While I was in Chiang Mai I read a book, “Conflict” by Nelson Rand (his commentary is bland and unimaginative but his experiences and knowledge of history are very interesting). The book describes the little-known wars that have been going on in South East Asia for many decades. One such war is happening in Myanmar (or Burma to nearly everyone in the world not currently living in Myanmar). This war is being fought between the Burmese government and the many ethnic groups that are being persecuted and fighting for independence, specifically the Karen. The war has been going on since the current government took power, in 1962. That’s a 47 year old war happening right now! One of the consequences of this war is that it has created hundreds of thousands of refugees. These refugees flee Burma to Thailand. Refugee camps have been set up along the border to “temporarily” hold these people. The oldest and largest refugee camp is Mae La which is about 60kil from Mae Sot. Hence, why I am here. My goal is to visit Mae La.
Monday, August 24, 2009
I'm compelled to explain
Before I post anything else I must explain a few things. First, my intentions in coming to Mae Sot were twofold. I came to renew my visa by crossing the border and returning to Thailand. I made that quite obvious. But I came specifically to Mae Sot for another reason.
While I was in Chiang Mai I read a book, “Conflict” by Nelson Rand (his commentary is bland and unimaginative but his experiences and knowledge of history are very interesting). The book describes the little-known wars that have been going on in South East Asia for many decades. One such war is happening in Myanmar (or Burma to nearly everyone in the world not currently living in Myanmar). This war is being fought between the Burmese government and the many ethnic groups that are being persecuted and fighting for independence, specifically the Karen. The war has been going on since the current government took power, in 1962. That’s a 47 year old war happening right now! One of the consequences of this war is that it has created hundreds of thousands of refugees. These refugees flee Burma to Thailand. Refugee camps have been set up along the border to “temporarily” hold these people. The oldest and largest refugee camp is Mae La which is about 60kil from Mae Sot. Hence, why I am here. My goal is to visit Mae La.
While I was in Chiang Mai I read a book, “Conflict” by Nelson Rand (his commentary is bland and unimaginative but his experiences and knowledge of history are very interesting). The book describes the little-known wars that have been going on in South East Asia for many decades. One such war is happening in Myanmar (or Burma to nearly everyone in the world not currently living in Myanmar). This war is being fought between the Burmese government and the many ethnic groups that are being persecuted and fighting for independence, specifically the Karen. The war has been going on since the current government took power, in 1962. That’s a 47 year old war happening right now! One of the consequences of this war is that it has created hundreds of thousands of refugees. These refugees flee Burma to Thailand. Refugee camps have been set up along the border to “temporarily” hold these people. The oldest and largest refugee camp is Mae La which is about 60kil from Mae Sot. Hence, why I am here. My goal is to visit Mae La.
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