Karen and other refugees from Burma in Thailand - general reports and articles
Websites/Multiple Documents
| Title: | | Burma Riders |
| Date of publication: | | 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Burmariders ist eine Hilfsaktion mit interaktiver Website und dem Ziel, auf die Notsituation der Menschen entlang der thailändisch-burmesischen Grenze aufmerksam zu machen. Die Burmariders Florian Fischer und Florian Niethammer fuhren ab 19.06. 2007 insgesamt 1.200 Kilometer mit Fahrrädern im unwegsamen Gebiet entlang der thai-burmesischen Grenze. Sie besuchten in rund vier Wochen sieben Flüchtlingslager. Das Team sammelte Informationen, Stimmen und Eindrücke unter den Flüchtlingen und berichtete per Webcast: Aktuelle Filmberichte wurden schon Minuten später im Internet veröffentlicht.
Ethnische Minderheiten; Karen;
Ride along the thai-burmese border; ethnic minorities; humanitarian situation; political situation in Burma; refugees in Thailand; Karen |
| Language: | | German, Deutsch |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Riders |
| Date of entry/update: | | 22 August 2007 |
|
| Title: | | "Thailand" from drop-down menu on Refworld |
| Description/subject: | | [Holdings, January 2009]:
* Country Information (355)...
* Legal Information (26)...
* Policy Documents (3)...
* Reference Documents (10)......
[Holdings, September 2012]:
*Country Information (757)
*Legal Information (36)
*Policy Documents (5)
*Reference Documents (37) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UNHCR |
| Format/size: | | html, pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 January 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Die Burma-Fluechtlingshilfe: Mae Tao Clinic |
| Description/subject: | | Medizinische Grundversorgung unter den Fl�chtlingen an der thail�ndisch-burmesischen Grenze. Die Klinik wurde von Dr. Cynthia gegr�ndet. Im Mittelpunkt stehen Ausbildung von medizinischen Hilfskr�ften und Hebammen sowie Kurse in Gesundheitslehre f�r die M�tter und ihre Kinder, ein mobiler medizinischer Hilfsdienst, der Gebiete Burmas besucht, die keine eigene medizinische Versorgung haben, sowie ambulante und station�re medizinische Versorgung der Klinik. keywords: primary health care, IDP in Burma, education of health care personnel. |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | Netzwerk engagierter Buddhisten |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Refugees International Thailand page |
| Description/subject: | | Short summary of the refugee situation in Thailand, plus Field Reports; In-Depth Reports; Letters & Testimonies |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Refugees International |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 May 2005 |
|
| Title: | | TBC's camp population figures |
| Description/subject: | | Figures back to December 1998 |
| Language: | | nglish |
| Source/publisher: | | The Border Consortium (TBC) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 December 2012 |
|
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Ad Hoc and Inadequate - Thailand’s Treatment of Refugees and Asylum Seekers |
| Date of publication: | | 13 September 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | Summary:
"Despite decades of experience with hosting millions of refugees, Thailand’s refugee
policies remain fragmented, unpredictable, inadequate and ad hoc, leaving refugees
unnecessarily vulnerable to arbitrary and abusive treatment. Thailand is not a party to the
1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951 Refugee Convention) or its 1967
Protocol. It has no refugee law or formalized asylum procedures. The lack of a legal
framework leaves refugees and asylum seekers in a precarious state, making their stay in
Thailand uncertain and their status unclear.
Burmese refugees in Thailand face a stark choice: they can stay in one of the refugee
camps along the border with Burma and be relatively protected from arrest and summary
removal to Burma but without freedom to move or work. Or, they can live and work outside
the camps, but typically without recognized legal status of any kind, leaving them at risk of
arrest and deportation. It is a choice refugees should not be compelled to make. Many of
those who decide to live in the camps do so without being formally registered or
recognized. And many of those living outside the camps find the process of applying for
and gaining migrant worker status to be prohibitively expensive and out of reach, leaving
them vulnerable to exploitation, arrest, and deportation.
This report looks at the lives both of refugees inside the camps on the Thai-Burma border
as well as of Burmese living outside of the camps, many of whom are, in fact, refugees,
even though they have not been officially recognized as such, in large part because they
are precluded from lodging refugee claims with the government or with the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This report also looks at the situation of
refugees and asylum seekers from other nationalities and their difficulties in finding
predictable and sufficient protection in Thailand. Finally, the report looks at the situation
of all migrants in Thailand, including refugees and asylum seekers, in their encounters
with police and other authorities, including when faced with being detained in Thailand’s
Immigration Detention Centers (IDCs) and with deportation or expulsion from the country..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Human Rights Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.82K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 September 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Karen Community-Based Organizations’ Position on Refugees’ Return to Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 11 September 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | Today a grouping of Karen Community Based Organizations (KCBOs) released their collective position in response to recent news about the repatriation of refugees. The position paper outlines the pre‐conditions and processes necessary for a successful and voluntary return of refugees from several camps along the Thai‐Burma border, back to Karen areas. Repatriation without these pre‐conditions and processes will be against the will of the refugees and will not respect their right to return voluntarily in safety and with dignity.
“We are encouraged by the changes in Burma but there are many improvements that would need to happen before refugees would be safe to return,” said Dah Eh Kler from the Karen Women’s Organization (KWO).“We fled the fighting and the abuse by the Burma Army. We know the ceasefires are still fragile and do not yet include an enforceable code of conduct; the troops are still all around our former villages, along with land mines and other dangers. We hope that we can go home one day soon, but it is just not possible under the current conditions in Karen areas.
The position paper is a comprehensive view of what the Karen community needs in order to go home. It outlines several pre‐conditions that must be met before refugees return to Burma, including: achievement of a political settlement between ethnic armed groups and the Burma government, agreement on a nationwide ceasefire, guaranteed safety and security for the people, clearance of land‐mines, withdrawal of all Burma Army and militia troops, end of human rights violations, abolishment of all oppressive laws and resolution of land ownership issues.
“We have learned from the UNHCR that the Burma government has already planned the locations to which refugees will be repatriated. KCBOs were very surprised to hear this as we and the refugees themselves have not been consulted properly on where, when and how they will be repatriated. Refugees have the right to make free choices on where, when and how they will return to their homeland,” said Ko Shwe from the Karen Environment and Social Action Network (KESAN).
In order to make their own choices about their return, the KCBOs have outlined specific processes that must take place, including defining how consultations with refugees and affected communities must be conducted and how refugees and KCBOs must take part in the decision‐making process at all stages, including in preparation, implementation and post‐return phases.
For the full list of pre‐conditions and necessary processes, please see the attached position paper......Burma, Karen, myanmar, refugee, repatriation, return, thailand |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Women's League of Burma |
| Format/size: | | pdf (142K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 12 September 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Rethinking the ‘Refugee Warrior’: The Karen National Union and Refugee Protection on the Thai–Burma Border |
| Date of publication: | | 06 March 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract:
"Well-founded fears that ‘refugee warriors’ will use refugee camps as a base for
military operations, exploit a wider refugee population, or misuse international aid
have led to the development of policies intended to ensure the separation of combatants
and civilian refugee populations. However, a dogmatic approach to that
policy goal may miss the true complexity of both refugee protection and the relationships
between a refugee population and a military group. This article examines
an alternative possibility, that a non-state armed group may be a potential partner
in refugee protection and welfare promotion. It draws on the experiences of refugees
from Burma living in camps in Thailand, where there has been a long-standing
connection between camp governance structures and a political/military organization
movement, the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army. While
camp governance activities have been flawed, they have also displayed a high level
of integrity. It is argued that in such a situation, where there is a proven record of
working to improve civilian welfare, international organizations might usefully
explore possibilities of engagement with non-state armed groups as partners in
refugee protection, with the specific goal of encouraging a more representative, accountable,
and democratic approach to governance."...
Keywords: armed groups; forced migration; militarization of refugee camps;
refugee protection; refugee self-governance |
| Author/creator: | | Kirsten Mcconnachie |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Human Rights Practice |
| Format/size: | | pdf (216K), html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://jhrp.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/03/06/jhuman.hus005.full.pdf+html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 December 2012 |
|
| Title: | | The world's longest ongoing war (video) |
| Date of publication: | | 11 August 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | "For more than 60 years, Karen rebels have been fighting a civil war against the government of Myanmar...In February 1949, members of the Karen ethnic minority launched an armed insurrection against Myanmar's central government.
In pictures: Sixty years of war.
Over 60 years later, the conflict continues, with more than a dozen ethnic rebel groups waging war against the army in their fight for self-rule.
Now, the war is entering a new and bloody stage.
Myanmar is the only regime still regularly planting anti-personnel mines. But it is not only the army that uses them. Rebel groups also regularly use homemade landmines or mines seized from the military.
As the conflict escalates, civilians are trapped in the middle of some of the worst fighting in decades.
101 East travels to Myanmar, home to the world's longest running civil war." |
| Language: | | English, Karen (English sub-titles) |
| Source/publisher: | | Al Jazeera (101 East) |
| Format/size: | | html, Adobe Flash (25 minutes) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 December 2011 |
|
| Title: | | A HUMAN SECURITY ASSESSMENT OF THE SOCIAL WELFARE AND LEGAL PROTECTION SITUATION OF DISPLACED PERSONS ALONG THE THAI-MYANMAR BORDER |
| Date of publication: | | July 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Sustainable Solutions to the Displaced Person Situation
On the Thai-Myanmar Border.....EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:-
"The study investigates the social welfare and social security situation of displaced persons (DP) living in the temporary shelters along the Thai-Myanmar border. The Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) estimates that 142,653 people were living in these temporary shelters as of February 2011. Displaced persons are essentially dependent on external assistance for the funding of basic needs and services through provision of food and non-food items as well as support for education, healthcare and justice administration services.
In order to find alternative and sustainable solutions to the current situation, the study first assesses the availability of existing welfare services (food/shelter, education, healthcare) and legal protection for displaced persons, and evaluates the extent to which these services are meeting the needs of displaced persons. It then examines the potential implications and sustainability of access to local Thai education, health, and judicial services. In addition, the study identifies possible social tension and conflict between displaced persons and local communities in relation to access to social welfare services.
The research uses a triangulation method which utilizes more than one research technique to verify information and cross-check different sources. Research methods employed include documentary analysis and both quantitative and qualitative fieldwork. Field data was collected between March 2010 and February 2011 focusing on three temporary shelters and surrounding local communities: Tham Hin/Ratchaburi Province; Mae La/Tak Province; and Ban Mai Nai Soi/Mae Hong Son Province. The study applies the Human Security framework and the Right to Education framework to analyze findings from both the documentary and field research..." |
| Author/creator: | | Naruemon Thabchumpon, Bea Moraras, Jiraporn Laocharoenwong, Wannaprapa Karom |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.18MB-original; 1.5MB-OBL version) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs14/ARCM-Social_%20Welfare_and_Social_Security.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | ANALYSIS OF DONOR, INGO/NGO AND UN AGENCY DELIVERY OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO DISPLACED PERSONS FROM MYANMAR ALONG THE THAI‐MYANMAR BORDER |
| Date of publication: | | July 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Sustainable Solutions to the Displaced Person Situation
on the Thai-Myanmar Border...Executive Summary: "One of six diverse studies examining durable solutions to the displaced persons (DP)
situation along the Thai-Myanmar border, this study analyzes the role of donors, international
organizations and non-government organizations (NGOs). It examines the rationale behind
international intervention, funding policies and organizational mandates; implementation
strategies and the dynamics of cooperation among stakeholders including the Royal Thai
Government (RTG); as well as the operating environment and impacts of this for effective
intervention. ... Findings
will be applied to facilitate the design of an improved strategy to implement policy and to
advocate for a change in policy towards sustainable and long-term solutions for the protracted
displacement situation along the Thai-Myanmar border..." |
| Author/creator: | | Dares Chusri, Tarina Rubin, Ma. Esmeralda Silva, Jason D. Theede, Sunanta Wongchalee, Patcharin Chansawang |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.2MB-original; 875K-OBL version) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs14/ARCM-Analysis_of_Donor_etc_delivery.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | ANALYSIS OF ROYAL THAI GOVERNMENT POLICY TOWARDS DISPLACED PERSONS FROM MYANMAR |
| Date of publication: | | July 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | "...RTG policy has been largely responsive to the DPs issue, rather than proactive,
and the RTG still has no formal asylum law. This has led to practical difficulties in dealing
with the DPs, and has also enabled the RTG to maintain an apparent ambivalence to the
situation in public. In particular, the RTG has maintained that the DPs are a national
security issue, which has led to reluctance to consider certain solutions. In addition, the
DPs issue has been made more complex by the 2 million migrant workers from Myanmar
that work in Thailand, and by Thailand’s strategic relationship with the government of
Myanmar. The lack of clear and open policy on the DPs has meant that they are usually
considered first and foremost as potential illegal immigrants; the DPs have been given
long-term sanctuary and protection from refoulement, but within closed settlements which
iii
have created conditions of dependence and have severely limited self-reliance in contrast
to international standards on treatment of refugees.
