Friday, January 14, 2011

Partners Blog: "Par's Story"

Steve and Oddny Gumaer started Partners Relief & Development in response to the needs of refugees and displaced people from Burma. This blog is meant to be a more personal stream of conversation than newsletters allow for. The opinions expressed here may not be those of Partners Relief & Development.

Par's Story

"Par is a lady in her early fifties from Shan State, Burma. When I first met her she seemed to be an odd fit in a group of young people mainly in their twenties. She has a twinkle and strength in her eyes and when she talks, she talks like one with wisdom gained through personal experience.

This is her story, and one that I am sure would be repeated throughout Shan State.

Shan State is a part of what used to be known as the Golden Triangle an area infamous for it’s drug trade, but while other countries like Thailand have worked hard to rid themselves of this reputation, Burma continues to produce and use huge amounts of drugs. The money earned from this is pocketed by local drug lords and even the Burma Army itself. Burma has the inauspicious honor of being rated only behind Afghanistan as the second largest producer of Opium in the world."
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