Reunited 'God's Army' twins in search of a normal life
As child soldiers, brothers once felt invincible in jungle fighting, now they are glad to be alive and hope to rejoin family
When they were children, Johnny and Luther Htoo were bulletproof and invulnerable to land mines - or so went the story that briefly made them famous as hundreds of guerillas followed and worshipped them in the jungles of Myanmar.
Today, well over a decade later, their "God's Army" is no more, and the twins' greatest accomplishment may be that both are still alive.
Luther lives in Sweden. Johnny remains at an unofficial refugee camp inside Thailand, not far from where the brothers were sent after they surrendered to Thai authorities in 2001. Now 25, Johnny has hopes of reuniting with family who are now living in New Zealand, and Luther has questions about their former comrades that may never be answered.
Members of their Karen ethnic group, who have long sought autonomy in Myanmar, have laid down their arms since a military dictatorship gave way to a nominally civilian government in 2011. Last month, during his first trip back to Thailand since leaving for Sweden in 2009, Luther said he would fight only if his people were hurt again.
The legend of the twins began to form in 1997, when Myanmar troops entered their village during a sweep of Karen territory. At the time, the rebel Karen National Union was in sharp decline.
They dubbed themselves God's Army. The boys were rambunctious, but strict discipline was maintained, as well as a rigorous Christian routine. There was no liquor in their village and a church service was held at least once a day.