The internal factors influencing the RTG policy include concerns about the
security of its sovereignty, local resistance, negative public attitude and other priorities
that remains difficult to resolve; management of migrant workers. Thailand’s relationship
with Myanmar and its commitments to various international conventions are the external
factors that affect RTG policy towards displaced person from Myanmar..." |
| Author/creator: | | Premjai Vungsiriphisal, Graham Bennett, Chanarat Poomkacha, Waranya Jitpong, Kamonwan Reungsamran |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University |
| Format/size: | | pdf (829K-original; 723K-OBL version) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs14/ARCM-Analysis_RTG_Policy.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES/LABOUR MARKET IN THE TEMPORARY SHELTERS AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES |
| Date of publication: | | July 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Sustainable Solutions to the Displaced Person Situation
On the Thai-Myanmar Border.....Executive Summary:
"This study presents an overview of livelihood opportunities of displaced persons in temporary
shelters and of the surrounding communities. It explores labour market conditions and provides
recommendations aimed at improving the livelihoods opportunities of the displaced persons
notably. Three temporary shelters were selected for study; Ban Tham Hin (Ratchaburi
province), Ban Mai Nai Soi (Mae Hong Son province) and Ban Mae La (Tak province). In each
shelter, a variety of research methods was used to analyse livelihoods and labour market
opportunities of displaced persons. Data was collected by surveys, focus group discussion, indepth
interviews and literature review. Respondents included displaced persons, staff members
of NGOs working in shelters areas, local authorities and local entrepreneurs. According to the
agreement of working group, the study assessed the pilot projects which are implemented by
Non Government Organizations instead of creating new pilot project..." |
| Author/creator: | | Yongyuth Chalamwong and the Thailand Development Research Institute team |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.4MB-OBL version; 4.67MB-original) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.arcmthailand.com/documents/publications/01_LIVELIHOOD%20OPPORTUNITIES.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | THE IMPACT OF DISPLACED PEOPLE'S TEMPORARY SHELTERS ON THEIR SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT |
| Date of publication: | | July 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
"This study presents an overview of environmental issues and impacts associated
with displaced peoples’ temporary shelters along the Thai-Myanmar border, and
formulates recommendations aimed at improving the environmental conditions in and
around the settlements. Out of nine such temporary shelters, three were selected for
detailed study: Ban Tham Hin (Ratchburi province), Ban Mai Nai Soi (Mae Hong Son
province) and Ban Mae La (Tak province). In each of these shelters a variety of research
methods was used to assess the environmental conditions, analyze displaced peoples’ way
of living and use of resources, and disclose displaced peoples’ perceptions of the
environmental conditions they face. Data was collected by means of observation (field
trips were made to each of the shelters), surveys, in-depth interviews, focus group
meetings and desk research. Respondents included the displaced people themselves and
staff members working in the shelter areas. Whenever relevant and possible, the scope of
the research was not restricted to the shelters alone. Efforts were made to also assess
environmental impacts produced by the presence of the shelters in the surrounding areas,
amongst other by hearing officials and representatives from these areas in focus group
meetings and through interviews..." |
| Author/creator: | | Suwattana Thadaniti, Kanokphan U-Cha, Bart Lambregts, Jaturapat Bhiromkaew, Vullop Prombang, Suchoaw Toommakorn, Saowanee Wijitkosum |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University |
| Format/size: | | pdf (4.2MB-OBL version; 16MB-original --higher resolution) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.arcmthailand.com/documents/publications/03_Environment%20.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | The Process and Prospects for Resettlement of Displaced Persons on the Thai-Myanmar Border |
| Date of publication: | | July 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Sustainable Solutions to the Displaced Person Situation
On the Thai-Myanmar Border.....Conclusion:
Resettlement operations within the shelters in Thailand have now been ongoing continuously for more than 5 years with over 64,000 departures completed as of the end of 2010. However, despite the large investment of financial and human resources in this effort, the displacement situation appears not to have diminished significantly in scale as of yet. While no stakeholders involved with the situation in Thailand are currently calling for an end to resettlement activities, there has been little agreement about what role resettlement actually
x
serves in long-term solutions for the situation. For the most part, the program has been implemented thus far in a reflexive manner rather than as a truly responsive and solutions-oriented strategy, based primarily upon the parameters established by the policies of resettlement nations and the RTG rather than the needs of the displaced persons within the shelters.
Looking towards the future, it appears highly unlikely that resettlement can resolve the displaced person situation in the border shelters as a lone durable solution and almost certainly not if the status quo registration policies and procedures of the RTG are maintained. All stakeholders involved with trying to address the situation are currently stuck with the impractical approach of attempting to resolve a protracted state of conflict and human rights abuses within Myanmar without effective means for engaging with the situation in-country. Neither stemming the tide of new displacement flows nor establishing conditions that would allow for an eventual safe return appear feasible at this time.
Within the limitations of this strategy framework, a greater level of cooperation between resettlement countries, international organizations, and the RTG to support a higher quantity of departures for resettlement through addressing the policy constraints and personal capacity restrictions to participation appears a desirable option and might allow for resettlement to begin to have a more significant impact on reducing the scale of displacement within Thailand. However, realistically this would still be unlikely to resolve the situation as a whole if not conducted in combination with more actualized forms of local integration within Thailand and within the context of reduced displacement flows into the shelters.
The overall conclusion reached about resettlement is that it continues to play a meaningful palliative, protective, and durable solution role within the shelters in Thailand. While it is necessary for resettlement to remain a carefully targeted program, the stakeholders involved should consider expanding resettlement to allow participation of legitimate asylum seekers within the shelters who are currently restricted from applying because of the lack of a timely status determination process. Allowing higher levels of participation in resettlement through addressing this policy constraint, as well as some of the more personal constraints that prevent some families within the shelters from moving on with their lives, would be a positive development in terms of providing durable solutions to the situation. In conjunction with greater opportunities for local integration and livelihood options for those who cannot or do not wish to participate in resettlement, the program should be expanded to make the option of an alternative to indefinite encampment within the shelters in Thailand available to a larger group of eligible displaced persons..." |
| Author/creator: | | Ben Harkins, Nawita Direkwut, and Aungkana Kamonpetch |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.54MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs14/ARCM-Resettlement_Study_Final_Report.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Three villagers killed, eight injured during fighting in Kyaikdon area |
| Date of publication: | | 17 May 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | "Research submitted by a KHRG field researcher indicates that fighting between DKBA and Tatmadaw troops between April 22nd and April 30th 2011 in Kya In Township has left at least three civilians dead and eight injured. The indiscriminate firing of mortars and small arms in civilian areas by armed groups involved in the conflict, and conflict related abuse including an explicit threat by Tatmadaw forces to burn civilians' homes, caused at least 143 villagers from Gkyaw Hta, Khoh Htoh, T'Aye Shay and Mae Naw Ah villages to seek refuge in the Ra--- area of Thailand between April 22nd and 30th 2011. As of May 13th 2011, KHRG confirmed that the firing of mortars and small arms was ongoing in the areas of K'Lay Kee and Noh Taw Plah, and that some villagers continued to seek refuge at discreet locations in Thailand." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (503K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.khrg.org/khrg2011/khrg11b6.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 February 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Pa'an interviews: Conditions for villagers returned from temporary refuge sites in Tha Song Yang |
| Date of publication: | | 06 May 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | "This report contains the full transcripts of seven interviews conducted between June 1st and June 18th 2010 in Dta Greh Township, Pa'an District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed seven villagers from two villages in Wah Mee Gklah village tract, after they had returned to Burma following initial displacement into Thailand during May and June 2009. The interviewees report that they did not wish to return to Burma, but felt they had to do so as the result of pressure and harassment by Thai authorities. The interviewees described the following abuses since their return, including: the firing of mortars and small arms at villagers; demands for villagers to porter military supplies, and for the payment of money in lieu of the provision of porters; theft and looting of villagers' houses and possessions; and threats from unexploded ordnance and the use of landmines, including consequences for livelihoods and injuries to civilians. All seven interviewees also raised specific concerns regarding the food security of villagers returned to Burma following their displacement into Thailand." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (836K), html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.khrg.org/khrg2011/khrg11b5.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 February 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Thai 'solution' may worsen situation |
| Date of publication: | | 22 April 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | "The uncertain plight of more than 140,000 refugees living in camps along the Thai-Myanmar border has become even more precarious.
On April 11, Thailand's National Security Council chief Tawin Pleansri announced that the closure of the refugee camps was imminent.
He added that the National Security Council, the institution that has overall authority over refugee issues, is in discussions with the Myanmar government and in contact with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) about repatriating the refugees to Myanmar.
This is disconcerting news to those living in the nine official refugee camps dotted along the porous border between Myanmar and Thailand. They fled from armed conflict and structural violence in the Karen, the Karenni and the Shan states on the eastern border as well as other parts of Myanmar. They had been exploited for their labour, food and money by the Myanmar military and its allied groups, which have been waging a long-standing campaign against ethnic insurgent groups since the 1960s..." |
| Author/creator: | | Su-Ann Oh |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Straits Times" |
| Format/size: | | pdf (55K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 July 2011 |
|
| Title: | | Thailand: No Safe Refuge |
| Date of publication: | | 24 March 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | "The eruption of conflict between the Burmese military and an ethnic rebel faction in eastern Burma has forced over 30,000 people to flee to Thailand since November 2010. Skirmishes are ongoing and both parties have planted landmines in people’s villages and farmlands. While the Thai government has a long-standing policy of providing refuge for “those fleeing fighting,” the Thai army is pressuring Burmese to return prematurely and restricting aid agencies. Unless the Thai Government strengthens its policy to protect those fleeing fighting and persecution, current and future refugees will have no choice but to join the ranks of millions of undocumented and unprotected migrant workers in Thailand..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Refugees International |
| Format/size: | | pdf (93K, html) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.refugeesinternational.org/policy/field-report/thailand-no-safe-refuge |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 March 2011 |
|
| Title: | | CHILDREN CAUGHT IN CONFLICT: CASE STUDY OF THAI-MYANMAR BORDER |
| Date of publication: | | November 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Table of Contents:-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...
FOREWORD...
CHAPTER 1 CONFLICT: THE ROOT CAUSE OF DISPLACEMENT:
1.1 Ethnic diversity and protracted armed conflict;
1.2 Forced out of homes, internally displaced persons;
1.3 Forced out of the land: asylum seekers across the border...
CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND STUDY AREAS:
2.1 Mae La shelter, Tak province;
2.2 Ban Pang Kwai - Pang Tractor shelter, Mae Hong Son
province;
2.3 Shan communities, Chiang Mai province...
CHAPTER 3 LIFE OF CHILDREN BEFORE DISPLACEMENT:
3.1 Children in Kayin state;
3.2 Children in Kayah state;
3.3 Life of Children in Shan State;
3.4 Protection for children in Myanmar...
CHAPTER 4 LIFE AS ASYLUM SEEKER:
4.1 Children in Mae La shelter;
4.2 Children in Mae Hong Son shelter;
4.3 Life of children outside the temporary shelter;
4.4 Protection of children in Thailand...
CHAPTER 5 ARMED CONFLICT SITUATION: IMPACT ON
CHILDREN:
5.1 Children from Kayin State;
5.2 Children in Karenni shelter;
5.3 Children in non-shelter area...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...
RECOMMENDATIONS...
REFERENCES. |
| Author/creator: | | PREMJAI VUNGSIRIPHISAL, SUPANG CHANTAVANICH, SUPAPHAN KHANCHAI, WARANYA JITPONG, YOKO KUROIWA |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | ASIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR MIGRATION INSTITUTE OF ASIAN STUDIES, CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY Bangkok, Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (630K-OBL version; 1MB-original) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs14/ARCM-CHILDREN_CAUGHT_IN_CONFLICT.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Portraits from the Border |
| Date of publication: | | May 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Every Burmese refugee has his or her own story of escape—from political persecution, from economic hardship, from the violence of civil war...
"Driven more by fear and hardship than by hope, they come here to escape the ravages of war and repression in Burma, not knowing what awaits them when they cross the border into Thailand.
Whether they are subsistence farmers or highly educated professionals, rebels or ordinary citizens, their lives are suspended—often for years or decades—between a traumatic past and an uncertain future..." |
| Author/creator: | | Kyaw Zwa Moe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 18, No. 5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Entangled in Red Tape |
| Date of publication: | | October 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | The jobs are waiting for Burmese refugees, but the road to them is full of obstacles...
