Faces of Reality

I spent several days in two refugee camps in the mountains. Nupo and Umpium camps are home to around 70,000 refugees fleeing from Burmese atrocities. They were a full few days, as I wandered around camp, met with local camp leaders, interviewed families and played social worker to complicated family and custody situations. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the story of these incredible people. Their pasts are dark, their futures uncertain, their present stagnant. But yet, life goes on - some semblance of life, anyway. They are unable to work, pursue education, their children are stateless, medical care is limited. They are hunted by their own country and not wanted by their country of asylum. All they want is to go home. But, with every day that goes by, that hope is crushed a little more. So... they sit. And wait. Get married, have babies, chew the beetlenut that stains their teeth, gossip about the neighbors, learn guitar, organize an afternoon game of football, and wait. Wait for the international community to care. For some country to stand up for their rights. Wait for the day when they can return to their homes and gardens in peace. Wait to have some sense of agency over their own lives. Wait for the day when their children don't live in fear.

Umpium Camp

Umpium Camp hospital