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Refugees from Burma are finding it difficult to stay, difficult to go home. In Thailand, funding cuts to refugee camps have left over 100,000 displaced people from Burma to choose between trying to survive in deteriorating conditions and returning to a country not ready to receive them. The refugees are spread throughout 9 camps perched on Thailand’s southwest border with…

Complaint letters received by Karen State parliament related to land issues dominated all other concerns over the 10-month period from January to October 2017. A government official responsible for receiving the complaint letters said that 54 complaint letters were received by the related government committee. U Saw Hla Myint, a Member of the Karen State Parliament and Chairperson of the…

Dr. Cynthia’s Mae Tao Clinic is struggling to keep helping patients as donors to the Thai-Burma border stop funding. Mae Tao Clinic is appealing for help as funding cuts from donors are impacting their operations. The Clinic provides free healthcare to the displaced and vulnerable people of Burma, including refugees and migrants along the Thai-Burma border. Mae Tao Clinic is…

The 62nd Annual Karen State Day ceremony opened in Hpa-An on 7 November. The event, which will run until 11 November, includes a fair with games and food vendors, Karen cultural displays, and various competitions such as traditional dance, badminton, boxing, and cane-ball. The event started with a speech by the Karen State Chief Minister Nan Khin Htwe Myint, in…

The Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW) is prepared to assist the Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) in a nationwide drive to vaccinate children against Japanese encephalitis, and even lead efforts in areas controlled by armed ethnic organizations. The ministry’s nationwide Japanese encephalitis vaccination drive, which aims to immunize 14 million children in Burma against the potentially deadly…

A Norwegian and a Thai company have joined with the Karen State Rubber Production Association to build a rubber refinery in the Hpa-an industrial zone. U Wing Hlaing Oo, head of the Karen State Agricultural Department said that the Norwegian’s Nyor Company, the Thai Southland Company, and the Karen State Rubber Production Association plan to invest in and build the…

Funding cuts to Burma related groups working on the Thai-Burma border have resulted in 20% salary reduction for health workers at Mae Tao Clinic. The Clinic has run a free service for migrant, refugee and people from Burma for 28 years. Mae Tao clinic’s deputy-managing director Naw Eh Ni said that starting from the 3rd of October, staff salaries will…

Hoping to bring relief displaced Karen people whose camp no longer has a source of funding, the Karen diaspora across the border in Thailand staged an emergency fundraising benefit over the weekend. Over 100 people attended the September 30 fundraiser in Mae Sot, which brought together artists, musicians, and Karen culture organizations. International donor funding for the Ei Tu Hta…

Despite appeals for emergency funding, a displaced persons camp in the northern Karen State has received no additional cash and anticipates its finances have dried up by the end of September, officials said. At the beginning of September, the Ei Tu Hta IDP Camp Supporting Committee submitted letters to international donors requesting that financial support be extended. The committee told…

Karen State is open for business and ready for investment to pave the way for development, participants at a recent “Business for Peace” forum heard. The state’s Minister of Planning, Finance and Municipal Affairs U Than Naing said the state is now stable and brimming with business prospects that the government, in collaboration with ethnic armed organizations, is eager to…