Thank you. It is an honour for me to be here today.
My name is Slone Phan. I was born in Karen State, Burma.
When I was 12, my village was attacked by the Burmese military, which is the same military that attacked other ethnic minorities in Burma, including the Rohingya. I fled my village. I fled to the jungle for many months. I had no safe place to run in Burma, in Karen State. Finally, my parents took us to Thailand. We crossed to Thailand illegally. Fortunately, Thai authorities didn't kill us. They let us in and we survived in refugee camps for nine years. Basically, I grew up in refugee camps in Thailand. In 2004, I came to Canada with the student refugee sponsorship program run by WUSC, the World University Service of Canada.
When I came here, I joined the Karen community of Canada, to represent the Karen people in Canada. We try to raise awareness about the Karen people's suffering and the human rights violations in Burma. We stand in solidarity with the Rohingya people, who are facing the same brutal treatment that the Karen people have suffered for more than seven decades.
The horrific attacks against the Rohingya are not isolated incidents, but rather exemplify the ongoing patterns of military violence in Burma. The Kachin State and northern Shan State also face escalated attacks and probably war crimes, including obstruction of humanitarian aid by the military and the central government.
From 1949 to 2012, our homeland of Karen State was ravaged by nearly continuous armed conflict and widespread atrocities. The Burmese military violations of the 2015 nationwide ceasefire agreement now threaten to plunge Karen State into renewed civil war.
The ceasefire area has seen a marked increase in land confiscations and development-related displacement. Recently passed legislation could make the problem much worse. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Karen refugees and internally displaced persons face severe cuts in international aid.
The complex and shifting situation in Burma requires a comprehensive response to ensure that Canadian policy continues to uphold human rights and support peace-building efforts in Karen State, and by extension in Burma as a whole.
Thank you.