"To Our Rohingya sisters, On this day commemorating the Rohingya genocide, the Karen Women’s Organization (KWO) wishes to express our solidarity for the pain and suffering Rohingya victims and their families have endured under militarized campaigns waged by the Burmese Army. KWO is all too familiar with the brutality of which the junta is capable of. Our communities have been devastated by scorched earth campaigns and a slow genocide of the Karen people for decades. The struggle of ethnic people is rooted in the military’s desire to preserve Bamar history and traditions. Their ruthless attempts to assimilate the population has come with destruction and force waged against the Karen, and other ethnic groups in the country. Our differences and diversity ought to be celebrated. But instead, the junta continues to attempt to aggressively eliminate our very existence. Women and girls in particular have been subjected to harrowing forms of gender-based violence and sexual assault. The Burmese military has long used rape as a weapon of war against ethnic women to intimidate, traumatize and silence their victims. These abuses weigh heavy, but they must not deter, distract nor disengage from our efforts to hold the Burmese military accountable. We are haunted by the junta’s unrelenting attacks which have taken loved ones from us too soon, and forced us to carry the weight of lives lost without justice. But we cannot let them win. We must be strong and carry on without fear. KWO offers our solidarity in the strongest possible forms and will fight for the day when our suffering is no longer in vain, and for long-lasting peace in Burma where we are all recognized as equals, regardless of our ethnicity, religion or gender. Until then, we are with you in our ongoing calls for justice..."