Karen and other refugees from Burma in Thailand - general reports and articles

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Description: 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.
Source/publisher: Netzwerk engagierter Buddhisten
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: Deutsch, German
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Description: Figures back to December 1998
Source/publisher: The Border Consortium (TBC)
Date of entry/update: 2012-12-24
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Language: nglish
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Sub-title: Pushbacks Endanger People Fleeing Airstrikes in Karenni State
Description: "(Bangkok) – Thailand’s government has pushed back thousands of Myanmar refugees at the border, putting their lives at risk in Myanmar, Human Rights Watch said today. In late October 2023, the Thai military began forcibly returning refugees who had been sheltering in border areas to Myanmar’s Karenni State. Many soon returned to Thailand, fearful of being trapped or targeted in renewed clashes in southeastern Myanmar. “The Thai authorities should stop pushing back recent Myanmar refugees and allow them to seek protection in Thailand,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The return of many of these refugees to Thailand just days after being pushed back indicates their fear for their safety in Myanmar.” Thailand has sheltered about 90,000 refugees from Myanmar across nine refugee camps since the mid-1980s. After the February 2021 coup in Myanmar, at least 45,000 additional Myanmar refugees fled to Thailand. While the Thai government has allowed these new arrivals to stay in informal temporary shelters near the border, it has also intermittently pushed them back. None of these new arrivals are permitted to enter existing refugee camps and Thai officials place strict restrictions on their movement and access to humanitarian aid and services. In July, about 9,000 Myanmar refugees sought safety in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son district due to frequent airstrikes in Karenni State. Thai authorities initially permitted them to stay in the informal temporary shelters. On October 21, the Thai military verbally ordered the refugees to return to Myanmar within two weeks. After the order, the shelters where they had been living emptied as people walked back across the border into Karenni State, a journey that takes four to five days. Many went to Doh Noh Ku, where there is a settlement for internally displaced people. Pushbacks were still occurring on October 27, when a coalition of armed ethnic and resistance groups began an offensive against the Myanmar military in northern Shan State. Opposition forces elsewhere in Myanmar then also carried out attacks against the military, which responded with airstrikes, including in Karenni State. By November 27, more than 2,387 Myanmar people had again fled Myanmar, crossing back into Thailand’s Mae Hong Son district. People who had just returned to a temporary shelter in Mae Hong Son district said that Myanmar military jets flew over the Doh Noh Ku camp before carrying out airstrikes on November 14 and 15. They said at least three bombs struck inside the camp, but that most people had already fled the camp again by that time. “I had just reached the area outside Doh Noh Ku after walking five days with my family from here [in Thailand],” said a 52-year-old woman. “We didn’t go into the camp, but we watched the planes from afar. When they started dropping bombs, we ran back straight away…. I’m so scared, I get scared at the sound of thunder now.” Sources on the ground said that the Thai military maintained that these new refugees had been in Thailand for more than three months when their stay in Thailand should be temporary. Officials also said there had been no recent armed clashes on the border so these people could return to Myanmar. Finally, Thai authorities claimed they were straining services meant for refugees in established camps. The multiple and forced displacements, and lack of security or access to humanitarian aid is exacerbating the strain on these already marginalized communities, Human Rights Watch said. “I’ve fled at least seven times since leaving my home earlier in the year because of the airstrikes,” said a 45-year-old woman. “You run to one place because you think it’s safe but nowhere is safe.” Since the 2021 coup, the Myanmar junta has carried out a nationwide campaign of mass killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, and indiscriminate attacks that amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. More than two million people have been internally displaced and more than 95,000 refugees have fled to neighboring countries. Thailand should facilitate cross-border aid to internally displaced people in Myanmar and enable increased humanitarian aid to refugees in temporary shelters in Mae Hong Son district and other areas along the border. Thailand should also provide protection and support to all refugees, including permitting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to undertake refugee status determination. Mass pushbacks, coerced or otherwise, may amount to a breach of Thailand’s obligations as a party to the UN Convention Against Torture and violate the customary international law principle prohibiting refoulement, the forcible return of anyone to a place where they would face a genuine risk of persecution, torture, or other ill-treatment, or a threat to their life. “The Thai government should permit newly arrived Myanmar refugees access to humanitarian aid and help those seeking protection,” Pearson said. “Thai authorities shouldn’t push back refugees facing grave risk in Myanmar.”..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch (USA)
2023-11-29
Date of entry/update: 2023-11-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "JAKARTA – Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia urge the Thai government to stop engaging with the Myanmar junta, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, as it continues committing all sorts of atrocities against its own population in order to cement its power after the failed coup d’état in February 2021. They also petition the Thai authorities to provide help to refugees and asylum seekers fleeing persecution and military attacks from the neighboring country. The call to disengage the junta comes after a meeting between the top leaders of the Myanmar and Thai armed forces in Rakhine State, western Myanmar. The Chief of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, General Chalermphon Srisawasdi, and Min Aung Hlaing met on 20 January with the aim of “further cementing mutual trust, mutual understanding and friendly ties between the two armed forces,” according to media controlled by the Myanmar junta. As the high-level meeting was taking place, the Myanmar military was launching indiscriminate airstrikes in a village located in Sagaing region, killing at least seven villagers and injuring over thirty. On several occasions, stray shells have landed in Thai territory when the Myanmar military was conducting aerial attacks in neighboring Karen and Karenni states. “By engaging with the junta, the Thai military and government are turning into enablers of the crimes against humanity that it is perpetrating on a daily basis. No geopolitical interests can justify that. The junta has also shown utter disrespect to ASEAN, of which Thailand is also a member, by disregarding the Five Point Consensus it signed three months after the coup. No ASEAN member state should have ‘friendly ties’ with a military that has turned Myanmar into a center of instability which is threatening the whole region,” said Charles Santiago, former Member of Parliament in Malaysia, and Co-Chairperson of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). The Five Point Consensus was signed by the ASEAN member states and the Myanmar junta in April 2021 to put an end to the violence, seek a negotiated solution to the conflict and address the humanitarian crisis. As APHR has repeatedly stated, Min Aung Hlaing has not shown any willingness to comply with its terms from the beginning. The report of the International Parliamentary Inquiry into the global response to the crisis in Myanmar (IPI), organized by APHR, urged ASEAN to abandon the Five Point Consensus in its present form, as it has clearly failed. “As we demanded in our IPI report, ASEAN should engage the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar, as the legitimate authority of the country, and re-negotiate a new consensus with it and aligned ethnic organizations. ASEAN decided early on not to invite representatives of the junta to high-level meetings, and countries like Malaysia and its current Chair, Indonesia, have shown willingness to engage the NUG. By meeting Ming Aung Hlaing, Thailand is undermining those efforts and furthering divisions within the regional group,” said Santiago. In this vein, Thailand hosted a meeting in December to discuss the crisis in Myanmar, attended by the foreign ministers of the Myanmar junta, Laos and Cambodia, as well as the deputy foreign minister of Vietnam. Significantly, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore did not attend. Thailand and Myanmar share a border of over 2,400 kilometers, and the attacks by the junta have displaced hundreds of thousands. Yet Thailand refuses to accept refugees fleeing the onslaught of the Myanmar military on the other side of the border, often pushing back those who cross it after a few days or even a few hours, as human rights organizations have often denounced in the last two years. Asylum seekers from the neighboring country do not fare much better in Thailand, where they have no legal protection and live in constant fear of deportation. “Thailand has a history of welcoming refugees from Laos, Cambodia or Vietnam since the 20th century wars in Indochina. The government should open its borders to the refugees fleeing war in the Myanmar ethnic states along its borders, and provide legal protections to those who seek political asylum, including defectors from the Myanmar military. It should also facilitate cross-border aid by local civil society organizations and international NGOs. Once again, on these issues the main interlocutors the Thai government should engage with in Myanmar are the NUG, aligned ethnic organizations, and the vibrant civil society, not a criminal military completely unable to solve the crisis it has created,” said Santiago..."
