Historically underdeveloped and divided, Burma today is politically isolated, increasingly militarised, economically mismanaged by its own authorities, and socially and culturally divided along ethnic, religious, and language lines. Following independence from Britain in 1948, parties representing the ethnic minority population have been struggling for greater autonomy from the central Burmese regime.

At least 8,885 villagers in 118 villages in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District have either exhausted their current food supplies or are expecting to do so prior to the October 2011 harvest. The 118 villages are located in nine village tracts, where attacks on civilians by Burma's state army, the Tatmadaw, have triggered wide scale and repeated displacement since 1997.

...although now there is sporadic fighting and shelling, but the Burma army is
strengthening its positions and
for the IDPs there is constant displacement. The Burma army is resupplying after two months of
airstrikes and ground assaults. On this mission the Burma army has been close all the time and have
built more camps and crept closer to Kachin positions and communities since we have been here. We
have reconed them in many places and they look well supplied, well fed, well

Executive Summary:
"The impact of decades of military repression on
the population of Burma has been devastating.
Hundreds of thousands of Burmese have been
displaced by the government�s suppression of
ethnic insurgencies and of the pro-democracy
movement. As government spending has concentrated
on military expenditures to maintain its
control, the once-vibrant Burmese economy has
been virtually destroyed. Funding for health and
education is negligible, leaving the population at

This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted by a KHRG researcher in May 2011 with a villager from Ler Doh Township, Nyaunglebin District. The researcher interviewed Naw Sa---, a 26-year-old villager who described human rights and humanitarian conditions in her village, in a mixed administration area under effective Tatmadaw control.

...While all-out street brawls might not be an everyday occurrence in Hlaing Tharyar, the township is awash with crime – everything from fistfights, robberies, rapes and extortion to assaults and home detentions by lenders against debtors.

A senior police officer from the Hlaing Tharyar Myoma Police Station said some of these cases are brought to the attention of police, but many others are “solved” by calling in local toughs who rely on intimidation.

There are currently more than 120,000 refugees living in Thailand. Refugees from Burma are also in refugee camps along the
Bangladeshi and Indian borders as well as working and living in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Malaysia. The line between
refugee and migrant is a thin one and there are also an estimated 1 million migrant workers living in Thailand who have fled from
their homes for many of the same reasons that official refugees have. (The topic of migrant workers from Burma is covered in

Abstract: "This
paper
draws
on
case
studies
of
Burmese
migrants
in
the
city
of
Chiang
Mai,
Thailand,
to
explore

concepts
and
theories
of
migration,
uneven
development
and
acculturation
in
which
migrants
engages

Mission Statement: "The Back Pack Health Worker Team (BPHWT) is an independent, nonprofit, multi-ethnic organization dedicated to providing primary health care to ethnic groups and vulnerable populations in armed conflict and rural areas of Burma, where access to healthcare is otherwise unavailable. Furthermore, by equipping communities with the skills and knowledge necessary to manage their own health issues, the Back Pack Health Worker Team is dedicated to the long-term, sustainable development of a healthy society in Burma.

Unofficial translation (by UNICEF)

Conclusion: "Most relevant reports and surveys I have been able to access state essentially that people from all parts of Burma leave home either in obedience to a direct relocation order from the military or civil authorities or as a result of a process whereby coercive measures imposed by the authorities play a major role in forcing down household incomes to the point where the family cannot survive. At this point, leaving home may seem to be the only option.

Finding Food in Fear/Living in Fear
Introduction for ‘one family’....

In February 2010, Burma Issues conducted a field trip inside Karen State to raise internally displaced persons’ (IDPs) awareness of the upcoming elections. While they were watching a video, the township where the IDPs were staying was attacked by the Burmese army. They had to flee into the jungle and our cameraman decided to follow.