"While working on a university graduation thesis at Mae La refugee camp in Thailand’s Tak Province, Burmese student Moe Zaw Oo interviewed a 20-year-old woman resident who ventured outside every day to earn 50 baht (US $1.50) laboring on a nearby farm.
“When she returned to the camp in the evening she also had to sell vegetables for the farmer. She was expected to sell them all or lose her job,” said Moe Zaw Oo.
Unknown numbers of refugees slip out of Mae La and other camps in this way to work illegally on Thai farms and estates for as little as 40 baht ($1.20) a day, risking arrest and deportation..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www2.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=16910 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 February 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Homesick |
| Date of publication: | | October 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Most Karen refugees hope to return to Burma one day...
"Holding the youngest of her four grandchildren in her arms, 60-year-old Bi Mae said: “If there is peace again, we will go back to our village.”
Bi Mae and the four children fled to Thailand in July to escape the fighting in her Karen homeland, together with more than 500 other refugees.
Their home now is a makeshift bamboo hut in a temporary refugee camp at Tha Song Yang near the Thai-Burmese border. Since the beginning of June, fierce clashes between a joint force of Burmese government troops and their local allies, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), and their traditional foe, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), have forced around 4,000 Karen villagers to flee to Thailand.
A Karen woman brings her children to a ceremony marking International Refugee Day at Mae La Oon camp. (Photo: MASARU GOTO/TBBC)
They boosted the number of refugees admitted to camps along the Thai-Burmese border to 134,000. A further 50,000 have been resettled in the US and other Western countries. Most of those still in the camps dream of being able to return home to Burma one day..." |
| Author/creator: | | Yeni |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 February 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Thailand: New Problems Challenge Old Solutions |
| Date of publication: | | 30 September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "Burmese refugees have been living in Thailand for more than two decades. The situation
is fluid: resettlement programs have provided tens of thousands of people with
new lives, while a new wave of conflict in Burma is changing the political landscape
and forcing thousands of new refugees to flee into Thailand. While the Royal Thai
Government should be commended for its willingness to host new arrivals, it must
also respond to the fact that ongoing conflict in neighboring Burma will prevent refugees
from going home anytime soon. To address the regional challenges of the conflict
in Burma, the Thai government needs to implement a more progressive refugee
policy and the U.S. and other donor governments must provide flexible funding for
Burmese humanitarian assistance." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Refugees International |
| Format/size: | | pdf (127K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 October 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Security concerns for new refugees in Tha Song Yang: Update on increased landmine risks |
| Date of publication: | | 22 September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "At least 4,862 refugees from the Ler Per Her IDP camp and surrounding villages in Pa’an District remain
at new arrival sites in Thailand. Though the fighting that precipitated the flight of many of these refugees
in June has decreased, the area from which they fled continues to be unsafe for them to return. This
bulletin provides updated information on landmine risks for refugees who may return, or who have already
returned, including the maiming of a 13-year-old resident of the Oo Thu Hta new arrival site who returned
to visit his village to tend livestock. Refugees face other threats to safe return as well, including
widespread conscription as forced labourers, porters and “human minesweepers” by the SPDC and
DKBA, as well as forced military recruitment by the DKBA and potential accusation and punishment as
“insurgent supporters.”" |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group News Bulletin (KHRG #2009-B10) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (356K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 February 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Abuse in Pa'an District, Insecurity in Thailand: The dilemma for new refugees in Tha Song Yang |
| Date of publication: | | 08 September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "This report presents information on abuses in eastern Pa'an District, where joint SPDC/DKBA forces continue to subject villagers to exploitative abuse and attempt to consolidate control of territory around recently taken KNLA positions near the Ler Per Her IDP camp. Abuses documented in this report include forced labour, conscription of porters and human minesweepers as well as the summary execution of a village headman. The report also provides an update on the situation for newly arrived refugees in Thailand's Tha Song Yang District, where at least 4,862 people from the Ler Per Her area have sought refuge; some have been there since June 2nd 2009, others arrived later. This report presents new information for the period of June to August 2009..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Right Group Field Reports (KHRG #2009-F14) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (860 KB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.khrg.org/khrg2009/khrg09f14.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 October 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Exploitation and recruitment under the DKBA in Pa'an District |
| Date of publication: | | 29 June 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "While recent media attention has focused on the joint SPDC/DKBA attacks on the KNLA in Pa'an District and the dramatic exodus of at least 3,000 refugees from the area of Ler Per Her IDP camp into Thailand, the daily grind of exploitative treatment by DKBA forces continues to occur across the region. This report presents a breakdown of DKBA Brigade #999 battalions, some recent cases of exploitative abuse by this unit in Pa'an District and a brief overview of the group's transformation into a Border Guard Force as part of the SPDC's planned 2010-election process, in which the DKBA has sought to significantly expand its numbers. Amongst those forcibly recruited for this transformation process was a 17-year-old child soldier injured in the fighting at Ler Per Her, whose testimony is included here..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Field Reports (KHRG #2009-F11) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (549 KB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.khrg.org/khrg2009/khrg09f11.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 October 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Life in Exile: Burmese Refugees along the Thai-Burma Border |
| Date of publication: | | 26 February 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | 2009 will mark 25 years since the first refugees arrived in Thailand. An entire generation has
arisen who know nothing but confinement and seclusion, as all Burmese refugees in Thailand are
officially required to stay within camp boundaries. Currently, 135,000 refugees reside in nine
camps in Thailand and they are almost entirely dependent on international assistance. Refugees
have no official access to employment opportunities, external education or the right of movement,
if caught outside the camps they are liable to arrest and deportation.
As the security situation in Burma continues to deteriorate, new asylum seekers continue to arrive
in the camps. Camp boundaries have long been demarcated, resulting in overcrowding. Although conditions vary considerably among camps, in several camps housing standards are significantly
below UNHCR minimum standards.
Long-term confinement in the camps is having serious and negative psychological impact on
camp residents, resulting in an increasing number of suicides and serious mental health
problems. As a new generation of refugees grows up entirely within a camp environment, the
need to address the special health and social requirements of the young is particularly acute.
Protection concerns within the camps is now alarming, the levels of extreme violence, crime and
other forms of abuse and exploitation are rising..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | International Rescue Committee (IRC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (41K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.theirc.org/help/take-action/resources/irc_thailandadvocacypaper_february2009.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 May 2009 |
|
| Title: | | UNHCR map of Myanmar-Thailand border: refugee population by gender |
| Date of publication: | | 21 May 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Pie gender charts of refugee camps plus UNHCR offices etc.
Figures as at end April 2008 |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UNHCR via ReliefWeb |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.1MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullmaps_sa.nsf/luFullMap/94E1ED96A53ABCD8C125748E0036D8B4/$File/unhcr_IDP_mmr080521.pdf?OpenElement |
| Date of entry/update: | | 12 January 2011 |
|
| Title: | | A sense of home in exile |
| Date of publication: | | 22 April 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Material objects and the physical actions of making and using
them are a fundamental part of how forced migrants, far
from being passive victims of circumstance, seek to make
the best of – and make a home in – their displacement. |
| Author/creator: | | Sandra Dudley |
| Language: | | English, Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | "Forced Migration Review" No. 30 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (Burmese, 240K, English, 400K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/FMR30Burmese/23-24.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 November 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Access to justice and the rule of law |
| Date of publication: | | 22 April 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Due to the nature of displacement and encampment –
entailing resource scarcity, geographic isolation, restricted
mobility and curtailed legal rights – refugee victims of crime
often have inadequate legal recourse. |
| Author/creator: | | Joel Harding, Shane Scanlon, Sean Lees, Carson Beker and Ai Li Lim |
| Language: | | English, Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | "Forced Migration Review" No. 30 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (English, 438K, Burmese, 257K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/FMR30Burmese/28-30.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 November 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Burmese asylum seekers in Thailand: still nowhere to turn |
| Date of publication: | | 22 April 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Until the Thai authorities and UNHCR can provide an asylum
process that is systematic and fair, as opposed to one that is
conditional on particular events and dates, the current asylum
system will offer nothing more than pot luck. |
| Author/creator: | | Chen Chen Lee and Isla Glaister |
| Language: | | Burmese, English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Forced Migration Review" No. 30 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (English, 293K, Burmese, 189K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/FMR30Burmese/33-34.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 November 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Community-based camp management |
| Date of publication: | | 22 April 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Community-based camp management
has focused on keeping refugees in
control of their own situation and
as autonomous as possible. It has
moved from complete hands off’
to compliance with international
standards and procedures. Systems
continue to evolve. The NGO
community needs to build on the
incredible coping skills that refugees
possess. With appropriate support
the communities will continue to
address the daily realities of camp
life where the possibility of return is
unlikely in the near future and where
new arrivals continue to crowd into
the already overcrowded camps." |
| Author/creator: | | Sally Thompson |
| Language: | | English, Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | "Forced Migration Review" No. 30 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (440K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/FMR30Burmese/26-28.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 November 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Invisible in Thailand: documenting the need for protection |
| Date of publication: | | 22 April 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | IRC is concerned that there are
significant numbers of Burmese living
in Thailand who qualify for and
deserve international protection and
assistance but who do not have access
to proper registration processes.
Without a transparent, humane and
lawful asylum policy for Burmese
people entering Thailand, it is
impossible to estimate the percentage
of bona fide refugees within the
group of migrants who have left
Burma for other reasons. The lack
of systematic data to document
the reasons people flee Burma
provides the Thai authorities with
the excuse to treat those Burmese
living outside the refugee camps as
mere economic migrants, subject
to deportation. It also weakens the
leverage that agencies working
with the Burmese living in Thailand
have to advocate on their behalf. |
| Author/creator: | | Margaret Green, Karen Jacobsen and Sandee Pyne |
| Language: | | Burmese, English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Forced Migration Review" No. 30 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (English, 398K, Burmese, 285K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/FMR30Burmese/31-33.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 November 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Neglect of refugee participation |
| Date of publication: | | 22 April 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "The participation of affected populations in planning or
implementation of humanitarian aid in conflict or postconflict
situations has too often been neglected...There has been a notable progression
to systematic aid dependency among
the Myanmar refugees living in nine
camps along the Thai-Myanmar
border. Refugee participation shifted
from self-reliance for shelter and food
to the current situation in which the
refugees have become fully dependent
on the international community for
their living in Thailand, tempered
by partial self-management of
their own health care, education
services and food distribution..." |
| Author/creator: | | Marie Theres Benner, Aree Muangsookjarouen, Egbert Sondorp and Joy Townsend |
| Language: | | English, Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | "Forced Migration Review" No. 30 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (Burmese, 77K; English, 227K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.fmreview.org/FMRpdfs/FMR30Burmese/25.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 November 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Invisible in Thailand - Documenting the need for international protection for Burmese |
| Date of publication: | | April 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Tufts-International Rescue Committee Survey of Burmese Migrants in Thailand..."FIC researcher Karen Jacobsen helped IRC design a survey that documented the experiences of Burmese people living in border areas of Thailand, and explored whether their experience in Burma might mean that they merited international protection as refugees. The data reveals significant differences in the demographic and socioeconomic makeup of the three sites, as well as differences in the reasons the respondents left Burma. Our findings suggest that a great number of currently unprotected Burmese in Thailand, possibly as many as fifty percent, merit further investigation as to their refugee status; and that only a small number of Burmese who warrant refugee status and attendant services actually receive any aid or protection either from the Thai government or from international aid agencies." |
| Author/creator: | | Margaret Green-Rauerhorst, Karen Jacobsen, and Sandee Pyne with the International Rescue Committee |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | International Rescue Committee, Feinstein International Center, Tufts University |
| Format/size: | | i-paper, pdf (492K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://fic.tufts.edu/?pid=76 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 November 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Tales from the Land in Between - a review of Richard Humphries' "Frontier Mosaic" |
| Date of publication: | | November 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | "Frontier Mosaic: Voices from the Lands in Between", by Richard Humphries. Orchid Press, Bangkok, 2007. P181...
"The border frontier is a sanctuary for homeless refugees, Burmese spies, traders and people who dream of a better life...
In recent weeks, the world’s attention has focused on events in Burma. The interest in the for now failed saffron revolution was so great it pushed the news from Iraq off the front pages of America’s newspapers for the first time since the 2003 invasion.
