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“We can still take care of them,” he says, “but if the patient reaches a critical point, we will transfer them to the hospital in Mae La refugee camp, which is better than here.”

 

Access to education is also limited for IDPs. Despite the presence of a primary school in the camp, students lack textbooks, pencils and other educational materials—they even lack sufficient light to study at night. Nevertheless, the young Karen teachers are hopeful and enthusiastic, and the KNU education department has established a curriculum and examination system. “Whether or not the students continue their studies afterwards, the education they receive here provides the foundation for a better life in the future,” says 28-year-old Rainbow, who heads the school.

 

There may be hardships in Ler Per Her, but life across the border can be precarious.  The Burmese army continues to “target civilians in its war against ethnic insurgents, forcibly displacing large numbers of poor villagers,” New York-based Human Rights Watch has reported.

 

Traditionally, the Karen people—7 percent of Burma’s population and the second largest of Burma’s ethnic minorities—have lived a peacful life of cultivating rice and vegetables, hunting in the jungle and fishing in the streams to get supplementary food. However the continued aggression in Karen State by the army has prevented many Karen civilians from earning a living and compelled them to flee their villages. Their survival depends on their ability to hide safely in the jungle.

 

According to Phar The Tae, his family and 50 other Karen families moved frequently in the jungle until their arrival at Ler Per Her. “We had nothing to eat, but we didn’t want to meet the Burmese soldiers,” he said. “We were afraid of being conscripted as porters.”

 

Some displaced Karen have entered Thailand as refugees to avoid exploitation at the hands of Burmese soldiers. However, they are not always allowed to cross the border; and when they are allowed, the Thai authorities can only provide a short-term solution. “If there is fighting, they [Thai authorities] grant the civilians permission to cross the border. But when there is no fighting, they don’t,” said a local KNU commander.

 

The KNU has said that the resettlement of IDPs is a top priority. Since it reached a “gentlemen’s agreement” for a ceasefire with the junta in December 2003, “some parts of Karen State have begun to see less fighting and fewer incidents of human rights violations, such as extrajudicial executions and torture, than before,” says secretary of the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People, Saw Hla Henry. “But there is still widespread use of forced labor,” he adds.

 

Saw Hla Henry is also a member of the central executive committee of the KNU. Refering to the regime’s frequent accusation that the KNU is playing politics with refugees, Saw Hla Henry responds: “The KNU is working for the Karen people, so we are always with them.”

 

Nevertheless, IDPs in Ler Per Her, such as Phar The Tae, are obviously not armed Karen fighters. They are victims of Burma’s ongoing civil war. “The current situation is not clear yet,” said Phar The Tae. But he has not given up his dream of going home.