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Imagine what it would be like to come home from work one day and find that all has changed. A few hundred yards from your house, you are stopped by a neighbor with a look of panic on his face. He whispers to you that you shouldn't go home; the army has just entered the village. Already, your family and neighbors have fled in fear of the treatment they might receive at the army's hands. You turn and follow him, realizing that you may never see your house, your possessions, or your village again. Or, imagine another common scenario in Burma. You come home from work and are met at your door by soldiers. They inform you that you and your family have one hour to gather your possessions and leave before they burn the village down. If you stay, you will be killed. These are the choices confronted by thousands of Burmese villagers every month.

The Burmese military and the regime have waged all-out offensives against particular ethnic minority groups in Burma, leading to their displacement and exile. In addition, the regime has cleared out hundreds if not thousands of villages to make way for large "development" projects that they claim will improve the quality of life in Burma. These activities results in an epidemic of displaced peoples and refugees. It is impossible to calculate how many people in Burma have been forced to leave their homes, either at the direction of the military or because they fear to stay. Those who flee seek temporary refuge in the jungle, or they go to other villages, which they may subsequently be forced to leave. In some cases, they make it as far as a second country, such as Thailand, Bangladesh, or India, where they may or may be not permitted to enter as refugees. The dangers they face along the way are formidable, and many of them will never make it to a safe place. Many who flee become ill from malaria, typhoid and other diseases; without medicine and treatment, they die. Others run the risk of meeting up with a group of Burmese soldiers in the forest who are less than friendly to the villagers. They must travel with their possessions in sacks on their backs or heads, carrying their children and elderly. They must forage for food, and withstand extraordinary heat and torrential rains. It may take days or weeks to reach a border area; once there, the displaced people may or may not be permitted to enter to safety. It is a shockingly difficult existence and, for the people of Burma, there is no end in sight.