But for decades, people living along the border areas have been brutally beaten down by the regime—mostly out of the glare of media attention..." |
| Author/creator: | | Bertil Lintner |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol 15, No. 11 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Burma Army |
| Date of publication: | | 15 July 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Die Armee der SPDC Militärdiktatur ist mittlerweile auf eine Truppenstärke von 500.000 Soldaten angewachsen und jetzt selbst nur noch durch ein System der Angst zu kontrollieren. Fast jeder hat einen Vorgesetzten und die Exekution ist nur einen Schuß entfernt. Der militärische Geheimdienst ist überall und selbst die höheren Ränge werden oft Reinigungen’ nach sowietischem Vorbild unterzogen. Karen; Flüchtlinge; Burma Army; Refugees |
| Language: | | German, Deutsch |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Riders |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 August 2007 |
|
| Title: | | Schicksale - Die Waisenkinder von Loi Kaw Wan |
| Date of publication: | | 31 May 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Ein ausführlicher Bericht über das Schicksal von Waisenkinder an der thailändischen Grenze, sowie die Organisation und der Tagesablauf des Waisenhauses in Loi Kaw Wan; organisation and daily life in an orphanage in Loi Kaw Wan; |
| Source/publisher: | | Freunde der Shan |
| Format/size: | | Html (25kb) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | "Give These Refugees a Voice!" |
| Date of publication: | | April 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | A Cambodian MP looks at Burma's growing refugee population...
"Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border with my fellow Asean parliamentarians who, like me, went because they were concerned about the situation in Burma. It was a journey that evoked overpowering emotions that I had perhaps not anticipated. Having supported the movement for democracy in Burma, I was humbled and moved to tears to witness at first hand the plight of these innocent and brave people..." |
| Author/creator: | | Son Chhay |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No. 4 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 December 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Mae Sot under the Microscope |
| Date of publication: | | February 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Australian journalist looks closely at life in a Thai border town...
"Restless Souls. Refugees, Mercenaries, Medics and Misfits on the Thai Burma Border, by Phil Thornton, Asia Books, Bangkok; 2005. P240
Borders everywhere attract their fair share of humanitarians, traders, mercenaries, messiahs, opportunists and loons. The beautiful, rugged and long-suffering Burma-Thailand frontier region seems to have exceeded its quota of all of them some time ago, and the Thai border town of Mae Sot is now clogged with foreigners existing as a sort of parallel species to Thai, Burmese, Karen and Muslim inhabitants. Such is its fascination as the entrepôt for trade, refugees, drugs and conflict over the border that Mae Sot and its surroundings represent a microcosm of the deep malaise of Burma.
Phil Thornton is an Australian journalist who has lived in Mae Sot for more than five years, working with a range of Karen groups and collecting stories of everyday survival. Restless Souls is a painfully authentic tour through the lives of ordinary people living in a zone of low-intensity conflict in the world’s longest and most ignored civil war, the 58-year struggle of the Karen people against the Burmese military..." |
| Author/creator: | | David Scott Mathieson |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No.2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | A Pregnant Problem |
| Date of publication: | | November 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Young women trapped by dogma and the generation gap...
"It’s only a couple of years ago that young people living in and around the Karenni refugee camp at Ban Tractor in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Province were able to help themselves to free condoms from boxes attached to trees and wayside posts. It was the idea of the camp health department director, Say Reh, who had been growing increasingly concerned about the rising numbers of young unmarried women becoming pregnant and also about the risk of HIV/AIDS in the community.
But it was a short-lived idea. Say Reh had to abandon his solo birth-control effort after three months because of strong opposition from many of the camp residents and Catholic and Protestant church ministers. “Older people here believe that distributing condoms and organizing sex education encourages young people to indulge in sex,” says Say Reh.
Although he’s abandoned his free condoms initiative, Say Reh and some of his co-workers still hold occasional sex education classes for the young people of Ban Tractor, under the watchful eye of disapproving elder members of the community. “The problem is that parents are sensitive on sex issues and many are illiterate, so they don’t know how to educate their children and guard them from unwanted pregnancies,” he says..." |
| Author/creator: | | Louis Reh |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 11 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | A Life in Hiding |
| Date of publication: | | July 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Karen Internally Displaced Persons wonder when they will be able to go home...
"Sitting in his new bamboo hut in Ler Per Her camp for Internally Displaced Persons, located on the bank of Thailand’s Moei River near the border with Burma, Phar The Tai—a skinny, tough-looking man of 60 who used to hide in the jungles and mountains of Burma’s eastern Karen State—waits for the time when he can return home.
“We are living in fear all the time,” he says about the lives of IDPs. His words reflect the general feeling among IDPs from Karen State, which has produced the largest number of displaced people in Burma..." |
| Author/creator: | | Yeni |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 April 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Limbo Land |
| Date of publication: | | July 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Thailand’s new refugee rules leave thousands in fear and suspense...
"When Sandar Win, a former activist in Burma’s opposition National League for Democracy, fled to neighboring Thailand in January she hoped to continue her political struggle there. But she hadn’t kept up with events in Thailand and had certainly not read Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s refugee policy statement, made in June 2003: “Thailand will not allow any groups to use our territory for political activities against neighboring countries.”
Instead of finding asylum as a political refugee under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sandar Win stepped into limbo. Thaksin had followed up his foreboding message by introducing new regulations curtailing the UNHCR’s power to grant refugee status to new arrivals from Burma. Sandar Win is one of about 9,000 who now have no UNHCR protection and are technically illegal immigrants..." |
| Author/creator: | | Aung Lwin Oo |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 April 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Terminal Sanctuary |
| Date of publication: | | July 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border keep many safe from persecution at home, but Thailand’s restrictive administrative policies offer little hope for the future...
"When Karen refugees first began trickling across the Burmese border into Thailand, they were put into “temporary” refugee camps administered by the Bangkok government. Now, 20 years on, they have been joined by thousands more, and while the string of border camps are still called temporary, with fighting still raging across the border there seems no end in sight..." |
| Author/creator: | | Edward Blair |
| Language: | | Englilsh |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 April 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Farewell to the “Liberated Area” |
| Date of publication: | | February 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Democracy activists take the safe option...
"“It’s as if brains have been infected by malaria.” Kyaw Thura invoked a common Burmese expression to vent his frustration over the increasing numbers of dissident exiles who are turning their backs on comrades in the so-called “Liberated Area” and seeking new lives elsewhere..." |
| Author/creator: | | Kyaw Zwa Moe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 August 2005 |
|
| Title: | | THAILAND/BURMA HEALTH AND EDUCATION ACTIVITIES REVIEW HEALTH ACTIVITIES FINAL REPORT |
| Date of publication: | | December 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | Table Of Contents:
Acronyms ... Map of Border Provinces and Nine Refugee Camp Locations ... Executive Summary
1. Introduction
2. Situation Assessment
2.1 Camp Refugees
2.2 Migrants
2.3 Cross-border humanitarian programs (IDPs)
2.4 Coordination
2.5 Repatriation – Contingency plans
3. Conclusions and Recommendations
3.1 Camp Refugee health programs
3.2 Migrants
3.3 Cross-border Programs (Burmese IDPs)
3.4 Coordination
3.5 Repatriation – Contingency Plans
Appendix 1: Persons Interviewed
Appendix 2: Documents Reviewed
Appendix 3: Draft RFA
Appendix 4: NGO Organizational Chart
Appendix 5: CCSDPT Coordination of Burmese Refugee Activities
Appendix 6: Morbidity and Mortality Statistics
Appendix 7: Refugees and Migrants
Appendix 8: Coordination |
| Author/creator: | | Donald W. Belcher |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | USAID, MSI |
| Format/size: | | pdf (545.45 K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 05 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Burma's Dirty War - The humanitarian crisis in eastern Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 24 May 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Up to a million people have fled their homes in eastern Burma in a crisis the world has largely ignored.
Burma's refusal to release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, and the boycotting of the constitutional convention this month by the main opposition, has thrust Burma into the spotlight again.
But unseen and largely unremarked is the ongoing harrowing experience of hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Burma, hiding in the jungle or trapped in army-controlled relocation sites. Others are in refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border.
These people are victims in a counterinsurgency war in which they are the deliberate targets. As members of Burma's ethnic minorities - which make up 40 per cent of the population - they are trapped in a conflict between the Burmese army and ethnic minority armies.
Surviving on caches of rice hidden in caves, or on roots and wild foods, families in eastern Burma face malaria, landmines, disease and starvation. They are hunted like animals by army patrols and starved into surrender.
In interviews... refugees told Christian Aid of murder and rape, the torching of villages and shooting of family members as they lay huddled together in the fields. They recalled farmers who had been blown up by landmines laid by the army around their crops.
This report, based on personal testimonies from refugees, tells the story of Burma's humanitarian crisis.
On the brink of the Burmese government's announcement of a 'roadmap to democracy' for a new constitution, Burma's Dirty War argues that any new political settlement must include the crisis on the country's eastern borders.
Burma's refusal to free Aung San Suu Kyi promises more intransigence and an even slower pace of change - with predictable human costs.
This report calls on the UK and Irish governments, the EU and the UN to use what opportunity remains from the roadmap to democracy to press for an end to the conflict in negotiations with ethnic minorities.
It also argues that the UN must gain access to the areas in crisis - despite the Burmese government ban on travel there by humanitarian agencies.
Key recommendations include:
* that the Burmese government cease human rights abuses, allow access to eastern Burma by humanitarian agencies including UN special representatives, and engage in dialogue with ethnic minority representatives
* that the UK and Irish governments, the EU and the UN fund work with displaced people inside Burma and continue to support refugees in Thailand
* that the UK and Irish governments, the EU and UN Security Council condemn Burma's human rights abuses against ethnic minorities, demand that it protect civilians from violence and insist that Burma allow access to humanitarian agencies
The report argues that governments must seize the opportunity presented by the roadmap to push for genuine negotiations between the government, the National League for Democracy and ethnic minority organisations which can bring out a just and lasting peace..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Christian Aid |
| Format/size: | | pdf (760K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | NGO Statement on Asia and the Pacific |
| Date of publication: | | 11 March 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | to the UNHCR Standing Committee, 9-11 March 2004. The statement contains references to Burmese refugees in Thailand and Bangladesh and to the recent agreement that UNHCR should have a presence in eastern Burma. Also references to the Rohingyas. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | ICVA |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 31 March 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Zwischen den Fronten. Unterricht für Flüchtlingskinder aus Burma |
| Date of publication: | | March 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | Eine Schule insbesondere für Shan-Kinder in einem Tempel in Nordthailand, Interview mit einer Lehrerin über ihre Erfahrungen als Kindersoldatin bei den Shan-Rebellen und dem Abt des Tempels.
education for Shan children, childsoldiers, Shan refugees in Thailand |
| Author/creator: | | Ralf Willinger |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | Terre des Hommes |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 May 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Thai Policy toward Burmese Refugees and Migrants |
| Date of publication: | | 25 February 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "The report, Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Thai Policy toward Burmese Refugees, documents Thailand’s repression of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrant workers from Burma. "The Thai government is arresting and intimidating Burmese political activists living in Bangkok and along the Thai-Burmese border, harassing Burmese human rights and humanitarian groups, and deporting Burmese refugees, asylum seekers and others with a genuine fear of persecution in Burma..."
1. Introduction...
2. New Thai Policies toward Burmese Refugees and Migrants:
Broadening of Resettlement Opportunities;
Suspension of New Refugee Admissions;
The “Urban” Refugees;
Crackdown on Burmese Migrants;
Forging Friendship with Rangoon;
History of Burmese Refugees in Thailand...
3. Expulsion to Burma:
Informal Deportees Dropped at the Border;
The Holding Center at Myawaddy;
Into the Hands of the SPDC;
Profile: One of the Unlucky Ones—Former Child Soldier Deported to Burma;
Increasing Pressure on Migrants...
4. Protection Issues for Urban Refugees:-
Impacts of the Move to the Camps;
Profile: Karen Former Combatant;
Suspension of Refugee Status Determination;
Security Issues for Refugees in Bangkok...
5. Attempts to Silence Activist Refugees...
6. New Visa Rules: Screening Out the “Troublemakers”...
7. Conclusion...
8. Recommendations:
To the Royal Thai Government;
To the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR);
To Donor Governments;
To the Burmese Authorities...
9. Appendix A: Timeline of Arrests and Intimidation of Burmese Activists in 2003 (3 page pdf file)...
10. Appendix B: Timeline of Harrassments of NGOs in 2003 (2 page pdf file)...
11. Appendix C: Timeline of Arrests and Harrassment of Burmese Migrant Workers in 2003 (2 page pdf file)... |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Human Rights Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (244K, 1MB), html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://hrw.org/reports/2004/thailand0204/profiles.pdf (refugee profiles)
http://hrw.org/reports/2004/thailand0204/thailand0204.pdf (printer-friendly) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 February 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Broken Trust, Broken Home |
| Date of publication: | | February 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Fifty-five years of civil war have decimated Burma’s Karen State, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Most would like to return—by their own will when the fighting stops.
