Nine ‘POC’ refugees escape from camp

Nai Chan Mon/ Independent Mon News Agency

June 29, 2005

Recently 9 "persons of concerns (POC)" refugees from Ban Don Yang camp escaped from the camp after they are unable to tolerate with insufficient food supplies distributed by UNHCR and Aid agencies, according to POCs in the camp.

"If they come and persuade us to go back, we will refuse to return. Even though they point us with guns, we wouldn’t go. We cannot tolerate anymore," said a POC who left the camp on June 25.

"We can not survive as we have very insufficient foods and can not go out for work (for income to buy the supplementary food), should we die in the camp like this. We had been suffered for two months," he added.

UNHCR and aid agency has provided to POC with foods of 15 Kgs of rice, 1.5 Kgs bean, 1 Kg of fish-pate and one liter of oil a month per head. They were given 5 Kgs of charcoal and some fire-wood for cooking. However, these are not sufficient, claimed by the refugees. They need more food supplies like meats and vegetables for their daily meals.

Some refugees who have money can continuously live in the camp, but some refugees who do not have money such like them cannot survive anymore, said another refugee who similarly escaped from the camp.

"If the UNHCR or Thai authorities will not solve this problem, more POCs will run away," they added.

Refugee has no rights to go out the camp; no job for earning to buy supplementary foods and the condition create them to have very limited resources for survival. They just eat with the food provided by UNHCR and aid agencies.

Thai authorities set strict rule toward POC refugees and there has been rare good relationship between the authorities and refugees.

Ban Don Yang camp has about 500 POC refugees where Thai government relocated from Bangkok and settled them together with the 3500 Karen refugees who fled from war and human rights violations in Karen State. But UNHCR and the recipient countries plan to resettle the POCs to third countries such as United States, Canada and some countries in Europe and Scandinavia.

POC, who mainly fled from political and racial persecution from their homes in Burma has concern to live in the border areas, as the base of Burmese Army and DKBA in Three Pagoda Pass border town is only about 4 kilometers from camp. The Burmese Army and DKBA troops also have the history of torching down the refugee camps in Thai territory in the past.

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