Source/publisher: ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
2023-01-26
Date of entry/update: 2023-01-26
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Sub-title: New Thai law prohibits refugee push-backs to countries where they may face torture
Description: "(BANGKOK, October 28, 2022)—Thai authorities should implement the country’s new anti-torture law that would prohibit the forced return of refugees to Myanmar and other countries where they may face torture, said Fortify Rights today. On October 25, 2022, the Thai government published the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act B.E.2565 (2022) (the Anti-Torture Act) in the Royal Gazette, making it law. This new law includes a provision codifying the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the forced return of a person to a country where they may face torture or other forms of ill-treatment. “This new law will make it illegal for Thai officials to push refugees back to Myanmar, where the junta is systematically torturing people,” said Amy Smith, Executive Director of Fortify Rights. “Thai authorities should urgently identify and provide legal recognition to Myanmar refugees to prevent forced returns.” Section 13 of Thailand’s new Anti-Torture Act states that: “No government organizations or public officials shall expel, deport, or extradite a person to another country where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, or enforced disappearance.” The new law will come into force after 120 days of publication in the Royal Gazette. Since the Myanmar military launched a coup d’état on February 1, 2021, the Myanmar junta has committed widespread and systematic torture of civilians, while producing tens of thousands of refugees, many of whom have sought protection in Thailand. In March 2022, Fortify Rights and the Schell Center for International Human Rights at Yale Law School published a 193-page report, “Nowhere is Safe”: The Myanmar Junta’s Crimes Against Humanity Following the Coup d’État, documenting evidence that the Myanmar junta is responsible for committing widespread and systematic torture and enforced disappearances. The report includes firsthand testimony from survivors and eyewitnesses of torture and analyzes additional evidence, including video footage of torture. The Myanmar junta—including the military and police—has employed torture by violently beating detainees all over their bodies, resulting in broken bones; shooting civilians with rubber bullets at extremely close range; whipping people with wires and cables; depriving detainees of food, water, and sleep; forcing detainees to maintain “stress positions” and forcing people to sit on chairs for several days; and by committing sexual assaults and issuing threats of rape. The junta’s arbitrary arrests accompanied by beatings in the streets also constitute torture. For several consecutive years, Fortify Rights has documented the forced return of refugees from Thailand, including the destruction of a cross-border footbridge used by Myanmar refugees fleeing deadly attacks in eastern Myanmar in March 2022. In May 2021, a Thai provincial official also confirmed to Fortify Rights that Thai authorities returned to Myanmar at least 2,000 refugees in line with a government order. Fortify Rights also documented pushbacks of boats carrying passengers believed to be Rohingya refugees by Thai authorities, under Thailand’s controversial “help-on” or “push-back” policy. According to credible sources, more recently, on September 30, 2022, Thai authorities pushed back a group of Karen refugees into Myanmar, where they face the risk of shelling, airstrikes, and other human rights violations, including torture and enforced disappearance. Fortify Rights is currently investigating the matter. All of the aforementioned push-backs by Thai authorities would be unlawful under the new domestic law, said Fortify Rights. Although Thailand has been a State Party to the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) since 2007, Thailand’s new anti-torture law is the country’s first significant attempt to bring its domestic laws in line with its international legal commitments. Thailand has not acceded to the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention nor its Protocol. However, Thailand is obligated to uphold the principle of non-refoulement under customary international law. The Thai government has also repeatedly committed to protect refugees, including by adopting the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration and endorsing the Global Compact on Refugees during the U.N. General Assembly in December 2018. Furthermore, on December 24, 2019, the Thai Cabinet approved regulations to establish a National Screening Mechanism to identify and potentially protect refugees. However, the mechanism is yet to be implemented and concerns remain on whether the mechanism will comply with international human rights standards. As of September 30, 2022, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Thailand recorded at least 91,000 camp-based Myanmar refugees, most of whom are protracted refugees from Myanmar living along the Thailand-Myanmar border, and another 4,800 refugees from over 50 countries living outside the border camps. However, many more refugees, including new refugees fleeing persecution and violence in Myanmar after the attempted coup on February 1, 2022, are unaccounted for given the lack of a formal system to register or recognize refugees in Thailand. UNHCR estimates that more than 70,000 refugees have fled from Myanmar to neighboring countries since the coup. “This anti-torture law is a welcome step, and Thai authorities must now ensure its effective implementation by halting forced returns,” said Amy Smith. “Thai authorities should work with civil society organizations and UNHCR to protect refugees.”..."
