In the early 1990s, when the UNHCR initially established Karenni refugee camps near the Thai-Burma border, the aim was to provide temporary shelter for war-displaced Karenni people, before peace and stability were restored in Burma, so that they could return to their homeland -- the Karenni State.
 
Since then, under the protection of the UNHCR, Karenni refugees have been living in these camps, hoping to eventually return home.
 
Nearly two decades later, the goal of returning home to Karenni state, remains a dream.
 
Laced to the pessimism, is the current Burmese military regime’s attitude of unwillingness to negotiate with opposition parties, compromise with the international community and implement any meaningful political changes. Instead, the regime is more determined to cling to power than ever before by unilaterally holding a referendum in the midst of Cyclone Nargis and proposing elections for 2010.
 
With the aid from UNHCR, more than half of the 21,000 Karenni refugees have applied for resettlement. Thus, for the majority of the Karenni people, the hope of going home is rapidly turning into a myth.
 
The question now is what the future will hold for the Karenni people? Will they be happy in their new countries? Will half of the resettled refugees ever return home? Will there ever be peace in Burma? The shortest and honest answer is---no one knows.
 
However, looking beyond the simple answer—the future of the Karenni people to return home looks rather bleak and is riddled with many uncertainties. The best outcome that the Karenni people and their leaders can hope for is--- the rapid change in the political mosaic of Burma, so that the resettled Karenni communities abroad, can come back and contribute to the rebuilding process of a future Karenni state.
 
It is hoped that the majority of the resettled Karenni, particularly the youths will take up the precious opportunities in their respective host countries, focusing on acquiring knowledge and professional skills by going to school and attending universities, to integrate successfully to the new cultures and countries while maintaining their ethnicity.
 
In order to realize this goal, the Karenni people should learn from the various resettled communities, which have settled in countries like USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and many other countries. For instance, the Karenni people should learn from communities that are relatively successful at integrating into their new societies, while maintaining their cultures.
 
It will not be an easy task. However, it is not impossible as it has been demonstrated by resettled communities like Hmong, Vietnamese and many others.
 
It seems important that the Karenni leaders should find a way to maintain relationships with resettled Karenni communities abroad.
 
Perhaps, it could set up a committee that oversees the flow of information, between the Karenni communities abroad and the Karenni community in the border area.
 
Similarly, each respective Karenni community abroad could also set up an organization of their own to work together for the well-being of Karenni people as a whole.
 
 For instance, a community member could provide an informal consultation and counselling, interpretation support and other formal paperwork. In addition, several important issues like employment and education related information could also be shared among members.
 
According to the experience of previous resettled communities in North America, such as Vietnamese, Laos, Hmong and many others, the role of the local ethnic community was very influential in facilitating the successful integration of the newcomers into North American societies.
 
It remains to be seen how the future Karenni generation will cope with the dilemma; the issue of survival in their new societies versus the myth of returning to their homeland, the Karenni state.
 
Currently, all one can do is, wait and hope for the best. Perhaps, wish and hope that peace comes to Burma soon, so that the hope of returning home is restored. Who can guarantee that Burma will not witness change soon? Anything is possible in the future for Burma and for the Karenni people.