Articles

Refugee camp residents said the rising price of food items and shortages of food supplies in the camps because of COVID-19 restrictions is causing problems. Refugees told Karen News their situation will get more difficult the longer the epidemic continues and if travel restrictions remain. Naw Keh Paw, a resident of Umphiem Refugee camp said that since the delay of…

On July 27, 2021, more than 3,000 households were affected by floodwaters, especially those houses located near or on the banks of Thaung Yin (Moei) River. The Thaung Yin (Moei) River marks the international border between Burma and Thailand. With continuous rains, the water level in Thaung Yin (Moei) River has risen above dangerous level and continues to rise. More…

Nan Khin Lin, a pharmacy shop owner in Hpa-an said people facing Covid-19’s third wave, are worried pharmacies would close, so they started hoarding medicine. Added to people’s concerns are that drugs companies have also stopped their distribution, creating shortages of medicine. Speaking to Karen News, Nan Khin Lin said she was concerned by the effect both factors would have…

By Naw Eh Eh/Karen News Teachers at Htee Ther Leh High School in Maw Kee Village Tract of Kawkareik Township, Doo Pla Ya District in Karen State told Karen News these new challenges have placed enormous strain on school resources needed for the academic year 2021-2022. Htee Ther Leh School is located in the Eastern Dawna Range area and operates…

The Karen Department of Health and Welfare, a KNU department providing primary healthcare to Karen communities, has recently stepped up its responses to try to stop the spread of COVID-19 by setting up screening points and enforcing temporary lockdowns in at-risk areas in Karen State. The KDHW public health initiative was met with objections from the Karen State military administrative…

The reality behind the statistics is brutal. A health system that has been under-resourced and driven into the ground for decades by the military and who now lists doctors, nurses and health workers as targets for arrest. Humanitarian groups have reported there have been at least 200 attacks on health workers and facilities that have left at least 17 people…

The letter from the ethnic Karen women acknowledges Palmer may have been attempting to be funny, but criticized his execution and choice of subject. “It was most certainly offensive and not in the least amusing. He has trampled on the ethnicity and lived experience of women who are living under an oppressive military dictatorship.” Karen women and people of Myanmar…

By Naw Eh Eh/Karen News Officially known as Migrant Learning Centers (MLCs), the Burmese migrant schools in the Thai border province of Tak, are making preparation in the hope classes can be held in the academic year 2021-2022. In 2020-2021, the pandemic kept all migrant schools in the area closed during the academic year. Migrant education leaders are closely coordinating…

A Karen National Liberation Army spokesperson from its 5th Brigade said its records showed fighting since May had been on the increase. Lieutenant Colonel Saw Kler Doh said that with the increased number of clashes were higher death and wounded rates. Lieutenant Colonel Saw Kler Doh told Karen News since May until the end of June the KNLA had killed…

By Conor Phelan* KPSN filmed footage of villages destroyed by airstrikes – schools, buildings and houses have been flattened, with many homes riddled with bullet holes, caused by Burma military helicopters. The Burma Army released statements stating the airstrikes were a response to the Karen National Liberation Army’s (KNLA) seizure of a military outpost in the Mutraw district. According to…