Source/publisher: "Fortify Rights"
2022-10-28
Date of entry/update: 2022-10-28
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Description: "Introduction Nearly a year and a half since the military junta’s coup in Myanmar, the country remains caught in a crisis of conflict, mass forced displacement, and growing humanitarian needs. Fighting among the junta’s forces and multiple opposition groups has affected nearly every part of the country. The military junta has committed widespread atrocities and blocked international humanitarian groups from delivering aid to areas that desperately need it. The United States and other countries must pressure the junta to end its abuses and to allow aid to be delivered. In the meantime, delivery of international aid through Myanmar’s neighbors, particularly through local groups active along the Thai-Myanmar border, presents an underutilized path for getting assistance to those in need. More than 1 million people are now displaced in Myanmar, 750,000 of whom were forced to flee their homes since the coup. A quarter of the country’s population – an estimated 14 million people – needs humanitarian assistance, as the military junta continues to restrict or outright block access to aid. The most intense fighting in recent months has occurred in northwestern Myanmar’s Chin, Sagaing, and Magway states and in Karen and Karenni states in the southeast, bordering Thailand. This report focuses on the latter area, both as one of the main areas facing widespread displacement and humanitarian crisis, and as the one with the most immediate potential for mitigating human suffering. It explores the challenges facing populations living along the Thai-Myanmar border and the role long-established local civil society and community-based organizations (CSOs and CBOs) along the border can play in addressing humanitarian needs. The report is informed by a research trip to the area in late May 2022, during which Refugees International interviewed dozens of UN actors, international NGOs, local organizations, and refugees recently arrived from inside Myanmar. Currently, Thailand is restricting cross-border aid, and the Myanmar military junta’s control of main roads and tough terrain limit how much and how far informal aid can reach into Myanmar. However, informal aid is providing a vital lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people in need. Indigenous community networks across a porous 1,500-mile border provide numerous entry points for further informal aid delivery. Increased engagement by the United States and like-minded countries with Thailand, along with donor support for the already active local networks, could enable aid to reach tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, more people in need. The international community must also continue to press the military to allow aid access for UN agencies and other humanitarian actors within the country, where the majority of those in need can best be reached. But since the junta denies aid to those deemed enemies, it should not be directly involved in aid delivery. UN agencies and donor countries must monitor aid delivery to ensure it is done impartially, equitably, and on a needs-basis. Displacement in Myanmar. Credit: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Addressing the broader humanitarian fallout of the coup will require an array of efforts, including holding the military accountable for its actions. The United States and allies, including Myanmar’s neighbors, must push the junta through further coordinated sanctions, including on military-owned oil and gas companies, an arms embargo, and accountability measures. But equally important, in the interim, will be finding ways to deliver humanitarian aid to the Myanmar people. Myanmar’s neighbors should work with local actors and the humanitarian and health agencies of ethnic organizations to facilitate aid to areas accessible across borders. Neighboring countries must also ensure the safety and support of people fleeing from Myanmar by not pressuring them to return home and by allowing UN agencies and local and international NGOs to access newly arrived refugees. The United States and other countries should also engage Thailand to facilitate resettlement of people who are fleeing due to fears of being specifically targeted for their political activities and affiliations. Addressing the causes of the crisis and reaching affected populations requires ongoing broader efforts by the United States, Myanmar’s regional neighbors, and other allies to pressure and engage the junta. But the local networks along the Thai-Myanmar border offer the most readily available path to mitigating humanitarian suffering in the country. Research Overview This report focuses on the Thai-Myanmar border area. It first addresses the current conditions inside areas of Myanmar bordering Thailand. Next it explores barriers and opportunities for the provision of humanitarian assistance and protection to those reachable along the border. It then examines protection concerns for people from Myanmar who have sought refuge in Thailand and the conditions in long-established camps on the Thai side of the border where 90,000 refugees still live. The report is based on visits in late May 2022 to Mae Sot, Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, and Bangkok. Background On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, refused to accept the latest election results and launched a coup. A military junta arrested de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and hundreds of other political leaders. In response, everyday citizens protested en masse, initially peacefully. The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) included boycotts of military products and walk-outs and strikes by civil servants, doctors, teachers, and others. While the junta formed a State Administrative Council (SAC) chaired by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, elected officials, whom the military had removed from government, joined with the leaders of ethnic-based opposition groups to form a National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) and a National Unity Government (NUG)—a government in exile. Following a brutal response and crackdown by the SAC military, people around the country formed civilian militias or People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) and several long-established Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) ended long-standing ceasefires. This led to fighting between the SAC military and EAOs and PDFs in nearly all parts of the country. The fighting continues today, often marked by SAC military attacks on civilians and wholesale destruction of villages. At the time of this report, the military junta’s forces had detained more than 14,000 people, killed at least 2,000 civilians, and committed numerous atrocities. Some PDFs have also targeted civilians seen as military sympathizers and fighting has killed thousands more armed actors on both sides. Neither the SAC military nor the opposition seem able to win outright in the short to intermediate term, meaning that fighting is likely to continue for some time. As detailed in an earlier Refugees International report, the humanitarian fallout from the coup has been immense. More than 750,000 people have been forcibly displaced from their homes since the coup began. In the first months following the coup, the estimated number of people in need tripled from 1 million to 3 million. Violence, displacement, the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic mismanagement have caused that number to skyrocket to an estimated 14 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2022. In addition, the coup has made the prospect of return for the 1 million Rohingya refugees living in dire conditions in Bangladesh – most of whom fled genocidal attacks by the Myanmar military in 2017 – even less likely. The highest levels of displacement and need exist in areas facing the most intense fighting in the northwest and southeast. The junta’s forces have burned thousands of homes in the northwest and fighting and airstrikes have caused more than 500,000 people to flee their homes according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). This includes tens of thousands of people who have fled across the border into India, more than 330,000 people who have been