Twin Boys Head Karen Crusaders

		SPACIAL ATTRACTIONS
		Twin Boys Head Karen Crusaders Story and Photos by Thierry Falise A few months before March 1997, the Burmese army launched massive offensives in Tenasserim against the Karen and Mon villagers. Taking advantage of the construction of the gas pipe-line by Total and Unocal in the region as a convenient excuse to clear the jungle of troublesome minority populations, the junta set out once and for all to rid Burma of the KNLA, the last, and incidentally the world's oldest, armed guerilla in the country. The prospects for Karen forces, who had been fighting over 50 years for their autonomy, had never looked so bad. Discouraged guerilla groups fled into the jungle and helpless civilians tried to escape the terrorization of Burmese troops; their Christian God seemed to have forsaken them. During one of these Burmese raids, two boys displayed strange behavior. They did not run or scream. Instead, speaking "as adults," they asked for seven men, seven uniforms and seven weapons in order to attack a Burmese position. The mission was a success and a legend was born.
		The Kersay Doh or "Holy Mountain,"oddly sounding like a Karen mispronunciation of "Crusaders," was established and the twin boys became its head commanders. Today, the guerilla group claims to have around 500 men and launch about 70 operations a year, "most of them successfully.