Kayan Giraffe Women trapped in Thailand by tourist trade
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Mu Lon was born into war, grew up in poverty and deprivation, and so the
offer, when it came, was like the chance for a second life.
She is Burmese, one of hundreds of thousands of people to have fled the
58-year-long civil war for exile in neighbouring Thailand. From the age of 5
she had lived as a stateless refugee, without hope or prospects. Then came
an undreamt of opportunity %26mdash; a fresh start in New Zealand, with education,
housing, full citizenship and, above all, peace.
The medical certificates were issued, the formal invitation was delivered, and
in 2006 Mu Lon and her sister were all ready to travel to their new home.
But two years later, as hundreds of thousands of fellow Burmese have left
before them, they remain stuck.
The reason for their plight is not religion, politics or the colour of their
skins but something altogether more unexpected: their necks.