displaced in Sagaing, and another 90,000 in Magway and Chin states. In the southeast, more than 240,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, many displaced multiple times. Local groups with whom Refugees International spoke report that these UN estimates are conservative and that 170,000 people have been displaced in Karen state alone with an equal number displaced in Karenni state, roughly two-thirds of the population there. Thousands more people have fled across the border into Thailand for limited periods of time. Even as displacement and humanitarian needs grow, barriers to aid delivery have increased. Part of this is due to fighting and insecurity, but in many instances the military junta has either directly or indirectly blocked the delivery of aid. In several documented cases, the military has seized or destroyed aid or attacked humanitarian workers. Physicians for Human Rights reported more than 415 attacks and threats on health workers and health infrastructure during the first year since the coup. In December 2021, two humanitarian workers with Save the Children were among at least 35 people, including women and children, killed in a Myanmar military attack. Military bombardments and use of land mines by both military and opposition forces have also prevented farmers from planting crops. UN agencies and international non-government organizations (INGOs) still operating in Myanmar have consistently reported delayed travel authorizations from the junta, and INGOs with whom Refugees International spoke have cited banking restrictions as significant challenges. Increased costs of transporting and purchasing aid materials have further exacerbated the challenges. These are due in part to global trends (including the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on commodity prices) and in part to the junta’s own economic mismanagement. Challenges with Humanitarian Access From within Myanmar, UN agencies and INGOs have been able to deliver some aid to SAC military-controlled areas and to a few opposition-held areas, largely through local civil society partners. UN OCHA reports that humanitarian actors provided assistance to 2.6 million people in the first quarter of 2022, but that is just 41 percent of those targeted to receive aid under the latest humanitarian response plan. The vast majority of those provided with aid were in urban areas, meaning that only a small portion of those in rural and conflict-affected communities received any aid. UN efforts have also led to some short-term access to non-military-controlled areas in need. For example, OCHA reports that concerted advocacy efforts helped to secure the first UN access to Karenni State in April 2022, after which the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) was able to deliver core relief items to 53,000 individuals, and OCHA further reports that the World Food Program (WFP) has begun distributing relief food assistance to up to 80,000 internally displaced people (IDPs). Expanding access to this aid will require further advocacy since significant barriers to delivery remain. Efforts to expand aid have been discussed within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional block. Humanitarian aid is a key part of the block’s Five-Point Consensus on addressing the crisis in Myanmar. The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management and a Myanmar Task Force that includes the military junta are planning to conduct humanitarian needs assessments. But regional CSOs have raised serious concerns about the junta’s involvement, the failure to include the NUG and other opposition groups, and the real risks of aid being weaponized through junta denials of access to certain areas. Any UN or ASEAN efforts to work through or around the junta to deliver aid will be fraught with questions of misuse and unequal allocation. To address these challenges will require the involvement of credible third parties, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross or UNHCR, and delivery of aid impartially and according to needs, ideally through local groups unaffiliated with the military. Despite these obstacles, efforts by the UN and the regional block to get the military to allow impartial and independent delivery of aid by third parties must continue, especially since cross-border aid will not reach the majority of those in need. In the meantime, there are a significant number of people living along Myanmar’s border who could be accessed with cross-border aid. This includes the potential delivery of aid from Bangladesh, China, and India, but most readily in the short term from Thailand. Conditions and Humanitarian Needs in Karen and Karenni States Refugees International spoke with several people who were or who had recently been inside of Karen and Karenni states and who have been working directly to assist IDPs—and many of our interlocutors were IDPs themselves. They described widespread displacement from villages, children hiding in the jungle in caves and trenches, and constant fear of airstrikes or artillery fire. As one Karenni CBO representative described to Refugees International, “there’s no safe place in Karenni state. If you stay in the village, you risk bombs. But if you flee too far, it is tough to get aid.” Similarly, a Karen woman who recently returned from assisting IDPs in Karen state summarized the conditions by saying, “This is not a way we can survive for long.” Since the coup, Karen and Karenni states have seen some of the most intense levels of fighting, displacement, and humanitarian need in the country. As reported by Thai-based human rights group Altsean-Burma, Karenni state has seen by far the most attacks per capita in the country. Since the coup, many CDM protestors have fled to non-SAC military-controlled areas in Karen and Karenni states. Long-standing EAO’s in Karen and Karenni states, particularly the Karen National Union (KNU) and its Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and its Karenni Army (KA) wing provided refuge to those fleeing the military crackdown and soon engaged in fighting with the SAC military themselves. Both of these groups have resisted the military for decades but signed a ceasefire with the military in 2012 as a period of democratic reforms was beginning. The ceasefires lasted until the coup in 2021. PDFs also sought refuge in these territories and have engaged SAC forces both independently and alongside EAOs. The EAOs have controlled large rural areas in both states and have at times seized various SAC military outposts. But junta forces have largely controlled main roads and urban areas and responded to resistance with aerial attacks and shelling, often of civilian areas. Fighting between the SAC military and these groups has intensified in several areas of both Karen and Karenni state since April 2022. The SAC military has turned to regular aerial bombardments from fighter jets and intense shelling. For example, on May 19, during Refugees International’s visit, 28 airstrikes were reported by local media and a local human rights group near the Thai-Myanmar border. The effect on the battlefield has been mixed, but the impact on the civilian population has been devastating. One woman who leads a local community-based organization described people hiding in the jungle at night, not using lights for fear of drawing the attention of bombers and being fearful of falling asleep. She told Refugees International that she is afraid to check her text messages at night, because too often they bring news of another injury or death. “There’s too much killing,” she told the Refugees International team, “It’s unforgettable, unforgiveable.” Others described the SAC military forcing civilians to carry their supplies or using them as human shields. Local groups also reported the use of land mines by the SAC and opposition forces alike. Reports from those who had been inside Karen and Karenni state were largely in line with the reports of atrocities documented by Amnesty International, described as “war crimes and likely crimes against humanity.” The result of these serious human rights abuses, airstrikes, and general fighting has been widespread and often repeated displacement of civilians in both Karen and Karenni states. Some villages and localities have been completely or nearly completely abandoned. Spillover from fighting in Karenni state has also added to the