By Dr. Habib Siddiqui
In Karen State it is becoming increasingly difficult for Muslim villagers to survive in their villages. The constant forced labor and the fees that have to be paid to avoid the labor have left many of the villagers impoverished and starving. They do not have any time to farm their fields or to do other work to get money to buy food. Many villagers end up selling everything they have in order to buy food to eat and pay the forced labor fees. Even for non-Muslim villagers in Karen State the combination of forced labor, systematic extortion, and other abuses have made life almost impossible, so the added persecution which Muslim villagers face simply makes the burden unbearable. The Muslim villagers try to stay on in their villages for as long as they can, but once everything is sold and the food has run out, they are forced to flee to somewhere else.
Muslim villagers from DooplayaDistrict of Karen State who fled to Thailand after being systematically forced from their villages by SLORC troops in 1997. [KHRG]
A 'New Town' built on the outskirts of Rangoon where people have been forcibly relocated from central Rangoon. [Independent source]
Muslim villagers from Dooplaya District who fled their homes during military regime's 1997 Offensive. [KHRG]
Muslim villagers who fled to Thailand following military regime's 1997 Offensive in Dooplaya District. [KHRG]
Muslim children at their temporary roadside refugee camp in Thailand after they fled with their families from military regime's 1997 Offensive in Dooplaya District. [KHRG]
Muslim women in a temporary shelter they built after fleeing from military regime's troops in Dooplaya District in 1997. [KHRG]
October 3, 2006 at 3:14 pm
I congratulate to Sir Dr.Habib saddiqui for his very hard good works toward Burma minority muslim and other respected religious in Burma,from his good office in USA
that we has received a lot of article about Burma minority muslim and other too,especially for Karen muslim minority and Rohingya of Arakan state.
Therefor, I myself are highly appreciated to the Burma Digest group for your contribition to Burmese people in generally they are human rights situation.
The Burma should be a democratic country in near future and where there are
no more military junta and no dictatorship in country, that we are 50 milion inhibitants can lives in peace and hormony.
Thanks you
Mohamad Sayed