By Emma Larkin/Mae Sot, Thailand
When Eh Mo Thaw was 16 years old, a Burmese battalion marched into his village in Karen State and burned down all the houses. Eh Mo Thaw and his family were herded into a relocation camp where they had to work for the Burma Army, digging ponds and growing rice to feed the Burmese troops. They had no time to grow food for themselves and many were not able to survive. Villagers caught foraging for vegetables outside the camp perimeter were shot on sight. "Many people died," says Eh Mo Thaw. "I also thought I would die."
Eh Mo Thaw managed to escape from the camp with his family. For 20 years, he hid in the jungle, moving from place to place whenever Burmese troops drew near. Eventually he found himself on the Thai border and, when Burmese forces stormed the area, he had no choice but to cross the border into Thailand and enter a refugee camp..." |
| Author/creator: | | Emma Larkin |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol 12, No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 June 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Fertility and abortion: Burmese women's health on the Thai-Burma border |
| Date of publication: | | January 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "In Thailand's Tak province there
are 60,520 registered migrant
workers and an estimated 150,000
unregistered migrant workers from
Burma. Fleeing the social and political
problems engulfing Burma, they are
mostly employed in farming, garment
making, domestic service, sex and
construction industries. There is also
a significant number of Burmese
living in camps. Despite Thailandâ�â¢s
developed public health system and
infrastructure, Burmese women face
language and cultural barriers and
marginal legal status as refugees in
Thailand, as well as a lack of access to
culturally appropriate and qualified
reproductive health information and
services..." |
| Author/creator: | | Suzanne Belton and Cynthia Maung |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Forced Migration Review No. 19 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (110K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 June 2004 |
|
| Title: | | UNHCR map of Thailand-Myanmar border, end September 2003 |
| Date of publication: | | 15 October 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | Refugee camps with populations, refugee population distribution graph, UNHCR offices, towns, villages etc. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UNHCR |
| Format/size: | | pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 February 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Shan Refugees: Dispelling the Myths |
| Date of publication: | | September 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Since 1996, the people of Shan State have been particularly targeted for persecution by the military
regime in order to stop the resistance efforts of the Shan State Army and to secure control over the
state's rich natural resources. Over 300,000 Shan and other ethnic people have been forced from their
homes in central Shan State by the Burmese military, including from lands needed to build a largescale
hydropower dam on the Salween river. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has worked in Thailand, with the
consent and cooperation of the government for over 28 years, during which time assistance has been
provided to more than 1.3 million refugees. In recognition of the fact that many people from Burma
have been forced to flee from armed conflicts they face in their country, Thailand has been providing
refugee camps for people from Burma since 1984 and has allowed international NGOs to provide
support to the refugees. Thailand has allowed the UNHCR to have a limited protection role in these
camps since 1998.
The people of Shan State, unlike the Karen and Karenni from Burma, are not recognised as asylum
seekers in Thailand and are not provided safe refuge and humanitarian assistance. As they are unable
to seek refuge, the Shan people are forced to either live in hiding as illegal persons on the Thai-Burma
border or seek work as migrant workers, in low-paid, low-skilled jobs such as construction workers,
factory workers or domestic workers. The absence of refuge and services particularly impacts on the
more vulnerable Shan asylum seekers such as pregnant women, children, elderly and disabled persons
who are unable to fend for themselves in the jungle or on work sites. The Shan asylum seekers in
Thailand live in precarious situations as they live in constant fear of being arrested and deported to
Burma, where they face ongoing persecution in the forms of torture, rape and death on their return to
Burma. This fear has increased after the implementation of an agreement between Thailand and
Burma on the repatriation of migrant workers since August 2003.
Why is it that while asylum seekers from other Burmese ethnic groups have been recognised as
refugees and been provided refuge in camps in Thailand, the Shan asylum seekers continue to not be
accepted or supported in Thailand?..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Shan Women's Action Network |
| Format/size: | | pdf (112K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 March 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Charting the Exodus from Shan State: Patterns of Shan refugee flow into northern Chiang Mai province of Thailand 1997-2002 |
| Date of publication: | | May 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | "This report gives quantitative evidence in support of claims that there has been a large influx of Shans arriving
into northern Thailand during the past 6 years who are genuine refugees fleeing persecution and not simply
migrant workers. This data was based on interviews with 66,868 Shans arriving in Fang District of northern
Chiang Mai province between June 1997 and December 2002,
The data shows that almost all the new arrivals came from the twelve townships in Central Shan State where
the Burmese military regime has carried out a mass forced relocation program since March 1996, and where
the regime's troops have been perpetrating systematic human rights abuses against civilian populations.
Higher numbers of arrivals came from townships such as Kunhing where a higher incidence of human rights
abuses has been reported. Evidence also shows increases in refugee outflows from specific village tracts
directly after large-scale massacres were committed by the regime's troops..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Shan Human Rights Foundation via Shan Herald Agency for news |
| Format/size: | | pdf (896K) 14 pages |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.shanland.org/oldversion/view-3471.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Protecting Burmese Refugees in Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | 24 January 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | Advocate Veronika Martin and human rights lawyer Betsy Apple conducted an assessment mission to the Thai-Burmese border in September 2002.
"Each month an estimated two to three thousand Burmese enter Thailand, adding to the approximately two million already living there. While many of them are seeking economic opportunity in the Thai economy, many are fleeing gross human rights abuses, including rape, torture, extrajudicial execution, forced labor, and forced relocations, committed by the army of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Burmese seeking refuge in Thailand, primarily ethnic minority peoples from eastern Burma, have had limited or no access to a status determination process for the past year, and thus no legal access to refugee status or protection. The Royal Thai Government classifies all Burmese newly entering Thailand as "illegal migrants," leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and forced relocation back to Burma..." |
| Author/creator: | | Veronika Martin, Betsy Apple |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Refugees International |
| Format/size: | | html (1 page) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Report on the latest field trip to Mae Khong Kha Refugee Camp |
| Date of publication: | | 13 January 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | "Members of Burmese Relief Center - Japan (BRC-J) visited Mae Khong Kha Camp in December 2002 to get first hand information of the flood that occurred in September of that year. Soon after the news of the flood came, BRC-J began to raise fund for the rehabilitation of camp facilities and emergency aid through Japanese media and via Internet. The gathered donation was sent to the refugee camp in several installments by BRC-J. On this visit BRC-J was briefed by local camp staffs about the rehabilitation process and how their money was used."
Note:
Burmese Relief Center - Japan (BRC-J) is a non-governmental organization based in Osaka, Japan. The organization has been working for refugees and affected people along the Thai-Burma border area since 1988. Contact address is at brcj@syd.odn.ne.jp |
| Language: | | Japanese |
| Source/publisher: | | Burmese Relief Center - Japan (BRC-J) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmainfo.org/brcj/ (BRC-J wensite) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Pushing Past the Definitions: Migration From Burma to Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | 19 December 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | Important, authoritative and timely report.
I. THAI GOVERNMENT CLASSIFICATION FOR PEOPLE FROM BURMA:
Temporarily Displaced; Students and Political Dissidents ; Migrants .
II. BRIEF PROFILE OF THE MIGRANTS FROM BURMA .
III REASONS FOR LEAVING BURMA :
Forced Relocations and Land Confiscation ;
Forced Labor and Portering;
War and Political Oppression;
Taxation and Loss of Livelihood;
Economic Conditions .
IV. FEAR OF RETURN.
V. RECEPTION CENTERS.
VI. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS....
"Recent estimates indicate that up to two million people from Burma currently reside in Thailand, reflecting one of the largest migration flows in Southeast Asia. Many factors contribute to this mass exodus, but the vast majority of people leaving Burma are clearly fleeing persecution, fear and human rights abuses. While the initial reasons for leaving may be expressed in economic terms, underlying causes surface that explain the realities of their lives in Burma and their vulnerabilities upon return. Accounts given in Thailand, whether it be in the border camps, towns, cities, factories or farms, describe instances of forced relocation and confiscation of land; forced labor and portering; taxation and loss of livelihood; war and political oppression in Burma. Many of those who have fled had lived as internally displaced persons in Burma before crossing the border into Thailand. For most, it is the inability to survive or find safety in their home country that causes them to leave.
Once in Thailand, both the Royal Thai Government (RTG) and the international community have taken to classifying the people from Burma under specific categories that are at best misleading, and in the worst instances, dangerous. These categories distort the grave circumstances surrounding this migration by failing to take into account the realities that have brought people across the border. They also dictate people’s legal status within the country, the level of support and assistance that might be available to them and the degree of protection afforded them under international mechanisms. Consequently, most live in fear of deportation back into the hands of their persecutors or to the abusive environments from which they fled..." Additional keywords: IDPs, Internal displacement, displaced, refoulement. |
| Author/creator: | | Therese M. Caouette and Mary E. Pack |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Refugees International and Open Society Institute |
| Format/size: | | html (373K) pdf (748K, 2.1MB) 37 pages |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/Caouette&Pack.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Report on fund-raising effort for emergency aid at Mae Khong Kha camp |
| Date of publication: | | November 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "The violent flood hit Mae Khong Kha Refugee Camp in September 2002 which left 26 victims and caused great damage. Soon after the news came, Burmese Relief Center - Japan (BRC-J) began to raise fund for rehabilitation of camp facilities and emergency aid through Japanese media and via Internet. In this report the organization thanked the individuals and groups that donated money and clothing, and cited letters from local Karen Women's Organization that explained that their money arrived there and that it was used to help the affected people."
Note:
Burmese Relief Center - Japan (BRC-J) is a non-governmental organization based in Osaka, Japan. The organization has been working for refugees and affected people along the Thai-Burma border area since 1988. Contact address is at brcj@syd.odn.ne.jp |
| Language: | | Japanese |
| Source/publisher: | | Burmese Relief Center - Japan (BRC-J) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmainfo.org/brcj/ (BRC-J website) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Burma�s Internally Displaced: No Options for a Safe Haven |
| Date of publication: | | 10 October 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "Refugees International Advocate Veronika Martin and human rights lawyer Betsy Apple recently completed an assessment mission to the Thai-Burmese border.
There are few fates worse than being an internally displaced person (IDP) in Burma. IDPs inside Burma are divided into two categories: those living under the strict control of the Burmese government in �relocation sites,� and those living in hiding in the jungle from the Burmese army. Both options present a high risk of human rights abuses, a lack of food, and limited or no access to healthcare and education. According to a recent report compiled by the Burma Border Consortium (BBC), more than 2,500 villages have been either destroyed, relocated, or abandoned, affecting 633,000 individuals over the last five years in eastern Burma. Since 1996, an estimated minimum of one million people living in the ethnic states that border Thailand have been displaced. This year has seen a marked increase in the frequency of counter-insurgency operations in ethnic minority areas, leading in turn to an increase in the level of internal displacement..." |
| Author/creator: | | Veronika Martin, Betsy Apple |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Refugees International via Asian Tribune |
| Format/size: | | html (1 page) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 06 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Post Abortion Care: Who Cares? |
| Date of publication: | | September 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "This article is intended to give health workers an introduction into the individual implications of pregnancy loss as well as local issues on the Thai-Burma border and broader South-east Asian regional issues. I want to focus on the gender and social features rather than pure biomedical information, although this is of course highly important but is covered in other parts of this magazine. I will talk about some womenâ�â¢s stories that were collected in 2002 to outline typical cases, the reasons why the woman chose to end the pregnancy and impact on womenâ�â¢s lives. I will also present some findings from a medical records review conducted with the Mae Tao Clinic and discuss some findings from research in the international arena. So should we care about post abortion care? I hope to show that we should, as not only can it be a life threatening event for the woman but it reflects certain aspects about the communities we live in, social conditions, legal and religious norms, how we value human rights and the status of women..." |
| Author/creator: | | Suzanne Belton |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Health Messenger |
| Format/size: | | html (60K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 June 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Report on the damage caused by the flood at Mae Khong Kha camp and emergency aid activities |
| Date of publication: | | September 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | Detailed report with photos on the damage caused by the flood at Mae Khong Kha refugee camp on 2 September, 2002, as well as the distribution of emergency aid goods by SVA. SVA works for the library project in Karen refugee camps along the border. One of their libraries at Mae Khong Kha was also destroyed.
Note:
Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA): A non-governmental organization (NGO) with the purpose of international cooperation, supporting the educational and cultural activities in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. With the authorization as an incorporated organization from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, name was changed from Sotoshu Volunteer Association to the current name.