numbers of people displaced in Shan, another state bordering Thailand, which is housing an estimated 56,600 IDPs, including several thousand in close proximity to the border and only accessible through cross-border aid. Those displaced in each of these states in Myanmar face similar needs for food and shelter, particularly as the rainy season started early in 2022 and has continued. The rainy season also increases the need for mosquito nets and medicines. The trauma of flight from people’s homes and the constant threat of bombardments have also given rise to an acute need for psycho-social support. Educating children is difficult. CDM teachers have set up schools in the jungle but need supplies like pens and pencils, according to one CBO representative. Local groups are organizing educational activities and even building new makeshift structures to serve as schools. But resources are limited, and the risk of attacks looms ever-present. Cross-border Aid as a Lifeline For those living in non-SAC military-controlled areas in Karen, Karenni, and southern Shan states, unofficial aid provided by local civil society organizations with links to Thailand has been a vital lifeline. While Thailand does not officially sanction such aid, long established local cross-border networks have gotten significant amounts of aid across. Those involved include small ad hoc community groups of Myanmar migrants and concerned Thai citizens, long-established ethnic community-based organizations, and international NGOs that have worked to aid IDPs and refugees on both sides of the border. Many of these groups have been operating since the early 1990s, when tens of thousands of refugees fled across the border and have continued working with the remaining 90,000 Myanmar refugees in camps in Thailand or with IDPs in Myanmar. These groups have close and long-established links with the humanitarian and health wings of EAOs that control land across the border and with local leaders on both sides of the border. Their track record has built up significant trust among local ethnic groups making IDPs more willing to walk long distances to receive it. This stands in sharp contrast to the high levels of distrust of the SAC military and any aid it might deliver. While exact estimates of aid delivered are difficult to ascertain given the complex and unofficial operating environment, Refugees International’s discussions with dozens of CSO and CBO representatives suggest that more than $10 million worth of aid from across the border has reached up to a million people in need since the coup. Much of this has come in the form of cash transfers through both official and unofficial money transferring networks, allowing humanitarian actors to buy needed supplies in Myanmar, even far from the border. Other in-kind assistance is delivered via boats or trucks across bridges and includes food, non-food items, temporary shelter, water filtration units, and medical supplies. At least one CBO focused on the needs of women and girls has also been able to get dignity kits across the border. Other smaller scale, one-off efforts to provide aid include delivery of home-cooked meals to people fleeing air strikes. With the array of actors providing ad hoc aid, coordination issues are a concern. Refugees International heard some reports of duplication of aid efforts or delivery of unneeded items (e.g. sweaters at the height of summer). But the larger CBOs are communicating regularly and EAO humanitarian entities are playing a leading role in assessing needs and assuring aid gets to the right people without duplication. As one long-time humanitarian actor put it, “At the end of the day, needs exceed response capacity. It’s not about duplication. On the list of things to be worried about, not a priority.” It is also difficult to estimate how much this aid could be scaled up and how many people it could ultimately reach, given security and terrain barriers. The SAC military controls most main roads and the landscape along the border is made up of hills and jungles. But Refugees International’s discussions indicate that there is much more that can be done to support such efforts and at least hundreds of thousands more people who could be reached. Addressing Barriers to Cross-border Aid There are four main limitations to delivering aid across the border from Thailand, each of which can be mitigated to varying extent. These are: (1) Thai restrictions reflecting junta pressure; (2) SAC military control of roads and banks; (3) difficult terrain; and (4) lack of sufficient funding. The first, most obvious barrier is the refusal of the SAC and, by extension, Thailand to officially allow aid into the country. With a 1,500-mile border with Myanmar, Thailand is concerned with its relationship with the SAC and is seeking to balance economic and security interests. Part of this balance has been to withhold any official approval of cross-border aid and crackdown on it to varying extents. But local groups have been able to find indirect ways to deliver aid, often via boat across the border river or in limited quantities within vehicles. The second main barrier is the fact that the SAC military controls most main roads and restricts cash transfers via banks. But alternative roads and paths are available and used by local groups to deliver aid beyond the main roads. Local groups use informal cash transfer networks like the hundi system, a trust-based practice originating in India and long-established in Myanmar, in which local agents transfer sums of money on behalf of friends, relatives, or other agents without legal protection or supervision. The third limitation is navigating the difficult hilly jungle terrain along the border. However, the ceasefire era enabled an expansion of roads in EAO administered areas. Moreover, the SAC military’s area of influence in rural areas has decreased since the coup. Local groups use motorbikes, horses and donkeys, or backpacks to transport aid beyond the immediate border area. The largest and most consistent barrier to aid delivery cited by CBOs was deficiency of humanitarian funding. Local CBOs have the networks and modalities for getting more aid across but not the funds to reach many more people in need. While a few governments are supporting local groups involved in aid efforts, donor countries should step up support for these underutilized and low-profile mechanisms. International donors should also engage the NUG and the humanitarian wings of EAOs to better assess needs and ensure coordination of aid delivery. Donors must also recognize the complex dynamics and greater risks local groups face in delivering aid and be appropriately flexible with their reporting requirements. Groups with which Refugees International spoke often complained about too frequent and onerous of reporting schedules, impractical demands for receipts, and unrealistic procurement protocols. For example, one group cited being required to show quotes from three different suppliers in an environment where just one was realistically available. These requirements have been so onerous that some groups said they have foregone significant amounts of potential funding. The potential for further provision of aid through experienced networks is abundant. Groups like The Border Consortium have been coordinating and providing aid to some 90,000 refugees who have remained in camps in Thailand for the past three decades. Ethnic-based organizations like the Karen Women’s Organization and Karenni National Women’s Organization have networks and experience working to promote protection of women and girls on both sides of the border. Similarly, members of the Karenni Civil Society Network, Karen Peace Support Network, and Shan State Refugee Committee have the networks and experience to assess needs and facilitate the delivery of aid through their member agencies. Ethnic health organizations are well placed to promote access to basic health care, clean water, and nutrition. And human rights groups like the Karen Human Rights Group, Karenni Human Rights Group, and Shan Human Rights Foundation have the ability to document abuses and monitor aid to ensure that it is protection sensitive. Protection for Myanmar Refugees in Thailand In addition to the hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Myanmar’s states bordering Thailand, there have been thousands of people who have crossed the