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
POC, who mainly fled from political and
racial persecution from their homes in
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