Sotoshu, or Soto Zen School is the largest Buddhist Zen school in Japan. |
| Author/creator: | | Mae Sot office of Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA) |
| Language: | | Japanese |
| Source/publisher: | | Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.sva.or.jp/ (SVA website) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Myanmar: Lack of Security in Counter-Insurgency Areas |
| Date of publication: | | 17 July 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "...In February and March 2002 Amnesty International interviewed some 100 migrants from
Myanmar at seven different locations in Thailand. They were from a variety of ethnic groups,
including the Shan; Lahu; Palaung; Akha; Mon; Po and Sgaw Karen; Rakhine; and Tavoyan
ethnic minorities, and the majority Bamar (Burman) group. They originally came from the Mon,
Kayin, Shan, and Rakhine States, and Bago, Yangon and Tanintharyi Divisions.(1) What follows
below is a summary of human rights violations in some parts of eastern Myanmar during the last
18 months which migrants reported to Amnesty International. One section of the report also
examines several cases of abuses of civilians by armed opposition groups fighting against the
Myanmar military. Finally, this document describes various aspects of a Burmese migrant
worker's life in Thailand..." ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced labour, refugees, land confiscation, forced
relocation, forced removal, forced resettlement, forced displacement, internal displacement, IDP, extortion, torture,
extrajudicial killings, forced conscription, child soldiers, porters, forced portering, house
destruction, eviction, Shan State, Wa, USWA, Wa resettlement, Tenasserim, abuses by armed opposition
groups. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Amnesty International |
| Format/size: | | PDF version (126K) 48pg |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA16/007/2002/en
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA16/007/2002/en/7471b112-d81a-11dd-9df8-936c90684588/asa1... (French) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | "If Not Now, When? Addressing Gender-based Violence in Refugee, Internally Displaced and Post-conflict Settings. A Global Overview. 2002" (Extract on Burma and Thailand) |
| Date of publication: | | June 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | This extract offers a brief overview of gender-based violence in Burma and among Burmese refugees in Thailand.
"...Women have been victims of the well-documented and pervasive human rights abuses also suffered by men, including forced
labor on government construction projects, forced portering for the army, summary arrest, torture and extra-judicial execution.
These and other human rights violations are committed sometimes in the course of military operations, but more often as part of
the army's policy of repression of ethnic minority civilians. Women and girls are specifically targeted for rape and sexual
harassment by soldiers. Many of the areas in Burma where soldiers rape women are not areas of active conflict, though
they may have large numbers of standing troops. There has been little action on the part of the state to reduce the
prevalence of sexual abuse by its military personnel or ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice..." For the full report, covering most parts of the world, follow the link below. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | International Rescue Committee, Women's Commission on Refugee Women and Children |
| Format/size: | | html, pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Lady's Love Powder |
| Date of publication: | | June 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | This article appeared in Burma - Women's Voices for Change, Thanakha Team, Bangkok, published by ALTSEAN in 2002... "...Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are problems that many Burmese women face with little support and a poverty of health resources. Of course it is difficult to quantify such statements in light of the limited sharing of information that occurs between the Burman military government and the rest of the world. One informed source, Dr Ba Thike (1997), a doctor working in Burma, reported that in the 1980s abortion complications accounted for twenty percent of total hospital admissions and that for every three women admitted to give birth, one was admitted for abortion complications...The records at the Mae Tao Clinic in Thailand, a health service that offers reproductive health services to women coming from Burma as day visitors or as longer-term migrant workers, reflects a crisis in womenâ�â¢s health. In 2001, the Mae Tao Clinic documented 185 abortion complication cases (Out Patients Department) and 231 cases that needed to be admitted into the In-patients Department with complications such as sepsis, dehydration, haemorrhage and shock from abortions and miscarriage..." |
| Author/creator: | | Suzanne Belton (Ma Suu San) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma - Women's Voices for Change (publ. ALTSEAN) |
| Format/size: | | html (24K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 June 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Out in the Cold |
| Date of publication: | | January 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | " The closure of the Maneeloy holding center for Burmese dissidents has chilled hopes of a rapid
resettlement for those left behind..." |
| Author/creator: | | Neil Lawrence |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 10, No. 1 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Ein Sommer voller Angst und Verzweifelung: Burmesische Flüchtlinge im thailändisch-burmesischen Grenzgebiet |
| Date of publication: | | 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | Karen refugees in the thai-burmese border area. Halockani refugee camp run by the Mon National Committee. Mit dem Beginn der großen Militäroffensive burmesischer Truppen gegen die bewaffneten Guerillabewegungen der nationalen Minderheiten haben seit Anfang dieses Jahres nun auch immer mehr Angehörige der Karen Volksgruppe im thailändischen Grenzgebiet Zuflucht gesucht. Das vom Mon National Committee unterhaltene Halockani-Flüchtlingslager der Mon-Volksgruppe hat daher seine Tore im Sommer auch für Karen-Flüchtlinge geöffnet und Versorgungsgüter zur Verfügung gestellt. |
| Author/creator: | | Hans-Günther Wagner |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | Netzwerk engagierter Buddhisten |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The Aid Game |
| Date of publication: | | December 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | "The Thai-Burma border has become a breeding ground for poorly conceived aid projects, leaving
the real needs of refugees and exiles unattended...
Relief agencies first began working on the Thai-Burma border in 1984 to support nearly ten thousand ethnic
Karens who had fled from persecution by the Burmese army. Four years later, as Burmese activists,
politicians and intellectuals began fleeing to Burma’s borders with Thailand and India to escape a brutal
crackdown on the nationwide democracy uprising of 1988, the need for emergency assistance increased
dramatically. Now, with an ethnic refugee population in Thailand that numbers over 135,000, and another
100 Burmese dissidents also believed to be sheltering in the country, Burma’s displaced persons have
become one of the region’s major targets of relief efforts... |
| Author/creator: | | Aung Zaw and John S. Moncrief |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 9, No. 9 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The repatriation predicament of Burmese refugees in Thailand: a preliminary analysis |
| Date of publication: | | July 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | "...The problem of Burmese refugees in Thailand will persist while the underlying
factors conducing displacement continue in the sending state. So long as fear and
insecurity exists in Burma, Thailand is bound to receive forced migrants across its
western border. Meanwhile, it is necessary to approach an understanding of
appropriate forms of protection responsive to the specific realities of displacement.
Thailand also should be persuaded to continue its adherence to the broad principles of
refugee protection. And the difficult question of 'under what conditions should the
refugees return in the future?' remains open to discussion and hinges on developments
conducing a durable solution within Burma..." |
| Author/creator: | | Hazel Lang (Australian National University) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UNHCR ("New Issues in Refugee Research" Working Paper No. 46) |
| Format/size: | | PDF (370K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Thailand's Least Wanted |
| Date of publication: | | June 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | The "Safe Area" for Burmese student activists has long been regarded by exilesand Thais alike as one of most dangerous places in Thailand. But for many who still reside in the camp, recent calls for its closure have raised fears about their future in a country where they are clearly not wanted. Neil Lawrence reports from Ban Maneeloy. |
| Author/creator: | | Neil Lawrence |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol 9. No. 5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Breaking Through the Clouds: A Participatory Action Research (PAR) Project with Migrant Children and Youth Along the Borders of China, Myanmar and Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | May 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | 1. Introduction;
1.1. Background;
1.2. Project Profile;
1.3. Project Objectives;
2. The Participatory Action Research (PAR) Process;
2.1. Methods of Working with Migrant Children and Youth;
2.2. Implementation Strategy;
2.3. Ethical Considerations;
2.4. Research Team;
2.5. Sites and Participants;
2.6. Establishing Research Guidelines;
2.7. Data Collection Tools;
2.8. Documentation;
2.9. Translation;
2.10Country and Regional Workshops;
2.11Analysis, Methods of Reporting Findings and Dissemination Strategy;
2.12. Obstacles and Limitations;
3. PAR Interventions;
3.1. Strengthening Social Structures;
3.2. Awareness Raising;
3.3. Capacity Building;
3.4. Life Skills Development;
3.5. Outreach Services;
3.6. Networking and Advocacy;
4. The Participatory Review;
4.1. Aims of the Review;
4.2. Review Guidelines;
4.3. Review Approach and Tools;
4.4. Summary of Review Outcomes;
4.4.1. Myanmar;
4.4.2. Thailand;
4.4.3. China;
5. Conclusion and Recommendations;
6. Bibliography of Resources. |
| Author/creator: | | Therese Caouette et al |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Save the Children (UK) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (191K) 75 pages |
| Date of entry/update: | | May 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Small Dreams Beyond Reach: The Lives of Migrant Children and Youth Along the Borders of China, Myanmar and Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | A Participatory Action Research Project
of Save the Children(UK)...
1. Introduction;
2. Background;
2.1. Population;
2.2. Geography;
2.3. Political Dimensions;
2.4. Economic Dimensions;
2.5. Social Dimensions;
2.6. Vulnerability of Children and Youth;
3. Research Design;
3.1. Project Objectives;
3.2. Ethical Considerations;
3.3. Research Team;
3.4. Research Sites and Participants;
3.5. Data Collection Tools;
3.6. Data Analysis Strategy;
3.7. Obstacles and Limitations;
4. Preliminary Research Findings;
4.1. The Migrants;
4.2. Reasons for migrating;
4.3. Channels of Migration;
4.4. Occupations;
4.5. Working and Living Conditions;
4.6. Health;
4.7. Education;
4.8. Drugs;
4.9. Child Labour;
4.10. Trafficking of Persons;
4.11. Vulnerabilities of Children;
4.12. Return and Reintegration;
4.13. Community Responses;
5. Conclusion and Recommendations...
Recommendations to empower migrant children and youth in the Mekong sub-region...
"This report provides an awareness of the realities and perspectives among migrant children, youth and their communities, as a means of building respect and partnerships to address their vulnerabilities to exploitation and abusive environments. The needs and concerns of migrants along the borders of China, Myanmar and Thailand are highlighted and recommendations to address these are made.
The main findings of the participatory action research include:
* those most impacted by migration are the peoples along the mountainous border areas between China, Myanmar and Thailand, who represent a variety of ethnic groups
* both the countries of origin and countries of destination find that those migrating are largely young people and often include children
* there is little awareness as to young migrants' concerns and needs, with extremely few interventions undertaken to reach out to them
* the majority of the cross-border migrants were young, came from rural areas and had little or no formal education
* the decision to migrate is complex and usually involves numerous overlapping factors
* migrants travelled a number of routes that changed frequently according to their political and economic situations. The vast majority are identified as illegal immigrants
* generally, migrants leave their homes not knowing for certain what kind of job they will actually find abroad. The actual jobs available to migrants were very gender specific
* though the living and working conditions of cross-border migrants vary according to the place, job and employer, nearly all the participants noted their vulnerability to exploitation and abuse without protection or redress
* for all illnesses, most of the participants explained that it was difficult to access public health services due to distance, cost and/or their illegal status
* along all the borders, most of the children did not attend school and among those who did only a very few had finished primary level education
* drug production, trafficking and addiction were critical issues identified by the communities at all of the research sites along the borders
* child labour was found in all three countries
* trafficking of persons, predominantly children and youth, was common at all the study sites
* orphaned children along the border areas were found to be the most vulnerable
* Migrants frequently considered their options and opportunities to return home
Based on the project’s findings, recommendations are made at the conclusion of this report to address the critical issues faced by migrant children and youth along the borders. These recommendations include: methods of working with migrant youth, effective interventions, strategies for advocacy, identification of vulnerable populations and critical issues requiring further research.
The following interventions were identified as most effective in empowering migrant children and youth in the Mekong sub-region: life skills training and literacy education, strengthening protection efforts, securing channels for safe return and providing support for reintegration to home countries. These efforts need to be initiated in tandem with advocacy efforts to influence policies and practices that will better protect and serve migrant children and youth." |
| Author/creator: | | Therese M. Caouette |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Save the Children (UK) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (343K) 145 pages |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/54_5205.htm
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/docs/small_dreams.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | May 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Celebration, Affirmation and Transformation: a "Traditional" Festival in a Refugee Camp in Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | 31 October 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | "In 1996, approximately 1500 people lived in Camp 5, a refugee camp located in the jungle on the Thai-Burmese border. The camp was open and self-administered, with refugee-run schools, two churches, and one Buddhist monastery. Though unavoidably and significantly influenced by displacement, cultural life in Camp 5 was vibrant. Refugees were able to celebrate annual festivals in the camps; for many internally displaced persons inside Burma, such celebrations have been impossible for some years. One such festival is diy-kuw.
The people living in Camp 5 call themselves Karenni and have fled from Kayah State (referred to by the Karenni as "Karenni State"). Kayah is Burma's smallest state, bordering Thailand's northwestern province of Mae Hong Son..." |
| Author/creator: | | Sandra Dudley |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Cultural Survival Quarterly" Issue 24.3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Pa-O Relocated to Thailand: Views from Within |
| Date of publication: | | 31 October 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | "The Pa-O are one of the ethnic minorities of Burma. They live primarily in the Taunggyi area of southwestern Shan State. A smaller number live in the Thaton area of Mon State in Lower Burma. The Pa-O in the Thaton area have become "Burmanized" -- like their neighbors the Mon and Karen, they have adopted Burmese language, dress and customs. The Pa-O in southwestern Shan State have learned to speak Shan, but have maintained their own distinct language and customs, including their traditional dark blue or black dress. Among the earliest Pa-O arrivals in Thailand may have been slaves captured by the Karenni and sold into Siam in the mid and late 1800s. During the 1880s, the Shan States were in chaos, the local princes at war with each other. Large numbers of people fled, many into northern Thailand, very likely including some Pa-O. The Pa-O also went to Thailand as traders of cattle as well as herbal medicines and other trade goods. More recently they have gone as refugees.
