After introductions and a few questions from the Karens, we were led down a trail through some rice paddies towards the river that marks the border in that area. As we neared the river, the rice paddies gave way to jungle and a little further down the trail we came across a squad of KNLA guerrillas in civilian clothing relaxing under a shady outcrop of rock. The shade of the jungle was a welcome relief from the dusty heat of the village, and the men here welcomed me with gestures and I sat down on a woven mat with Atheya.
After some discussion Atheya suggested that we go across to the burned out village and have a look around, an idea that concerned me because of the mines, not to mention the fact that we would have to swim across a fairly sizable river with my camera gear as the ferry had been taken out after the raid. This idea didn't seem to worry Atheya in the least, and when I voiced my reservations he just smiled at me and said: "you are a man aren't you?"
"We've cleared the mines," they assured me.
"Are you sure you got every single one?" I asked. I was skeptical.
Almost on cue an old soldier appeared on the trail who had lost his leg below the knee to a land mine. Many guerrillas lose limbs to mines, and amazingly many of them carry on fighting despite that. I of course, was anxious to change the subject and busied myself with photographing him and the soldiers who were relaxing and playing guitar. A few minutes later we heard an explosion from across the river. The radio squawked and Atheya translated; a water buffalo had stepped on a mine. After that even Atheya changed his mind about going across and we decided to set off for Mae Usu, the place where several thousand of the refugees from Mae La Puta were now camped while the authorities decided what to do with them.
We drove up to the site which was controlled by the Thai military, several thousand refugees were living under makeshift shelters and in a group of school buildings. Atheya warned me that no photographers or journalists were allowed to enter the area, but my camera was hidden in the bottom of an inconspicuous looking knapsack, and we managed to hook up with some Karens who worked for one of the NGO's giving medical treatment to the refugees. There were people camped everywhere, with little to protect them from the blazing hot sun and alternate downpour of rain that signaled the onset of the monsoon season. As we toured the area keeping out of sight of the army post, everywhere we looked there were people camped cooking rice out in the open, toilet facilities were hastily dug pits and the worst part of it was the uncertainty. The rainy season was fast approaching and the marginal shelters that people were able to find would soon be woefully inadequate.
When it came time to leave Atheya spoke to an old man standing nearby who concealed my film in his longyi in case the soldiers should become curious as we departed. He smiled and seemed amused to be in on the conspiracy. We left through the main gates and nodded at the bored looking soldiers, the officer manning the checkpoint never even bothered to look up at us.
