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Orphaned by a devastating cyclone in 2008, thousands of
children in Myanmar (Burma) are engaged in a deadly game
of hide and seek with Burmese soldiers. Barnabas Fund, a
U.K. based interdenominational Christian aid agency,
estimates that up to 3,000 Karen villagers, including
orphaned children, have fled their mountain communities
in recent weeks due to renewed confrontations with the
Burmese military. “
The army attacks the mountain villages, shooting the
inhabitants as they run for their lives or capturing
them and giving them extremely heavy labour, literally
working them to death as ‘slaves’ and sometimes even
using them as human land mine sweepers,” a Barnabas Fund
spokesperson said. “
They then set fire to the villages or plant land mines
around the homes and in the bodies to kill anyone who
tries to return. Many of those who flee to the
surrounding jungle die there from snake bites, disease
or starvation.” Because the Burmese government was
unwilling to accept much foreign aid, the vulnerable
orphaned children have been left to fend for themselves.
Patrick Sookhdeo, international director of Barnabas
Fund, said the Karen people continue to face persecution
because of their ethnicity and Christian faith.
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