border from Myanmar to seek refuge in Thailand since the start of the coup. They fall largely into two groups: people who have been internally displaced in bordering states and seek temporary refuge in Thailand and CDM protestors and high-profile individuals seeking longer-term refuge, whether in Thailand or third countries. Those in the first group have crossed into Thailand at different times when fighting and airstrikes have been particularly intense and close to the border, though usually for only a matter of days. Thai authorities have said that they will respect their international obligation of non-refoulement and not force refugees to return, but there are consistent reports of Thai authorities pressuring them to return. This is consistent with what Thai authorities have done in the past. During earlier battles between the Myanmar military and EAOs, the Thai authorities allowed people to take refuge in Thailand only while fighting was active and expected them to return to Myanmar once it had paused. But the intensity and frequency of battles and extent of displacement are much greater today, increasing concerns of extensive refoulement. In March 2021, an estimated 3,000 Karen people fled airstrikes into Thailand. Another 8,000 people fled artillery and air attacks in Lay Kay Kaw in Karen state into Thailand in December 2021. As of February 2022, the Thai government estimated that 17,000 Myanmar refugees had crossed into Thailand since the coup. And UNHCR reports that 3,000 others have crossed the border from Karenni State since March 2022, though only 246 refugees remain. According to UNHCR, those remaining face extensive humanitarian needs including access to safe drinking water, medicine, and sanitation facilities. In the first weeks following the coup, Thailand worked with UN agencies to develop contingency plans for large numbers of refugees fleeing into Thailand. This included the establishment of Temporary Safety Areas (TSAs) that were to be overseen by civilian federal and local authorities. But the initial contingency planning exercises were not implemented once refugees began coming across the border in large numbers. Since then, areas established to temporarily shelter refugees have been overseen by the Thai military, which has refused international support. Conditions at the sites are deplorable. One site, established after a bout of bombing and displacement in December 2021, is called the cowshed since that was its previous use. Thai authorities did allow local community organizations and volunteers to deliver and distribute pre-cooked meals, tarps, and a few other non-food items. But the site was not fit for human habitation, and Thai authorities declined offers of international support. Refugees International saw video footage of overcrowded accommodations that lacked the most basic necessities. As one CBO representative who visited the location at the time told Refugees International, the displaced people there “need more than a cow farm along the river. They need systematic protection.” He warned of serious risks to women and girls amid a lack of privacy and sufficient toilets. The Thai government should give UNHCR and local and international NGOs access to these TSAs to provide critical nutrition, sanitation, health, and protection services, including the establishment of women friendly spaces and referral pathways. Thai authorities must also live up to their commitments to non-refoulement and refrain from pressuring people fleeing violence in Myanmar from returning before it is safe to do so. UNHCR and local and international NGOs should also be included in contingency planning for possible further numbers of people seeking refuge in Thailand as the fighting in Myanmar shows little sign of subsiding in the near term. Asylum Seekers from Myanmar in Thailand People seeking longer-term refuge in Thailand and beyond are higher-profile individuals or those who have taken part in CDM protests. This group includes doctors, teachers, students, celebrities, politicians, and military-defectors who fear they will be targeted for persecution by the junta and are now seeking a safe haven in Thailand or longer-term refugee resettlement in third countries. Local groups with whom Refugees International spoke estimated, conservatively, that around 2,000 to 4,000 asylum seekers are staying in and around the town of Mae Sot. When areas in Thailand beyond Mae Sot are included, those estimates reach as many as 30,000 asylum seekers. Such numbers are difficult to determine with any certainty as Thai authorities do not provide any form of refugee registration nor allow UNHCR to carry out registrations. In Mae Sot, Refugees International met with a group of teachers and students who had taken part in the CDM protests in Kachin state. They had arrived in Mae Sot a few days before. They described feeling unsafe going out in public for fear of being detained and forced to pay bribes, as well as uncertainty about how they might find jobs or continue their education. Some diaspora and local groups are supporting initial rent payments, provision of basic goods like rice and oil, and online education, but the needs are great. In Mae Hong Son, Refugees International met with a photojournalist from Mandalay who had been documenting protests and the military crack-down there. He was forced to flee to Lay Kay Kaw in Karen state, and then again following attacks in December 2021. He spent some time in an IDP site, then recently fled further fighting and arrived in Thailand after several days of trekking through the jungle, first to Mae Sot then to Mae Hong Son. He plans to return to Karen state to continue documenting the abuses of the military. In Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, Refugees International met separately with two doctors. One had fled a government hospital in Yangon after leading CDM protests and being targeted by the junta. The other fled a hospital in Myawaddy after being targeted by the junta for assisting civilians injured following protests. Both are seeking refuge in third countries through humanitarian visas. In Mae Sot, Refugees International met with an army-defector. He fled once his family was safe and is now awaiting resettlement to Australia. All of these asylum seekers felt insecure because of their lack of official status and the constant risk of detention or demand of bribes from local police. They also expressed concerns about the lack of access to work and to education for their children. One CBO focused on women and girls expressed growing concerns with the risks of abuse and exploitation amid a lack of protection through referral pathways and safe spaces for women and girls. Another, who had worked along the border in an earlier phase of mass displacement across the border warned of signs of growing sex trafficking risks. Thailand should allow access for UNHCR and INGOs to all new arrivals and allow UNHCR to register asylum seekers and carry out refugee status determinations as it does around the world. Thai authorities could also give refugees status that provides access to livelihood opportunities. Alternatively, Thailand could carry out its own registration and identity card distribution as part of the National Screening Mechanism for refugees proposed in 2020 yet to be implemented. A registration system will both help to prevent exploitation and the threat of detention and refoulement and allow UN agencies or Thai authorities to better track who is in the country. As one CBO representative put it, those can breathe.” Registration of asylum seekers would also facilitate tracking COVID-19, distribution of vaccines, and prevention of trafficking and other criminal activities. The United States and other receiving countries should also engage Thailand to facilitate resettlement of people who are fleeing due to fears of being specifically targeted for their political activities and affiliations. This will not be a solution for most of those who have fled but will have a significant impact on many individual lives. Conditions in Longer Established Refugee Camps In addition to civilians displaced by violence in Karen and Karenni states and CDM protestors and others fleeing persecution, there is a third group of people from Myanmar living on the Thai side of the border. These are the 90,000 refugees who have been living in camps since the 1990s. At the height of displacement