It's 40 years since the last Japanese soldiers surrendered, yet the Karen, Britain's wartime allies, are still fighting in the hills and jungles of Burma. Loyal servants of the Raj, the Karen felt betrayed by the hasty British withdrawal from Burma in 1948 which left power with the Burmese, the traditional enemies of the Karen, and denied them their autonomy. Since then, unrecognised by any nation, they've run their own state, Kawthoolei. They have their own government, they run their own schools and their own army. They are determined to resist Burmese rule. Stories abound of atrocities by the Burmese army. Many thousands of Karen have fled across the border to Thailand, to face rejection and disease. Every year they lose more ground, and their chances of success in their fight diminish further. So what is it that sustains the Karen in their seemingly hopeless struggle?