News – Page 2 – Karenni Social Development Center

UNHCR runs a verification exercise in Karenni Camp 1

March 21, 2015 by karennisdc Comment Closed

This month, along the Thai-Burma border The United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) and The Thai Ministry of Interior (MOI) have been counting the citizens of the refugee camps and providing them with cards as part of a verification exercise. This exercise has been taking place in all nine refugee camps along the border. This includes the two Karenni Refugee Camps. The purpose of the exercise as stated by the UN was to verify the population of the camps. The data will be used to find ways to better coordinate humanitarian assistance. The verification exercise in Karenni Refugee Camp 1 took place over 2 weeks with various sections being called to meet and take part in the exercise. The in camp exercise had two main activities. The first activity involved collecting data on the refugee population within the camp. The second activity involved distribution of UN cards to the refugee population. The verification process included collecting retinal scans, photographs and fingerprints. This...

KCSN reports on Karenni State’s situation

February 15, 2015 by karennisdc Comment Closed

Recently, the Karenni Civil Society Network (KCSN) published an important report providing a number of updates on the current issues within Karenni State. The report titled “Where is genuine peace” focused on the issues of military expansion, natural resource extraction and land confiscation within Karenni State. These were in addition to the main focus of the report, the model village project in Shadaw Township, Karenni State. This ‘model village’ project has the aim of providing support for 10 villages in Shadaw Township near the Salween River. A spokesperson, Juha Peltonen, for Finland’s Development Minister Sirpa Paatero stated ““[T]he project has not encouraged IDPs to return. The project was initiated in support of the needs of IDPs who had already spontaneously returned.” KCSN asserts this project is being used to encourage refugees and IDPs to return prematurely. Organisations including K.N.P.P have criticized the project. One K.N.P.P leader has been quoted as saying ‘“I would like to tell INGOs that helping the villagers is good....

IDP rehabilitation in Karenni State

January 25, 2015 by karennisdc Comment Closed

By John Paul for Kantarawaddy Times. November 2014. Translated and edited by SDC students, staff and volunteers. In Karenni State, the government and KNPP have been implementing a project to establish a model village for rehabilitation of some Internally Displaced People. (IDPs). Khu Plu Reh, a coordinator of the KNPP liaison office in Loikaw said “ this program should have been finished in September 2013 but it has not yet been implemented. The project is still trying to be carried out due to difficulties including transportation.” The implementation of this project is a result of discussions between the ceasefire groups and the central government in November 2013. It is one of seven points of the ceasefire agreements. This project will be implemented on the eastern bank of the Salween, at Mae La Yu Chaw Soe, in Shadaw Township, Karenni State. “The future of this model village is uncertain because it depends on the ceasefire process. The Burmese government doesn’t yet have a plan to...

A short history of conflict in Karenni State

January 24, 2015 by karennisdc Comment Closed

The ethnic groups that comprise Karenni State have suffered from a long history of conflict. The ongoing ceasefire talks will hopefully bring forth a peace process and an end to this suffering, but this is not the first ceasefire in the 66 year conflict and Karenni people know, now, more than ever that their hopes of returning to their homeland can be easily dashed. The history of the Karenni provides context for the conflict and the current negotiations. The Karenni were previously granted independence in 1875, according to an agreement between the Burmese government and the British colonial administration. After World War II, the Karenni were invited to join the union of Burma but they refused citing their long history as an independent state. In 1947, the father of Burmese independence, General Aung San was assassinated. Following this, U Nu took power in Burma and he encouraged Karenni State to be written into the constitution as a constituent part of the union. After...

Solyaku village will require a demonstration if the SPDC don’t stop confiscating land

January 22, 2015 by karennisdc Comment Closed

By San Phyo Htun for Kantarawaddy Times. September 2014. Translated and edited by SDC students, staff and volunteers. In Solyaku village, Hpruso township, the Burmese Army’s 531st light infantry battalion have taken villager’s land. If the government cannot solve this problem, the villagers will demonstrate said Solyaku villager, Khu Htu Reh. “We are always looking at this situation. What will they say to us? How will they respond to our demands? What measures will they take? Finally, if they do not respond to us or do not take any measures, we will demonstrate.” Solyaku village is surrounded by mountains. There are only a few areas on the eastern side for growing plants. The local people rely on growing plants and using this land for agriculture. This land has now been confiscated by the military, so the local villagers do not have land to use for agriculture anymore. This issue has already been submitted to the officials according to Oo Sue Reh, a villager from Solyaku....

Is your resource looting making refugees afraid to return?

January 16, 2015 by karennisdc Comment Closed

By Sue Meh for Kantarawaddy Times. August 2014. Translated and edited by SDC students, staff and volunteers. For a long time, the eastern side of the Salween River had a lot of natural greenery, resources and animals. If there is a sustainable ceasefire and true peace, Karenni Refugees hope they can return to live there interdependent on the natural resources. But, their hope cannot materialise. The government and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) have signed and had a ceasefire agreement since 2012. During the last three years, there has been a lot of deforestation on the eastern side of the Salween River. Nobody can say if the ceasefire is stable enough for safe refugee repatriation. During the ceasefire period, some of the refugees have gone back to visit their old area. There is less forest than before. In Karenni Camp 1, there are 15,000 people. Khu Ee Reh said they are hopeful and excited to go back in Karenni State, but they...

5th Advanced Course Graduation Ceremony

January 6, 2015 by karennisdc Comment Closed

On 10th December 2014, we held a graduation ceremony for the students who have completed our 5th Advanced Community Management Training Course. This course is run in collaboration with our partner organisation, EarthRights. The graduation day was celebrated in a joint ceremony along with human rights day. Prior to the celebration, on the 9th December, we organised a variety of competitions. The competitions included sports such as volleyball and caneball. There was also poetry writing and singing. SDC students participated in the competitions alongside students from other schools within our community. During the graduation day, we held speeches from community leaders and gave out prizes to the students. After the ceremony, staff, guests and students enjoyed food and drinks together as our community celebrated their achievements. The 5th Advanced Community Management Training Course included the subjects of; campaigning and lobbying; community organisation and mobilisation; report writing; project planning; proposal writing; international law; sustainable development; office and organisation management ; and computer. The next...

Flash flood on 26th August

August 27, 2014 by karennisdc Comment Closed

FLASH FLOOD: On Wednesday 26th August 2014, one of our school campuses suffered serious damage and some classrooms were destroyed due to a flash flood in Karenni Refugee Camp 1. We also lost books, tables, chairs, 2 whiteboards, a video camera, a TV satellite dish and other useful materials. Education is a right but refugees in Karenni Refugee Camp 1 face many challenges to receive it. These challenges include security challenges due to the policies of the country they reside in: Thailand. They also include environmental challenges due to weather. During rainy reason flooding is always a risk but the recent flood was more serious than previous ones. The flood destroyed one classroom entirely. This has left students and teachers without a place to use for their lessons. This flash flood has also had a serious effect on many organisations within the camp as well as the day to day life of the over 12,000 refugees residing in the camp. Many of our...

A meeting with our donors, AJWS

August 10, 2014 by karennisdc Comment Closed

On August 5th, We met with our donors, American Jewish World Service, AJWS. This was a fantastic opportunity for us to discuss the progress of our project, our past achievements and our future plans. During the meeting, we focused on how to challenge the main issues in Karenni State such as land confiscation. We also spoke about the current political situation and how conducive to civil society it is. AJWS also used the opportunity of the visit as a chance to see our school in action. They spent some of the afternoon sitting in on one of our classes. We have attached a video below about the day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=480U_AowXXc ...

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