A Baptist World Alliance Human Rights Award winner has appealed to the Christian community for prayers for the suffering Myanmar (Burma) refugees.

Saw Simon, principal of the Kawthoolei Karen Baptist Bible School and College, and recipient of the 2000 Baptist World Alliance Human Rights Award, has requested: "Please pray for us. The fighting between the DKBA/SPDC troops and the KNLA, the Karen National Liberation Army, continues along the border, making people living in the camp to live in fear of possible attack."

The request came in the form of a letter sent to the BWA headquarters in Washington DC in the US.

Simon, who was recognised by the BWA in 2000 for his work in the refugee camps in northern Thailand and along the border with Myanmar, implored the world, "Please pray that God will intervene and enable us to live in peace and dignity as human beings created in His own image."

Myanmar, a country of more than 50 million, has been ruled by a military junta since 1962 during which time minority ethnic and religious groups have suffered persecution, the BWA reports.

One hundred and thirty two ethnic groups are in Myanmar, the Burman being the largest group with 68 per cent of the population. The country is 87 per cent Buddhist with a six per cent Christian population.

Among the more serious conflicts is that between government forces and the Karen National Liberation Army. KLNA, based in Karen State, has been fighting for an independent homeland, with an escalation in the fighting in recent times. Myanmar forces captured and occupied several KLNA bases on 10 April.

The fighting has affected refugees in Mae La camp, the base for Rev Simon, the Kawthoolei School and his ministry among the refugees.

"Refugees in the Mae La camp in Tak Province in Thailand fear that junta and splinter group soldiers will attack the camp. Some have already begun packing their belongings," Relief Web said on its website. Myanmar army shell fire has reportedly hit Thailand, close to some of the refugee camps.

Kawthoolei Karen Baptist Bible School and College offers general education to refugees and training to church leaders. Originally located in Rangoon, the country's former capital, until 1988 when the school was destroyed, Simon and his family fled across the Thai border and restarted the school again at the Mae La camp, one of the largest refugee camps housing displaced persons who fled the conflicts in Myanmar. It restarted with 32 students and has since grown in enrolment to more than 300.

BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz has appealed to Baptists worldwide to pray for those living in the refugee camps: "They are under constant threat and many of our brothers and sisters are living in fear every night of being attacked. We call upon the government of Burma to halt these attacks and request the Thai government to assure the safety of these refugees. There are more than 100,000 refugees living on the border area of Thailand. A significant number of them are Baptists. They need our prayers and support."

In the last ten years, more than 240 Baptist churches have been established in the refugee camps, the majority among the Karen.


For more information on the BWA, please visit: www.bwanet.org


[Source: BWA]