In the mountainous jungles of the Karen State in eastern Burma, a small village of fragile bamboo huts sits poised on the idyllic banks of the Moei river at the border with Thailand. But the reality is far from idyllic for this small village known as Ler Per Her. For it is more than just a village. It is a refugee camp for internally displaced people – people forced to flee for their lives from a brutal military regime that has been waging a war of genocide and systematic human rights abuses including rape, torture and forced labour against the Karen people for more than 60 years.

More than 1,200 people call Ler Per Her home. Many have found their way to the refuge of the village often having spent years on the run from the Burmese army, hiding in the jungles, constantly living in fear. But now the journey into the darkness starts once again for all those who had found temporary peace at Ler Per Her.

In early June 2009 the Burmese army stepped up its military offensive against the KNLA launching shells and mortar grenades into Ler Per Her and surrounding villages forcing thousands to flee over the border into Thailand. They are now left homeless once again with no food, no shelter, no healthcare and little hope.

The photographs in this photo story were taken during a recent secret trip to Ler Per Her in 2009 before the current attacks took place.

In memory of all those who have fled Ler Per Her - the victims of Burma’s ongoing bloody civil war who just want to go home.

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