in the early 1990s, more than 130,000 refugees fled from Myanmar into Thailand. Tens of thousands of these refugees were resettled in third countries like the United States. Many others returned to Myanmar following the democratic opening in the last decade before the coup. Today, there are nine official refugee sites in Thailand. The largest, Mae La, hosts some 34,000 refugees. Funding to these camps has dropped dramatically in recent years. In addition, measures to prevent the spread of COVID have heavily restricted the ability of these refugees to leave the camps, cutting them off from access to education and livelihood opportunities. As new populations flee violence in Myanmar, this longer-term population must not be forgotten. Thailand should work with UNHCR and INGOs operating in the camps regarding the ability to move out of the camps to access accredited education and work opportunities. Thailand, which is currently facing a need for more migrant workers, could benefit from offering migrant permits to this population. As in the past, countries like the United States should offer scholarships and resettlement slots to refugees in the camps. The Importance of International Engagement with Thailand The engagement of the United States and key allies with Thailand will be critical in creating political space for cross-border aid and protection of people from Myanmar seeking refuge in and near the border. Thailand faces a range of challenges from economic and security risks and pressure from the Myanmar junta to the risks of instability stemming from the lack of aid and formal registration for refugees. Thailand is reluctant to do anything to incentivize more refugees coming into the country, but failure to allow cross-border aid – and thus allowing conditions for people across the border to deteriorate – could do just that. Similarly, failure to register refugees makes it more difficult to monitor and prevent the spread of infectious disease or to stop trafficking and other criminal activities. The United States and allies should highlight these points and encourage Thai authorities to support cross-border aid and protection of refugees both for humanitarian reasons and for the positive impacts on stability these measures can bring. Partners should also be clear that failure to take such measures will damage bilateral relationships with Thailand. U.S. officials have raised the need for cross-border assistance and a commitment to non-refoulement on several high-level visits and Thai officials have rhetorically responded positively. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited Thailand in August 2021. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman visited in May 2021, and State Department Counselor Derek Chollet traveled to Thailand in October 2021. Thailand’s Foreign Minister expressed an openness to cross-border assistance following Chollet’s visit and, in a January 2022 meeting with the UN Special Envoy on Myanmar, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha reaffirmed a commitment to non-refoulement. In June 2022, Chollet traveled to Thailand again. He visited areas near the border including Mae La refugee camp and met with local CSOs. A July 2022 visit to Bangkok by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken included the Myanmar crisis on the agenda among several broader issues. In March 2022, in a letter to the Thai Foreign Minister, a group of U.S. senators raised concerns about push backs of refugees and urged the facilitation of cross-border aid. But it is not clear if concerns such as these were raised by U.S. President Joseph Biden during the U.S.-ASEAN Summit in May 2022 or by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in his trip to Thailand following Chollet’s visit in June 2022. Public statements coming out of those meetings indicate that defense, trade, and geo-political concerns with China dominated the conversations. Cross-border aid remains restricted, and reports of refugees being pressured to return to Myanmar continue to emerge. Sustained international engagement is essential to opening further paths to protection and provision of life-saving aid. The United States and allies should emphasize to Thailand that its official policy of restricting both aid and access to asylum exacerbates human suffering and creates challenges for local Thai authorities. A more nuanced approach of allowing, or at least not objecting to, cross-border assistance and fulfilling its obligation to provide safe haven to asylum seekers is in Thailand’s own national interest, as it would help stabilize a deteriorating complex emergency on Thailand’s doorstep. The United States and allies must continue to engage Thailand on these points and prioritize calls for aid delivery and non-refoulement in bilateral talks. Confirmation of already nominated U.S. ambassadors to Thailand and ASEAN would help to amplify these messages. The U.S. Congress should act swiftly to provide consent to these nominations. At the same time, the United States must work with Thailand and other ASEAN and allied countries to increase pressure on Myanmar’s military junta toward ending abuses and allowing unfettered humanitarian access to those in need. This should include implementation of a global arms embargo, further coordinated targeted sanctions on the SAC military and its assets, and support for accountability measures, including through the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. The U.S. Congress should pass the BURMA Act, which includes measures along these lines and would authorize further humanitarian assistance. Conclusion Displacement along the Thai-Myanmar border is just a part of the regional crisis sparked by the coup. But addressing it is the most immediate way to mitigate acute human suffering. While humanitarian actors will need to grapple with how best to ensure fair and unfettered delivery of aid in the broader context of the country, the opportunity to scale up cross-border aid to a significant portion of the Myanmar population in need should not be missed. All of Myanmar’s neighbors, including Bangladesh, China, and India should explore similar channels for aid delivery and provide access to refuge. Thailand has a chance to be a leader in asylum and protection to a population in great need. Allies seeking to alter the trajectory of suffering in Myanmar must remind Thailand why this is in its interest and provide support to local actors already providing lifesaving aid. Recommendations The government of Thailand should: Engage regional partners to press the military junta in Myanmar to end grave human rights abuses and allow those in need unfettered access to humanitarian aid. Uphold the international legal obligation of non-refoulement of individuals seeking refuge from threats to their life and freedom in Myanmar. Allow the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and international and local NGOs access to newly arrived people seeking refuge from Myanmar to assess needs, carry out services, and establish women-friendly spaces in temporary safe areas along the border. Include the UNHCR and local and international NGOs in contingency planning for possible larger numbers of people seeking refuge in Thailand. Allow and facilitate the delivery of cross-border humanitarian aid through local civil-society and community-based organizations. Allow access to education and livelihoods opportunities for long-time refugees in camps along the Myanmar border. Work with UNHCR to create a protection framework for people from Myanmar who are seeking refuge in Thailand, including possibly through application of the proposed National Screening Mechanism for refugees in Thailand and the provision of identity cards and status that could provide access to livelihood opportunities and act as a barrier to detention and exploitation. Work with the United States and other countries to facilitate resettlement of refugees from Myanmar. The U.S. government should: Step up diplomatic efforts with Thailand and other ASEAN and allied countries to pressure the Myanmar junta to end grave human rights abuses and allow unfettered humanitarian access to those in need. Such actions should include: Further targeted sanctions on the military and military-owned enterprises, including oil and gas revenues; A global arms embargo on Myanmar; Support for accountability efforts including