I would be remiss if I did not speak of the Karen people of Myanmar that we encountered on our weekend journey. The Myanmar government has decided to eradicate the Karen tribes of Myanmar. As a result, many have fled to Thailand and are living in refugee camps. Some have been there for as long as 15 years. We drove by one of the camps. About 10-15000 people live there. The housing is substandard, crowded and they rely on the Thai government for assistance. I don't know a lot of the details surrounding their plight, but I intend on finding out more, and also finding out what we can do to assist them. The pictures do not do justice to the acres of the camp that we saw.
We also visited a village where the "long neck" Karen's live and work. They survive by selling souvenirs to tourists and having their pictures taken with them. The long neck tradition is in part being perpetuated by tourists like us who visit their camps to "sightsee" the long neck Karens.
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