On the morning of July 10, our contacts in Thailand led Ani, Damien Rice and I under armed guard into a Burmese village across the border, where several hundred villagers who had fled from the Burmese military regime lived in rudimentary and unsanitary conditions. We were taken first to the village school, where around 80 young children and their parents had gathered to welcome us with songs. After a few songs from the children, Ani and Damien sang them "Amazing Grace" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (U2). Ani and Damien were the first professional musicians to visit the village (and the first to visit refugee camps along the border). We were told that people from the village were grateful for the visit because it gave them hope that people around the world have not forgotten them.

We were asked by village leaders to pose for a photo with all the school children (SA112). Damien had a polaroid camera and we took a photo just like this one for the kids. They got a huge kick out of seeing the polaroid (SA117) and huddled excitedly around it for a while!