About 40% of Burma's population belongs to ethnic groups. The Karen are roughly 7% of Burmese population, approximately 50 million of people. Karen ethnic group lives primarily in southern and southeastern part of Burma, the most of them on Thai-Burmese border. Karen people are represented by Karen National Union (KNU), a political organisation with an armed wing, Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), that has been fighting the Burmese government since 1949 in the world longest ongoing conflict. In addition to the armed conflict against the Burmese dictatorship, for several years there have been internal clashes inside of Karen groups between Christians and Bhuddist. Only November 17, 2010, after 15 years of internal wars, the KNLA and the DKBA (Democratic Karen Bhuddist Army) soldiers celebrated the reunification. The union has been well accepted by all Karen community, because people from the same ethnic group have stopped fighting each other and joined forces to struggle against Burmese government. This can be a turning point in the war for the democracy in Burma. For Karen people, living in the conflict has become normal and the new generations do not know what it means to grow up without war. The rebels live with their family in the villages in the liberated areas in Burma, where human values are not respected and the only purpose of their existence is fighting for freedom.
About 40% of Burma's population belongs to ethnic groups. The Karen are roughly 7% of Burmese population, approximately 50 million of people. Karen ethnic group lives primarily in southern and southeastern part of Burma, the most of them on Thai-Burmese border. Karen people are represented by Karen National Union (KNU), a political organisation with an armed wing, Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), that has been fighting the Burmese government since 1949 in the world longest ongoing conflict.
In addition to the armed conflict against the Burmese dictatorship, for several years there have been internal clashes inside of Karen groups between Christians and Bhuddist. Only November 17, 2010, after 15 years of internal wars, the KNLA and the DKBA (Democratic Karen Bhuddist Army) soldiers celebrated the reunification.
The union has been well accepted by all Karen community, because people from the same ethnic group have stopped fighting each other and joined forces to struggle against Burmese government. This can be a turning point in the war for the democracy in Burma.
For Karen people, living in the conflict has become normal and the new generations do not know what it means to grow up without war. The rebels live with their family in the villages in the liberated areas in Burma, where human values are not respected and the only purpose of their existence is fighting for freedom.