Forced relocations have been particularly sweeping in Mon, Karen and Shan States -- those states where most of the Pa-O live. The Pa-O Nationalist Army signed a ceasefire with SLORC in 1991, but because the Pa-O live in many of the areas where other rebel groups are still active they have been swept up in the forced relocations and human rights abuses for which the ruling junta has become infamous. These are their stories..." |
| Author/creator: | | Russ Christensen and Sann Kyaw |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Cultural Survival Quarterly" Issue 24.3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Refugees Still at Risk |
| Date of publication: | | October 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | Nearing the end of her decade-long tenure as the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata recently made what may have been her last stand on behalf of refugees fleeing from conflict in Burma. Saying that she was "shocked" by conditions at the Tham Hin camp on the Thai-Burma border, Ogata irked Bangkok but won a measure of respect from those who have long decried the treatment ofrefugees sheltering on Thai soil. |
| Author/creator: | | Editorial |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 10 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Myanmar: Exodus from the Shan State |
| Date of publication: | | July 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | Civilians in the central Shan State are suffering the enormous consequences of internal armed conflict, as fighting between the tatmadaw, or Myanmar army, and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-South) continues. The vast majority of affected people are rice farmers who have been deprived of their lands and their livelihoods as a result of the State Peace and Development Council's (SPDC, Myanmar's military government) counter-insurgency tactics. In the last four years over 300,000 civilians have been displaced by the tatmadaw, hundreds have been killed when they attempted to return to their farms, and thousands have been seized by the army to work without pay on roads and other projects. Over 100,000 civilians have fled to neighbouring Thailand, where they work as day labourers, risking arrest for "illegal immigration" by the Thai authorities. |
| Language: | | English, Français |
| Source/publisher: | | Amnesty International (ASA 16/11/00) |
| Format/size: | | html, pdf |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA16/011/2000/en/ed5dfc36-deb1-11dd-8e92-1571ae6babe0/asa1... (French)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA16/011/2000/en |
| Date of entry/update: | | 25 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Internal Displacement and Refugees |
| Date of publication: | | 01 June 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | (from Photoset 2000-A of June 2000) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
| Format/size: | | jpeg, html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Fear and Hope: Displaced Burmese Women in Burma and Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | March 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary:
"The impact of decades of military repression on
the population of Burma has been devastating.
Hundreds of thousands of Burmese have been
displaced by the government�s suppression of
ethnic insurgencies and of the pro-democracy
movement. As government spending has concentrated
on military expenditures to maintain its
control, the once-vibrant Burmese economy has
been virtually destroyed. Funding for health and
education is negligible, leaving the population at
the mercy of the growing AIDS epidemic, which
is itself fueled by the production, trade and intravenous
use of heroin, as well as the trafficking of
women.
The Burmese people, whether displaced by government
design or by economic necessity, whether
opposed to the military regime or merely trying to
survive in a climate of fear, face enormous challenges.
Human rights abuses are legion. The government�s
strategies of forced labor and relocation
destroy communities. Displacement, disruption of
social networks and the collapse of the public
health systems provide momentum for the spreading
AIDS epidemic�which the government has
barely begun to acknowledge or address. The
broader crisis in health care in general and reproductive
health in particular affects women at all
levels; maternal mortality is extremely high, family
planning is discouraged. The decay�and willful
destruction�of the educational system has created
an increasingly illiterate population�without the
tools necessary to participate in a modern society.
The country-wide economic crisis drives the
growth of the commercial sex industry, both in
Burma and in Thailand.
Yet, international pressure for political change is
increasing and nongovernmental organizations and
some UN agencies manage to work within Burma,
quietly challenging the status quo. The delegation
met with Aung San Suu Kyi, General Secretary of
the National League for Democracy, who is considered
by much of the international community as
the true representative of the Burmese people.
Despite her concerns that humanitarian aid can
prop up the SPDC, she was cautiously supportive
of direct, transparent assistance in conjunction
with unrelenting international condemnation of
the military government�s human rights abuses and
anti-democratic rule.
The delegation concluded that carefully designed
humanitarian assistance in Burma can help people
without strengthening the military government.
And, until democracy is restored in Burma,
refugees in Thailand must receive protection from
forced repatriation, and be offered opportunities
for skills development and education to carry
home. On both sides of the border, women�s
groups work to respond to the issues facing their
communities; they are a critical resource in
addressing the critical needs for education, reproductive
health and income generation." ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Women's Commission on Refugee Women and Children |
| Format/size: | | pdf (182.54 K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 06 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | UNHCR Global Report 2000: Thailand at a glance |
| Date of publication: | | 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | "Main Objectives
and Activities:
Ensure that the fundamentals of
international protection, particularly
the principles of asylum and nonrefoulement,
are respected and effectively
implemented; ensure that
refugee populations at the Thai-
Myanmar border are safe from
armed incursions, that the civilian
character of refugee camps is maintained
and that their protection and
assistance needs are adequately met;
promptly identify and protect individual
asylum-seekers; promote the
development of national refugee legislation
and status determination
procedures consistent with international
standards. ..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UNHCR |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.scribd.com/doc/27437918/UNHCR-Global-Report-2000 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 20 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | "Traditional" culture and refugee welfare in north-west Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | December 1999 |
| Description/subject: | | "The effects of displacement on culture can have significant impacts on the psychological and physical welfare of
individual refugees and on the social dynamics within a refugee population.
Yet, refugees and relief agencies alike often underestimate or feel too overworked to incorporate the importance of cultural
factors in assistance programmes. Potential cultural conflicts between refugee communities, host communities and relief
agencies are of course important. Less often recognised, however, is the importance of cultural variation and tension within the
refugee community.
This article argues that if relief agencies develop a greater awareness of cultural patterns and potential cultural conflict within as
well as between communities, their assistance programmes may be more effectively and appropriately designed and
implemented...This article is based on anthropological field research, conducted by the author at the request of the NGO concerned during the
course of wider field research conducted in 1996-7 and 1998, with Karenni refugees living in camps on the Burmese border, in
Thailand's northwestern province of Mae Hong Son. Karenni people have been fleeing from Karenni (Kayah) State in eastern
Burma and seeking refuge on the Thai side of the border for some years, the first significant numbers arriving in 1989..." |
| Author/creator: | | Sandra Dudley |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Forced Migration Review" No. 6 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Central Karen State |
| Date of publication: | | 27 August 1999 |
| Description/subject: | | New Refugees Fleeing Forced Relocation, Rape and Use as Human Minesweepers. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG Information Update) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | From village to camp: refugee camp life in transition on the Thailand-Burma Border |
| Date of publication: | | August 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | "The Karen, Mon and Karenni refugee camps along Thailand's border with Burma(1) have traditionally been small,
open settlements where the refugee communities have been able to maintain a village atmosphere, administering
the camps and many aspects of assistance programmes themselves. Much of this, however, is changing. Since 1995, the 110,000 ethnic minority refugees from Burma have faced new security threats and greater regulation by the
Royal Thai Government (RTG). An increasing number of the refugees now live in larger, more crowded camps and are more
dependent on assistance than ever before. At the beginning of 1994, 72,000 refugees lived in 30 camps, of which the largest
housed 8,000 people; by mid 1998, 110,000 refugees lived in 19 camps, with the largest housing over 30,000 people..." |
| Author/creator: | | Edith Bowles |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Forced Migration Review" No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | ATTACKS ON KAREN REFUGEE CAMPS: 1998 (Information Update) |
| Date of publication: | | 29 May 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | "In March 1998, three Karen refugee camps in Thailand were attacked by heavily armed forces that crossed the border from Burma. Huay Kaloke camp was burned and almost completely destroyed, killing four refugees and wounding many more; 50 houses and a monastery were burned in Maw Ker camp, and 14 were wounded; and Beh Klaw camp was shelled, though the attackers were repelled. The attacks were carried out by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), backed by troops and support of the State Peace & Development Council (SPDC) military junta currently ruling Burma ..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #98-04) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Refugees Caught in the Crossfire |
| Date of publication: | | April 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | A Karen man from Huay Kalok, refugee camp whose house was the first set ablaze by rebel troops from Burma recalled, "When I looked out there [to the rice field], I saw some people coming toward my house. I suddenly realize they were enemies so I screamed and ran. Then they started shooting." Around 1 am on March 11 the Rangoon-backed Karen guerrillas known as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army DKBA began pounding the camp with mortar shells before they moved in. Approximately 200 troops attacked the refugees, armed with M-79 machine guns. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 6. No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Attacks on Karen Refugee Camps |
| Date of publication: | | 18 March 1997 |
| Description/subject: | | "This report covers 4 of the main attacks on Karen refugee camps in Thailand which occurred in January 1997: the burning and destruction of Huay Kaloke and Huay Bone refugee camps on the night of 28 January, the armed attack on Beh Klaw refugee camp on the morning of 29 January, and the shelling of Sho Kloh refugee camp on 4 January. These attacks left several people dead and about 10,000 refugees homeless and completely destitute. Even now, Huay Kaloke and Huay Bone remain nothing but open plains of dust and ash under the hot sun. No one feels safe to remain in these places, but the Thai authorities are forcing them to.Huay Bone's over 3,000 refugees have either fled to Beh Klaw or have been forced to move to Huay Kaloke, and the Thai authorities still have a plan to move Sho Kloh's over 6,000 refugees to Beh Klaw, which is unsafe and already overcrowded with over 25,000 people. Refugees in other camps are also living in fear; Maw Ker refugee camp 50 km. south of Mae Sot has been constantly threatened with destruction, as has Mae Khong Kha refugee camp much further north in Mae Sariang district. People in these camps often end up spending their nights in the forests or countryside surrounding their camps, not daring to sleep in their homes at night..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #97-05) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Use of UNHCR guidelines for the protection of refugees from Burma: a more practical collaboration with NGOs needed |
| Date of publication: | | October 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | "Thailand has hosted refugees from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Burma for more than 20 years. While refugees from Indochina have remained the dominant caseload, a continual influx of refugees from Burma, particularly since 1988, has demanded an increasing degree of attention from the Royal Thai Government (RTG) and international humanitarian organisations. In contrast to the Indochinese refugee caseload, the RTG has refused to authorise the official presence on the Burma border of the usual `protector of refugees', UNHCR.
