voice.

The musician was a young soldier in his early 20s, playing a battered acoustic guitar, with an M-16 rifle leaning against a post behind him. He smiled as I complimented him on his singing and said, ?Being a good soldier is better than being a good singer?.

Walking back to the shack in pitch-black darkness, I heard him quietly start the song again.

irrawaddy

A joint force of troops from the Burmese army and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a ceasefire militia group, has focused its offensive on the headquarters of Brigade 7 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), according to Karen sources.

In response, KNLA Brigade 7 has increased its mortar shelling of the joint force, said the sources.

The clash between the two armed groups has been intensifying around the KNLA Brigade 7 headquarters since early this week, with heavy shelling being carried out by both sides.

The joint force, which earlier vowed that it would take over the KNLA Brigade 7 headquarters by June 16, is still facing stiff resistance.

On June 17, fighting and mortar shelling continued for almost an entire day without interruption, according to Saw Steve, a relief worker who is also a leader of the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People, whose units operate in the fighting zone.

?KNLA Brigade 7 is not going to lose its headquarters easily,? he added.

The combined force has already taken over three military bases belonging to Battalions 21, 22 and 101 of KNLA Brigade 7.

Sources from the Karen Nation Union (KNU), the political wing of the KNLA, said that they allowed the three military bases to be captured because they did not want to kill fellow Karen soldiers who were fighting alongside Burmese troops.

The KNU claimed about 20 soldiers from the joint force were killed and about 50 were injured, while five KNLA soldiers were hospitalized in Mae Sot, a Thai border town.

Sources said that the fighting is expected to intensify further as KNLA Brigade 7 seeks to defend its headquarters.

The joint force started its offensive against KNLA Brigade 7 in the first week of June. Fierce fighting between the two sides since then has forced about 4,000 Karen refugees to flee to Thailand for safety.

The DKBA split from its mother organization, the KNU, and reached a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese regime in 1995.

The KNU has been fighting for autonomy for six decades and has never signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military government.

irrawaddy

MAE SOT ?Intense fighting along Burma?s border with Thailand forced more than 3,000 Karen villagers to flee their homes and livelihood for the safety of refugee camps in Thailand in May and June.

The decision to flee rests with the village leader?and it wasn?t an easy one.

?We are so sad to have left our village? said the leader of Ponyacho village, resting from his journey in a Thai monastery in Mae Salit. ?But we had to leave. Now the fighting is more dangerous than ever.?

He recalled that as he was struggling with the decision to abandon their village, the sound of mortar and machine gun fire echoed through the mountains, which have acted as a last line of defense for the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) for more than 60 years.

Hearing the nearby gunfire, he quickly made up his mind.

The village leader ordered people to pack up what they could carry and to leave immediately. Many of the village men had been conscripted as porters in earlier armed clashes, and they were unwilling to risk capture again.

?If we stayed, we would have been forced to be porters,? said a villager who had previously been forced to carry the bed of a Burmese commander through the jungle. ?The Burmese commanders want to live like kings, and they want us to live like animals.?

Villagers also feared the Burmese forces would need extra soldiers on the front line and they would eventually be forced to participate in the fighting.

?How can the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) expect me to fight for the Burmese army and kill my Karen brothers?? asked one angry villager.

In the past, villagers conscripted by the Burmese army have been used as human mine sweepers?forced to walk in front of Burmese soldiers to set off any potential land mines.

?One Burmese soldier used me as a human shield,? said one villager. ?As we advanced towards Karen soldiers, he hid behind me and held his gun over my shoulder. If anyone had fired at him, I would have surely died.?


Many of the fleeing villagers had been working hard on their farms and were waiting to enjoy their harvests. ?We had been waiting for the mangoes to be ripe for eating? said the leader. ?We?ve had to leave it all behind.?

Many of the Karen population retain their animist beliefs despite decades of Christian missionary work. As animists, every mountain, tree and river around a village has a name and spiritual presence.

?They have worshiped the spirits all their lives for protection? explained a Karen Youth Organization worker. ?Outside of their village area, they wouldn?t know the spirits as well and for people who believe that spirits can kill, this can be terrifying.?

Some villagers hiked through the jungle for three days, traveling slowly to avoid detonating land mines planted by both sides of the conflict.

?Even if we don?t detonate a mine we are still faced with the risk of catching malaria or being bitten by a snake,? said the village leader. ?When you travel with women and young babies, the decision to leave is not an easy one.?

When they finally arrived at the river, the refugees crossed over on boats belonging to the KNLA?s 7th Brigade into the Thai village of Mae Salit. On arrival, they spread out, locating and staying with Karen families who had settled in the area in previous years.

They arrived in torn and ragged clothing. The Karen Women?s Organization (KWO) told the recent arrivals to congregate at a local monastery, where they were given new clothes supplied by a foreign donor, and interviewed by members of various Karen organizations.

?There are so many mothers with young babies here,? said Blooming Night, joint secretary of the KWO. ?It?s not right that they should suffer in this way.?

For the children, this latest offensive will have long lasting affects on their lives. The school year had just started and all teaching material was left behind in the schools.

School children actually came under attack in Pa-an District, forcing 89 students and seven teachers to flee through the jungle. In the rush, they had no time to contact their parents. They travelled through the jungle, eventually arriving at Safe Haven Orphanage where nine children were diagnosed with malaria which they contracted on the journey.

None of the children have received information about their parents? whereabouts, or whether they are even alive.

?It?s very tragic. Most of the children?s parents have probably been taken as porters,? said Tasanee, the director of Safe Haven Orphanage, who goes by one name.

Tasanee?s mother established the orphanage in 1994 to look after children in the area who had been orphaned. Located near the Moei River, the orphanage is still close to the fighting and the sound of mortar fire often interrupts the children?s English lessons.

?When the mortars begin, the children stop singing,? said a volunteer English teacher. ?They just sit there glazed over and silently terrified. They know what the noises are, and they know what they mean. Sometimes they come and hug us but mostly they just retreat within themselves. It?s like they?re shell shocked.?

The mortar fire worsened on June 10 when four rounds landed in Mae Salit, only meters from the monastery where the villagers had received aid. One round landed near Mae Salit Luang School.

Many villagers were concerned the fighting would spill over onto Thai soil. The Karen Human Rights Group reported that a DKBA officer had sent a villager from the Ler Per Her area as a messenger to contact the recently arrived refugees. The messenger said the DKBA demanded 3,000 baht (US $100) per village to reimburse it for the cost of hiring porters to carry supplies during their offensive.

In response to the security concerns, Thai authorities have strengthened several checkpoints entering Mae Salit and army jeeps with armed soldiers patrol the main road.

Observers say the recent clashes are designed to allow the DKBA to secure its new role as a border guard force under the Burmese army, and the KHRG reported that DKBA officials are already referring to themselves as the Border Guard Force.

If the DKBA and Burmese army succeed in their mission to eliminate the KNLA from the border area, many Karen villagers will be displaced and the survivors will be forced into refugee camps for a long period of time, where they will be restricted.

Fully aware of the present dangers, the Karen villagers still managed to laugh and smile as they sat around the grounds of the Thai monastery.

?Our villagers feel lost and confused, but we are just happy to be away from the Burmese army?nothing can be as bad as living in a village under their control,? said the village leader.

?If I didn?t make the right decision, all our brothers and sisters would have perished in the village,? he said.

irrawaddy