The Karen News | "Stop the Fighting.. We Want to go Home" - English version

Stop the Fighting We Want to go Home

It is now over two months since displaced villagers from the Lay Kay Kaw area south of Myawaddy in Karen State,
took refuge under makeshift shelters along the Thai-Burma border.
They now want to return home, but want the fighting to stop first.

Due to the Burma Army attacks, including airstrikes in the Lay Kay Kaw areas since mid-December 2021, more than 10,000 people fled for their safety to the Thai-Burma border. Despite military tensions easing in recent days, the majority of displaced villagers are still unable to return to their villages. They are still living in basic temporary shelters set up along the Thaung Yin (Moei) River banks on the Thai-Burma border.

The displaced villagers have been living in poor condition for over two months, and are now facing more problems - inadequate shelter, basic food rations, and health issues. Mothers with infants, elderly people, and people with disabilities are struggling to live in harsh conditions.

Naw Khu
“
My child was not even a month old when we had to flee here.
Now we are still here.
When it rained, we didn’t have enough shelter from the rain,
so I had to hold my baby and just sit. She cried a lot.
Even when I tried to give breast milk, she kept crying."