Published TUESDAY April 2, 2024: 'FREE BURMA Rangers' by ZUMA Partner agency Le Pictorium photo-journalist Chris Huby: For 25 years, former Special Forces officer Dave Eubank has been dodging bullets to bring humanitarian aid to rebels and civilians in Burma's ongoing civil conflict. Critics say he blurs the lines between combat and relief work, while spreading he word of God. It is a forgotten war that has lasted for decades. In the east of Burma, along the border with Thailand, in a vast region like Belgium, the Karen populations have been fighting since 1948 against a central power which disregards the rights of ethnic minorities with unbearable brutality. Eubank, a solid Texan conservative continues his lobbying of the American Congress to support the Karen rebellion. In 2017, Eubank and his comrades took part in battles against ISIS in northern Iraq. Today, FBR has mobilized in response ''to the call of God'', the Free Burma Rangers give themselves the mission of ''liberating the oppressed''.
© zReportage.com Issue #933 Story of the Week: Published TUESDAY April 2, 2024: 'FREE BURMA Rangers' by ZUMA Partner agency Le Pictorium photo-journalist Chris Huby: For 25 years, former Special Forces officer Dave Eubank has been dodging bullets to bring humanitarian aid to rebels and civilians in Burma's ongoing civil conflict. Critics say he blurs the lines between combat and relief work, while spreading he word of God. It is a forgotten war that has lasted for decades. In the east of Burma, along the border with Thailand, in a vast region like Belgium, the Karen populations have been fighting since 1948 against a central power which disregards the rights of ethnic minorities with unbearable brutality. Eubank, a solid Texan conservative continues his lobbying of the American Congress to support the Karen rebellion. In 2017, Eubank and his comrades took part in battles against ISIS in northern Iraq. Today, FBR has mobilized in response ''to the call of God'', the Free Burma Rangers give themselves the mission of ''liberating the oppressed''.
After 4 months of intensive training new Free Burma Rangers (FBR) recruits celebrate at the Free Burma Rangers military camp. Among the required exercises, knowing how to spot and neutralize antipersonnel mines. Scattered throughout rebel regions, they kill 500 people each year in Burma and mutilate many more.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Training with 'dummy' weapons made from wood and bamboo at the Free Burma Rangers camp the day before new recruits graduation. They have just completed 4 months of intensive basic military training.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
For 25 years, former Special Forces officer DAVE EUBANK has been dodging bullets to bring humanitarian aid to Karen rebels and civilians in Burma's ongoing civil conflict with there ruling Juinta. Critics say he blurs the lines between combat and relief work, while spreading the word of God.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Geared up, armed and ready, Free Burma Rangers prepare for an early morning patrol. The Free Burma Rangers provide services of all kinds to the populations of displaced villages.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
A young female recruit on the ropes at the training area for swimming and river crossing at the Free Burma Rangers military camp.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Free Burma Rangers prepare for an early morning patrol. The Free Burma Rangers provide services of all kinds to the populations of displaced villages.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
In order to prepare to face all the dangers, no fewer than 264 rangers, aged 18 to 25, undergo rigorous training at the Free Burma Rangers Camp. They follow a strict exercise regime to survive in extreme conditions.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
A member of the Free Burma Rangers is baptized into the christian faith by the resident FBR priest on Sunday at the military camp.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
FBR founder Dave Eubanks daughter plays guitar for the troops at the Free Burma Rangers camp, during the official FBR graduation day. After 4 months' training the recruits are graduating after their 2nd mission and have volunteered for a total of 4 years.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
At the end of their graduation ceremony, the new FBRs get the children and adults of displaced persons to run together with flags from all over the world, as a sign of universal support. Music, dances, theatrical performances provide a temporary distraction to populations traumatized by the bombings and the exodus in their own country. This festive interlude ends with a race where the colors of the countries from which the aid comes are raised high.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
A happy day at the military camp, as Eubank presides during a wedding for two young members of the Karen community. The Free Burma Rangers provide services of all kinds to the populations of displaced villages.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
A child whose face is covered with 'thanaka,' a traditional protective cream which also serves as makeup. The FBR shelter hundreds of displaced people in hidden, secure locations, just a few kilometers from the front line and the Burmese army. These people are homeless, many are wounded. the FBR treat them and distribute food and money.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Free Burma Rangers members prepare a breakfast of fresh fish at their camp. The Rangers provide services of all kinds to the populations of displaced Karen villages.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
FBR distributes food to displaced populations including many children. Poor and far from cities, the displaced do not have access to public health establishments. Faced with the spread of infections and epidemics such as tuberculosis, volunteer doctors intervene urgently, providing care and medication.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
In its repressive operations, the Burmese military junta particularly targets religious buildings. Around a hundred of them were reportedly destroyed or vandalized in areas inhabited by the Karens. Burma, with a very large Buddhist majority, has only 6 percent Christians.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Free Burma Rangers patrol near two churches that have been destroyed in this now abandoned village. Churches have always been targeted by the Burmese regime.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
At a secure point on the plain, displaced people from the surrounding villages come to meet the FBR. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced in the country since the upsurge in fighting in 2021. Many of them have found refuge in the heart of the jungle or reached Thailand.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
Poor and far from cities, the displaced do not have access to public health establishments. Faced with the spread of infections and epidemics such as tuberculosis, volunteer FBR doctors intervene urgently, providing care and medication.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
A patient who stepped on a landmine is receiving emergency surgery at a field hospital which is allied to the FBR, and treats serious war cases.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
A Karen woman sits in a room and waits for treatment at field hospital, allied to the FBR, which treats the most serious cases of the war against the junta.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
DAVID EUBANK in prayer before his young Free Burma Rangers. Son of missionaries, Eubank, a former American special forces officer, is the founder of the Free Burma Rangers. Its credo: ''Respond to God's call to liberate the oppressed'' and provide aid to minorities. His wife and children sometimes follow him into the field.
© Chris Huby/Le Pictorium Agency via ZUMA Press
