Attrition of the Mind

At a time when Burma’s capital is swelling with new economic investment and the influx of foreign diplomats, and the formerly imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate - Aung San Suu Kyi - now occupies a seat in parliament, a war of attrition rages in the jungle. A 17-year cease fire was shattered when fighting broke out on 9 June 2011, expanding the civil war in Burma to include the country's northern Kachin State. Despite the armed side of the conflict being officially between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army, civilians residing in the active fighting areas face equal or greater risk of casualty. Attrition of the Mind examines the psychological effects suffered by people displaced in this recent conflict.

Criminal and abusive tactics have long been employed by the Burma Army against civilian populations, ranging from grizzly acts of intentional barbarism to human shielding and forced displacement. The threat and alleged use of chemical weapons by the Burma Army strikes fear into defenseless populations. The continual, reckless sowing of landmines by both armies party to the conflict ensure hostilities and paranoia for generations of civilians, even in the absence of soldiers. Human Rights Watch estimates as many as 75,000 Kachin have been displaced to date, having fled to temporary camps in Kachin controlled territory and neighboring China. Because international humanitarian access to these areas continues to be restricted by both Burma and China governments, living conditions are desperate and only further declining as the cold season gives way to the wet season. Fear, depression, isolation and idleness dominate the minds of refugees, serving to additionally deteriorate the sustainability and survivability of longterm displacement.