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Burma

Free Burma Rangers

Uprooted minorities, 50 years on the run

Mission inside Karen State, Burma

Fifty years of civil war against ethnic groups have left Burma one of the poorest countries in the world. The military regime attacks the ethnic minorities, killing thousands, and leaving separated families and millions displaced all around Burma.
The Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is a multi-ethnic humanitarian service movement that brings medical assistance in the war zones of Burma. The medical supplies, cameras, GPS, food and clothing get into Burma carried by porters as persecution and warship does not allow the building of roads or the use of vehicles. From the Burma side it is forbidden to foreigners, medical help, or merchandise, to enter the Karen territory.
The FBR training center, Kawthoolei camp, is located 30 miles from the border inside the war zone. It is used by the FBR from October to December to train people in medical assistance. Doctors from the US and Europe are coming to teach basic medicine principles for three weeks.
Participating in a FBR mission I stayed 3 weeks in Burma living in Karen villages, Kawthoolei camp and documented the life in Karen State.

8
Sep
2015

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Bwa Bwa sits in the empty school after the music class in the Leper Her refugee camp.
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Sweet Sweet and Slone take part in the medical training taught by John, the American doctor. Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is a multi-ethnic humanitarian service movement. They bring medical assistance and try to help people in the war zones of Burma. People from the KNLA (Karen National Liberation Army) as well as simple villagers get medical and assistance training. When the education is finished they form teams who are sent to the areas under attack to provide emergency medical care, shelter, food, clothing and human rights documentation. The teams also operate a communication and information network inside Burma that provides real time information from areas under attack. Together with other groups, the teams work to serve people in need.
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Thaw Htoo and his family live in a small hut in the refugee camp of Leper Her. They left their village when the Burma Army attacked them six months ago.
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Young boy watches his father clean a gun.
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Eh Kaw Htoo and Lah Ka Paw are soldiers of the Karen National Liberation Army. They are following the FBR team entering Burma for protection. Soldiers are very young, some are less than 15years old, most of them join the KNLA army after their village been attacted by the Burmese army.
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KNLA soldiers rest in the jungle before leaving for a mission. The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) is the military branch of the Karen National Union (KNU). At the time of Burma's independence from the British in 1948, there was considerable tension between the Karen community and Burma. Some Karens sought independence while others attempted co-existence within Burma. In early 1949, portions of a socialist political militia raised by the government went on a rampage in Karen civilian areas. The Burmese government then arrested the Karen leader of the armed forces and replaced him with radical Burmese anti-Karen nationalist Ne Win. This action led to civil war with some Karen units of the Burma Army coming over to the side of the Karen political leaders and others being imprisoned by the government.
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Man carries branches to built his hut in the IDP village of Leper Her in the Thai-Burma border.
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Porters rest during night walk. In some areas it is safer to move at night because of the Burmese Army. No road exists in the Karen State, food, medical stuff and luggage is carried by people.
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KNLA soldiers attend the FBR training for GPS and film making in Kawthoolei camp in the Karen area, 30 miles from the Thai Border. Most theory classes are taking place in the evening. The Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is a multi-ethnic humanitarian service movement. They bring medical assistance and try to help people in the war zones of Burma. People from the KNLA (Karen National Liberation Army) as well as simple villagers get medical and assistance training. When the education is finished they form teams who are sent to the areas under attack to provide emergency medical care, shelter, food, clothing and human rights documentation. The teams also operate a communication and information network inside Burma that provides real time information from areas under attack. Together with other groups, the teams work to serve people in need.
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Trainees take climbing,swimming and repelling lessons in the weekends. Survival techniques are necessary to participate in the relief teams that are going to follow the training. Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is a multi-ethnic humanitarian service movement. They bring medical assistance and try to help people in the war zones of Burma. People from the KNLA (Karen National Liberation Army) as well as simple villagers get medical and assistance training. When the education is finished they form teams who are sent to the areas under attack to provide emergency medical care, shelter, food, clothing and human rights documentation. The teams also operate a communication and information network inside Burma that provides real time information from areas under attack. Together with other groups, the teams work to serve people in need.
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