Meeting the Karen People in Burma

As is common with Dave Eubank, we were running late. We were supposed to have several hours of daylight to spend with the Karen tribe at their idp camp, but instead it was mid-afternoon by the time we arrived at the church where we unloaded our luggage and regrouped.

This young man was to be our guide into Burma. Basically we drove down a dirt road that eventually crossed into Burma. We didn't evade the border officials, we just went through the "back door". If they REALLY wanted to patrol the area, they could.

This is Dave and Doh Say (not the white haired guy in back - that's some Canadian). Doh Say is a Free Burma Ranger and is basically in charge of Good Life Club - which is like a mobile VBS that goes from idp camp to idp camp, presenting the gospel and teaching kids about health and nutrition.

This is how the girls traveled into Burma - standing up in the back of this truck. I wish you could have heard them. They were having the time of their lives - laughing, singing and enjoying some freedom from rules and regulations. Right now I'm imagining the joy I could hear and it makes me smile. I called it their Free Burma Ranger Jungle ride - better than any Disney experience!

It only took about 25 minutes to arrive at the outskirts of the idp camp. We were an entourage of 5 trucks - filled with people, gifts and supplies.

The four kids standing in front of the village church. I failed to mention earlier that Karen and Sahalie Eubank (Dave's wife and oldest daughter) didn't come with us on this trip. As part of their visa paperwork, Karen has to teach 2 months a year at a school in Chiang Mai. This is part of the reason they were around for us to visit. Normally all 3 Eubank kids are homeschooled, but during their 2 months in Chiang Mai, the kids attend an international school Sahalie had several activities she didn't want to miss, so she stayed home with Karen.

These "vehicles" were quite interesting and we saw several in the back country of Thailand and Burma. They are powered by a generator and several people can fit on the platform in back. They move pretty slowly, but as their only means of transportation, it's efficient enough.

There used to be around 1000 people who lived at this idp camp just a couple years ago. The last time Dave visited (probably a year ago), there were 600. We didn't know how many people would be there - in fact, Dave thought we might even outnumber them. But there were around 70 people still living here.

There is a current cease fire in Burma (but this doesn't mean there isn't any fighting...) and several families have moved back home to their original villages. This camp had electricity from generators, but no source of running water.

You can see the sun was setting by the time we arrived...

If you look carefully, you will notice some of the traditional clothing worn by the Karen people. These white tops with red trim are the trademark design of the Karen.

When we first arrived someone spotted this elephant up on the hill. Do you see it? Someone was riding it.

I found the homes to be fascinating - largely constructed from bamboo.

Because we arrived so late, we tried to get started with our "program" right away. Basically we were going to present a mini Good Life Club. Dave is introducing us to this idp camp's pastor, who is also a Free Burma Ranger. Dave is not a big man, but look how much smaller this man is...

group picture of us and them..

Each visitor had the opportunity to introduce themselves and share whatever was on their heart with the people.  Doh Say translated for us.

I was hanging out in the back and found these boys to be so cute. I would take a photo, then show them and they would laugh and point at one another.

Suuzanne caught a goat and the girls took turns sitting on it. I had hoped we could ride an elephant in Thailand, but I guess riding a goat will have to suffice.

Eventually we got around to handing out gifts. Karen Eubank had put together gifts for each family, gifts for the children, gifts for babies and more. Somehow Sydney got put in charge of actually handing them out. It was fun to watch her interact with these people.

Someone had donated some kids clothes and men's clothes so we also handed those out. Syd, Suu and Kay were in charge of handing out clothes to the kids.

I was put in charge of handing out the other clothes. It was amazing to see how quickly they were grabbed up - and how appreciative the people were for the clothes. It made me wish I had brought some of my clothes with me to give away.

Kevin was feeling the same thing and decided to give away his beloved knife to this FBR soldier. (another small person!) The only other thing we had with us was our headlamps, so Syd and Kay found two young women to pass those on to.

One of the guys from Alaska (another group joined us for this part - it seemed random people kept joining us along the journey) led the kids in a hand print / painting project. Here they are with black hands.

And finally, before we left, Dave and Doh Say had all the kids (and some adults) doing push ups!

This was such a short part of the trip, yet one of the main reasons we went in the first place. I would loved to have stayed among these people longer. They had all sorts of soft drinks and watermelon and yummy cooked meat for us before we left. They were so gracious and hospitable.

Even though our time was short - and getting there and back was long (20 hours of driving) - it was probably the highlight of the trip for me. These people, and so many others of different tribes, have suffered so much oppression in the past 60 years. This is why FBR exists.

Here are a couple maps I snapped photos of in Dave's office that show where the oppressed people of Burma live. FBR also works heavily with the Kachin and Shan people and have to enter Burma through China which is a lot riskier.

Kayin is the same as Karen.... the red is marking known mine hazards

I'll leave you with a couple videos of some of the Karen people singing to us....