“People cannot hear our voices. We need people to hear our voices and stand with us,” he said quietly and imploringly, eyes wide.
Saw William, a bible teacher at KKBSC in Mae La refugee camp, Mae Sot, Thailand, has not lost hope in the eight years he has lived there. Forced to flee his home in the Karen State in Burma when he was twelve years old, William hid in the jungle for several years. After three days and two nights of walking, he crossed the border and came to Mae La to study bible and eventually went on to become a teacher. All of his siblings have since been resettled to the United States and his parents are in the Karen State. When asked whether or not he would like to resettle, he said that if he resettled it would be only for his benefit. He wants to stay and help his people and eventually go back to the Karen State.
“Shout to Burma to stop genocide, stop prejudice, stop ethnic cleansing. We don’t want fighting. We don’t want war. We want to live in peace.”
