Karenni Students Union
are largely displaced. Our home is in Karenni State, Burma, which shares its borders with Thailand.
Burma is ruled by a brutal military government called the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) and together with the other ethnic groups of Burma we have had a long ongoing conflict with them. SPDC pursues a policy of ethnic cleansing, and many of us are faced with persecution, abuse, forced labour (slavery), and forced relocation.
Many Karenni people have fled to the jungle as they have been driven out of their villages, or crossed the border to Thailand where we seek asylum in refugee camps.
The brutal SPDC carries out executions, rapes, forced portering for the military and torture without discrimination. While we are temporarily living a limbo refugee life, we have no security in the refugee camps in Thailand due to the constant threat of attack from Burmese forces and forced repatriation.
We receive limited support and basic food from NGOs. We have no rights of movement within Thailand and aren't allowed to work or earn a living.