As a consequence, the refugees have been denied the international protection and assistance to which they are entitled under the United Nations 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees [1]. By 1996, the Burma border caseload had grown to 98,000 refugees living in more than 25 refugee camps and includes three major ethnic groups spread along the 1,500 kilometre Thailand/Burma border: the Mon in the south, the Karen in the central and the Karenni in the north. In the enforced absence of UNHCR, in 1984 a consortium of NGOs, the Burmese Border Consortium, was invited by the RTG to provide temporary emergency relief assistance to 9,000 ethnic minority refugees from Burma..." |
| Author/creator: | | Jennie McCann |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Refugee Studies Centre - RPN 22 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 July 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Shelling Attack on Sho Kloh Refugee Camp (Information Update) |
| Date of publication: | | 19 June 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | "At 6:10 p.m. on Thursday June 13, DKBA/SLORC on the Burma side of the Moei River commenced shelling Sho Kloh refugee camp, home to about 10,000 Karen refugees 110 km. north of the Thai town of Mae Sot. The camp is about 1 km. inside Thai territory. Over the space of 20 minutes, the attackers fired 4 to 6 mortar shells, later identified as Chinese 60mm. shells (which are part of SLORC's armoury but not of opposition groups). The shells were aimed at the centre of the camp. The first impacted by a stream towards one side of the camp, and the following shells were 'walked in' (target adjusted step by step) until they hit near the hospital (the hospital was also the target of a previous armed DKBA assault against the camp). Another shell exploded close to the Buddhist temple..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Refugees from Pa'an District |
| Date of publication: | | 18 March 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | "The descriptions below were given by recently arrived refugees from southern Pa'an District in central Karen State, interviewed in refugee camps in Thailand in February 1996. For background on this area, the reader should see 'SLORC / DKBA Activities in Kawkareik Township' (KHRG #95-23, 10/7/95) and other related KHRG reports. The refugees in this report are all from the area around Bee T'Ka, north of Kawkareik towards Hlaing Bwe. In this area, SLORC and DKBA are ruling in tandem, with a limited presence of KNLA still in the area. Villagers are finding that now they have to pay fees and provide forced labour for both SLORC and DKBA, and that the DKBA have no qualms about handing over villagers to be tortured or executed by SLORC. Two names which always occur in the testimony of villagers, and have appeared in KHRG reports before, are Pa Tha Dah (aka Pa Tha Da, Kyaw Tha Da, Saw Tha Da) and his brother Nuh Po (aka Kyaw Nuh Po, Saw Nuh Po). They are two former Bee T'Ka farmers who joined DKBA for the power it gives them, and have become even more notorious than SLORC in the area for their looting, torture, and gratuitous abuse of villagers. As a result, SLORC had them promoted to officer rank in the DKBA..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #96-13) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Update on Karen Refugee Situation |
| Date of publication: | | January 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | ""Burma has agreed to allow over 70,000 of its citizens who have taken refuge in camps along the border to return home. An agreement was reached at yesterday’s meeting in Myawaddy of the Joint Local Thai-Burmese Border Committee, according to Col. Suvit Maen-muan. At the meeting, Col. Suvit and a team of five officials met the team of Lt. Col. Kyaw Hlaing, and the latter accepted a proposal on the return of over 70,000 refugees. A list has been drawn up of over 9,000 refugees at Sho Klo camp in Tha Song Yang who are to be voluntarily repatriated as soon as Burma is ready, Col. Suvit said."..." |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG Information Update) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Murder of a Refugee by SLORC |
| Date of publication: | | 24 May 1995 |
| Description/subject: | | "This report documents the death of Saw Tha Po, age 41 and father of 3, a Karen Buddhist refugee in Huay Bone (Don Pa Kiang) refugee camp 20 km. north of the Thai town of Mae Sot. On March 25, 1995 he crossed the Moei River to gather charcoal and never came back, shot dead by SLORC troops only 500 m. from the border. He and a friend were ambushed by 7 soldiers from SLORC Light Infantry Battalion #9, part of #44 Light Infantry Division. They were commanded by Company Commander Khine Zaw Lin. If refugees cannot even get 500 m. into Burma without being shot, it is horrifying to think what will happen to many of them when the Thai Army hands them over directly into the hands of SLORC forces..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #95-18) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | New Attacks on Karen Refugee Camps |
| Date of publication: | | 05 May 1995 |
| Description/subject: | | Camps: Mae Ra Mu Klo (Mae Ra Ma Luang) camp, Baw Noh (Meh Tha Waw) camp, Kamaw Lay Ko camp
"This report provides details of the attacks on Mae Ra Ma Luang, Baw Noh and Kamaw Lay Ko refugee camps. It has 2 parts: Summary of Attacks, which describes the events, and Interviews with some of the refugees who were there. Names which have been changed to protect people are denoted by enclosing them in quotation marks. Some camps go by several names: Mae Ra Ma Luang is the official Thai name of the camp Karens call Mae Ra Mu Klo (this camp was called Mae Ma La Luang in the KHRG report "SLORC's Northern Karen Offensive"). Baw Noh is the common name for the camp officially known as Meh Tha Waw. In the interviews, many people refer to the DKBA soldiers as "Yellow Headbands" ("ko per baw" in Karen) because of the yellow headbands they wear - this name has become common usage among Karens.
Please feel free to use this report in any way which may help stop the suffering of the people of Burma..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #95-16) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | SLORC Shootings & Arrests of Refugees |
| Date of publication: | | 14 January 1995 |
| Description/subject: | | Karen State. Aug-Nov 94. Karen Men, women, children. List of people killed, wounded, arrested, disappeared, by SLORC. Killings; wounding; EO; ransoming; looting, pillaging; forced portering; torture; arbitrary detention; extortion; inhuman treatment (beating); forced labour. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #95-02) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | MON - Die vergessenen Flchtlinge in Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | 1995 |
| Description/subject: | | Mon - the forgotten refugees in Thailand
Das Volk der Mon ist die Urbevlkerung im heutigen Kernland von Thailand, im Gebiet von Bangkok in Richtung burmesische Grenze (Kanchanaburi Provinz) sowie im benachbarten burmesischen Bergland und im Kerngebiet des heutigen Burma mit seiner Hauptstadt Rangoon. Einst Trger einer frhen und hochentwickelten buddhistischen Kultur, wurden sie in den vergangenen Jahrhunderten von anderen, aus Norden eindringenen Vlkern immer mehr verdrngt. Sie stellen heute sowohl in Thailand wie in Burma eine stark benachteiligte ethnische Minderheit dar. Die Mon in Burma fhren seit Jahrzehnten zusammen mit zahlreichen anderen ethnischen Minderheiten einen Kampf um ihre Unabhngigkeit und eigenstndige Entwicklung. Diese Bestrebungen werden von der Militrjunta mit einem systematischen Vernichtungsfeldzug beantwortet. |
| Author/creator: | | Hans-Gnther Wagner |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | Netzwerk engagierter Buddhisten |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://cscmosaic.albany.edu/~gb661/moncamps.html (Photos of the refugee camps at Halockhani and Lohloe -- 1994?) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Interview with an IDC deportee |
| Date of publication: | | 27 September 1994 |
| Description/subject: | | Burma/Thailand Mon girl (14 yrs old). rape; extortion; inhuman treatment(beating).
Thailand’s Immigration Detention Centres (IDC's) have become internationally notorious for squalid conditions and robbery, rape, and beatings by Thai police guards. They are built like high-security prisons: concrete cells, heavy bars, and armed guards. But the people in these cells are not dangerous criminals - they are mostly economic and political refugees from neighbouring countries and as, the following account shows, young children. This is the true underbelly of Thailand's "constructive engagement" policy with SLORC. Any refugee at any age who is caught outside of a refugee camp can end up here, whether a Karen farmer who fled being taken as a SLORC porter, a pro-democracy Burmese student who fled to Thailand after the 1988 massacres, a Shan girl was lured into Thailand by a brothel procurer's promise of a good job only to end up a brothel slave, or a labourer who fled Burma’s ruined economy seeking a better chance in Thailand's "economic miracle". Thai police put all such people in IDC cells until they can be deported back into the hands of SLORC. If SLORC gets them, they are usually put in another cell until they either pay a heavy bribe or are sent to be frontline porters and human minesweepers for the military. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | SLORC Officers Talk About Forced Labour & Refugees |
| Date of publication: | | 25 September 1994 |
| Description/subject: | | Transcript of part of a recorded conversation, southern Burma, mid-94. Insight into attitudes regarding villagers, NGOs, forced labour etc. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Last Minute Update on the Situation of Refugees at Halockhani |
| Date of publication: | | 13 September 1994 |
| Description/subject: | | Refoulement of the Mon refugees by the Thai military (they starved them back).This is an update to information contained in the KHRG report "SLORC's Attack on Halockhani Refugee Camp", 30/8/94, which reported that four to six thousand Mon refugees had fled a Burmese Army attack on their camp at Halockhani, just on the Burma side of the border, where they had been forcibly repatriated by Thai authorities at the beginning of 1994. The refugees fled back to the Thai side of the border after #62 Infantry Battalion of the Burmese Army attacked their camp on July 21 and were huddled in shelters around a Thai Border Patrol Police post, while Thai authorities used every trick they could think of to force them back across into Burma again. When the KHRG report was printed the refugees were still refusing to return and staying on the Thai side. Thai authorities had cut off all further food and medical supplies to them, and all foreigners and aid officials had been barred from the area. The refugees were surviving on existing rice stocks in their rice store, which was just across on the Burma side of theborder (but at the end of the old camp closest to the Thai border). |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | SLORC's Attack on Halockhani Refugee Camp |
| Date of publication: | | 30 August 1994 |
| Description/subject: | | On July 21, 1994 SLORC troops from Infantry Battalion 62 shocked the world by attacking a Mon refugee camp at Halockhani. Worst of all for SLORC, it happened just as its representatives were going to attend the annual Foreign Ministers’ meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok for the first time. This report attempts to describe the attack through the eyes of some of its victims. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Refugees at Klay Muh Hta |
| Date of publication: | | 24 June 1994 |
| Description/subject: | | "(later corrected to "Klay Muh Klo") This is a refugee camp set up on the Burma side of the border North of Mae Sot, after Thailand refused entry to more refugees. In 3 months it grew to 5000 before the rainy season reduced the flow. The Thais have said that supplies for more than 5000 will not be allowed. If implemented, this policy will precipitate a crisis when the dry season begins, as it now has (Nov 94). Pa'an and Thaton Districts, March-June 94. Karen, Burman men, women, children; Rape; forced labour; inhuman treatment (deprivation of food, beating sometimes ending in death); extortion; decimated village; rape; forced marriage; pregnant women beaten, miscarry; villagers made to plant trees for SLORC profit; mine-sweeping; killing; forced portering,incl. children; inhuman treatment during portering; depletion of villages, eg one from 150 to 20 families; another from 100 to 10, largely on account of forced labour; no time to do their own work; economic oppression..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | New Refugees from Karen Areas |
| Date of publication: | | 17 February 1994 |
| Description/subject: | | "Thaton, Pa'An & Papun Districts. Late 93, early 94. Karen, Burman men, women, children: Forced labour incl. forced portering; Human shields; looting; killing; torture; rape of children; extortion; inhuman treatment (beating); mine-sweeping; old women, children and pregnant women taken as porters; different types of portering; beating to death; killing of children, incl in reprisal; pillaging; forced relocation; reprisals. ... ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Statements by Karenni Refugees |
| Date of publication: | | 12 June 1992 |
| Description/subject: | | "Statement by Karenni refugees fleeing a SLORC ultimatum to all villagers in a large part of the State where the Karenni opposition is strong to leave their villages or die. Their statements describe some of the SLORC army’s activities in civilian villages of western Karenni..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The War is Growing Worse and Worse: Refugees and Displaced Persons on the Thai-Burmese Border |
| Date of publication: | | 1990 |
| Description/subject: | | Short ad for the sales item: Following a bloody crackdown on pro-democracydemonstrations in September 1988, nearly 7,500 students and activists fled to the Thai border. The report focuses on the Burmese students and ethnic minorities who have crossed the border and sought aid and protection in Thailand, while documenting human rights abuses in Burma. |
| Author/creator: | | Court Robinson |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | US Committee for Refugees (USCR) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The Karens of Burma: Thailand's Other Refugees |
| Date of publication: | | 1986 |
| Description/subject: | | Short ad for the sales item. The report discusses the affects of the fall of the Karen government, and how they unwillingly became incorporated into the modern nation state of Burma. Recommendations and requests are offered within this report on how the Karen situation may be improved. |
| Author/creator: | | Hiram Ruiz |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | US Committee for Refugees (USCR) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Burmesische Kinder im Flüchtlingslager |
| Description/subject: | | Durch Zwangsarbeit, gezielte Menschenrechtsverletzungen und gewaltsame Umsiedlung versucht die burmesische Regierung, die ethnische Gruppe der Karenni im Osten Burmas unter Kontrolle zu halten und von den Karenni-Widerstandsgruppen zu trennen. Knapp die Hälfte der etwa 200.000 Bewohner des Kayah-Bundesstaates sind inzwischen vertrieben – in staatlichen Lagern oder in den endlosen burmesischen Wäldern.
Flüchtlings-Leben in Thailand; Karenni
Ethnic children in refuge camps; Life of refugees in Thailand |
| Author/creator: | | Michaela Ludwig |
| Language: | | German, Deutsch |
| Source/publisher: | | Terre des Hommes |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.tdh.de/medien/1_2005/leben_im_lager.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 August 2007 |
|
| Title: | | Flüchtlinge aus dem Shan Staat: Schluss mit den Mythen |
| Description/subject: | | Übersetzung des Berichts: "Dispelling the Myth"
Im Folgenden sollen die neun am weitesten verbreiteten Mythen über Asyl suchende Shan durch die Darstellung der tatsächlichen Fakten entkräftet werden und damit zu einem verbesserten Verständnis für die Situation der Shan beitragen. |
| Author/creator: | | The Shan Women's Action Network |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | Freunde der Shan |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 16 March 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Jenseits der Minenfelder. Eine Klinik fluechtlinge aus Burma |
| Description/subject: | | Situation der Fluechtlingslager an der thailändisch-burmesischen Grenze, Klinik Dr. Cynthia Maung. Unterstützung durch terre des hommes. Dr. Cynthia Maung nimmt die Reise zu den Flüchtlingen in Burma regelmäßig auf sich. Additional keywords: humanitarian assistance, health care, refugees in Thailand, IDPs |
| Author/creator: | | Ralf Willinger |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | Terre des Hommes |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 May 2005 |
|
|