The story in brief: The war in Burma (Myanmar) has displaced 3.5 million people, now living in IDP camps that receive little or no international support and remain targets of government airstrikes. The UN is fully aware of the crisis but, apart from issuing reports, has done nothing to help.
U.S. aid cuts had little impact on these people, since almost no international or government assistance was reaching them in the first place. Now it appears the international community will tolerate, and even legitimize, the junta’s planned election, which has barred pro-democracy and opposition parties. Donald Trump was right to criticize the UN as ineffective and to cut U.S. aid. However, targeted U.S. aid should be restarted, and a UN peacekeeping mission launched, to save lives.
On August 11, six families arrived at the Catholic church in Mese, Karenni State, Burma seeking food and assistance. They had endured a three-week ordeal through the jungle to escape fighting near their home village in Pekhon, where government forces and the allied Pa-O National Army (PNO) were killing civilians, seizing rice fields, and burning entire villages. This was part of an intensified government campaign to retake territory held by ethnic resistance forces ahead of a sham election the junta hopes to legitimize by claiming that a greater share of the population and the country’s territory are represented.
Hellbound and Down 