Violet is a Karen Burmese who
   has lived in refugee camps for
   most of her life. Having left
   Burma at the age of 6, she and
   her family moved to the Huay
   Kaloke camp on the Thai-Maynmar
   border to be with her father. When
   the camp was burnt to the ground
   by the Burmese military, her family
   had to pack up the few possessions
   they had left and move to a new camp,
   Umphiem Mai.

   There was not alot for the refugees
   to do in these camps so Violet jumped
   at the chance of becoming involved
   with the Karen Student Network Group
   (KSNG) when they first set up a
   community radio station in her camp.
   Although she'd harboured childhood
   dreams to go to university to study english,
   this experience would open up a whole
   different world to Violet.

   Violets radio work eventually lead to
   reporting work with the Burmese independent
   Media Agency Mizzima, before she went to
   work at a Burmese television station in Sydney,
   Australia and is now studying a post-graduate
   degree in Journalism at the Auckland University
   of Technology.

Political Hotspots September Issue