The Myanmar Mission

Along with his wife and children, David Eubank, who’s originally from Texas, lives in the jungles of the Karen state near the Thai-Burma border. The Karen people have been fighting the Burmese military for decades, in the world’s longest civil war. Since the military coup on the 1st of February, the Karen Nation Union has sided with a people’s uprising demanding democracy is restored, and has launched attacks on the military. The army has responded with bombings that have displaced tens of thousands of people. David has seen first-hand what has happened. Hundreds of young protesters have fled to ethnic areas, including into the area David is working in. His group, The Free Burma Rangers, has provided survival and medical training to some of these young people who want to continue fighting to restore democracy. He is also part of an underground railway helping to smuggle out politicians, artists and activists who are on the military’s wanted list. David takes us on a mission through the jungle to get aid to civilians caught up in the conflict Image: Sahale, the eldest child in the Eubank family, walks by a burning shack and opium field on a mission in northern Shan State of Myanmar. Credit: Free Burma Rangers