the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and through the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court. Maintain regular high-level government visits to Thailand and Myanmar’s other neighbors, prioritizing pressure on the Myanmar junta, access to asylum for people from Myanmar, and provision of cross-border aid. Engage Thailand and other countries hosting asylum seekers from Myanmar to expedite resettlement of at-risk individuals who have fled persecution in Myanmar. Offer pathways to the United States for long-time refugees in camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border, including scholarships and resettlement. Engage and support the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), National Unity Government (NUG), and ethnic armed organizations, including through coordination of aid and COVID vaccine distribution. U.S. Members of Congress should: Support and pass the BURMA Act of 2021-22, which would: Authorize additional humanitarian assistance for those in need in Myanmar and surrounding countries, including through cross-border delivery of aid; Support local civil society organizations in Myanmar; Demand further targeted sanctions on military leaders and military-owned enterprises; Support accountability efforts; Call upon the U.S. government to engage the UN Security Council toward a global arms embargo, coordinated targeted sanctions, and other measures to press the military junta to end abuses and allow unfettered humanitarian access to those in need. Ensure high-level diplomatic presence in the region by swiftly confirming the nominated U.S. ambassadors to Thailand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). International donor countries should: Increase funding for local civil society and community-based organizations operating along the Myanmar-Thailand border and adjust reporting requirements to reflect the complex nature of aid delivery to those in need in Myanmar. Press the junta to allow unfettered delivery of humanitarian aid, while establishing safeguards to prevent the military usurping aid and avoiding legitimization of the junta. Such safeguards should include distribution through credible interlocutors like the International Federation of the Red Cross and access for UN agencies to monitor and assess aid delivery. The Myanmar military junta should: Cease attacks on civilians and other grave human rights abuses. Allow unfettered access for UN agencies and NGOs to all those in need of humanitarian aid. Release all political prisoners and open the path toward a truly inclusive and representative democratically elected civilian government..."
Source/publisher: Refugees International
2022-07-12
Date of entry/update: 2022-07-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) is concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian crisis inside Burma. In target areas of Mon State, Karen State and Tanintharyi region, HURFOM has documented nearly 30,000 newly displaced civilians who have had to escape violence. These displaced people are just a fraction of the 1 million people across the country who have been forced to flee their homes. The merciless violence deployed by the military junta has not spared women, children, or the elderly. On World Refugee Day, HURFOM condemns the mass atrocities that the Burma Army continues to commit with impunity. We further call upon international actors, including some UN bodies and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), to support local actors in their emergency response to the situation on the ground, rather than make agreements with the Burma Army. The refugee crisis in Burma is the result of the junta’s insatiable quest for power. Their presence in local villages and communities has brought only destruction and fear as civilians are arrested, detained, brutally tortured, and killed. HURFOM has observed rising cases of forced disappearances alongside mass displacement. The Burma Army is responsible for the generational trauma it continues to exert on displaced populations and refugees. And yet, the response by the international community has been inadequate. Rather than choosing to allocate funds and resources with well-established civil society organizations with decades of experience working in conflict-affected communities, the UN and ASEAN have opted to facilitate humanitarian assistance through the junta. Local organizations do not agree with this approach, as it weaponizes aid and is not transparent. Further, it risks legitimizing the regime as a reliable partner. The junta should play absolutely no role in any organizing and distribution of humanitarian assistance. Since 1 February 2021, the junta has boycotted attempts for aid delivery including targeted assaults on volunteer aid workers, and burning supplies intended for displaced populations. Further, by working alongside the military, an institution with a reputation of corruption and insincerity, the international community is not responding adequately to the realities of the current situation. The National Unity Government, and ethnic revolution organizations must be consulted in the allocation of emergency aid. If international actors are going to provide assistance, they must do so through existing channels which will ensure conflict-affected refugees receive the materials they so urgently need. On World Refugee Day, HURFOM reinforces calls for international assistance of which is not influenced by the Burma Army. Assistance must be facilitated to leaders on the ground who are trusted by their community and can ensure the emergency needs are met. By failing to listen to the voices of victims and survivors in Burma, the international community is subsequently failing the people and they must do better. HURFOM reinstates our calls for a referral of the situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court, as well as for a global arms embargo and sanctions on aviation fuel. Further, as the situation in Burma continues to unravel, the safety and security of civilians must take precedent. The grave human rights violations committed today are ongoing, yet the military evades accountability. There must be concrete actions and steps forward which make clear that the military is not free to violate international laws, human rights, and freedoms..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Foundation of Monland
2022-06-20
Date of entry/update: 2022-06-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Myanmar refugees face arbitrary arrest, alleged extortion in Thailand
Description: "The Government of Thailand should investigate the recent destruction by its soldiers of a makeshift cross-border footbridge used by refugees fleeing deadly attacks in eastern Myanmar, said Fortify Rights today. Video footage filmed from the Myanmar side of the border and obtained by Fortify Rights shows uniformed Thai soldiers destroying a footbridge over the Wa Le (also known as the Waw Lay) River, a tributary of the Moei River, which forms part of the border between Thailand and Myanmar. New evidence also implicates Thai authorities in arbitrarily arresting and allegedly extorting refugees in the border town of Mae Sot. “The Thai authorities should ensure any investigation into the situation on the border is aimed at protecting refugee rights, not further violating them,” said Amy Smith, Executive Director at Fortify Rights. “Arbitrary arrests and the destruction of this footbridge demand urgent attention.” Video footage taken from the Myanmar side of the Thailand-Myanmar border, obtained and released today by Fortify Rights, shows two uniformed Thai soldiers destroying a small bamboo footbridge over the Wa Le River while another Thai soldier watches them. The footbridge connects Thailand’s Tak Province with Myanmar’s war-torn Karen State, where the Myanmar military has attacked and killed civilians, including children, in recent weeks and months..."
Source/publisher: "Fortify Rights"
2022-05-03
Date of entry/update: 2022-05-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The volatile situation in Myanmar following the 01 February 2021 coup has resulted in increased armed conflict and subsequent population displacement both within the country and across borders, including into Thailand. Since 17 March, 2,437 Myanmar refugees have crossed into Thailand, according to the Royal Thai Government (RTG). The refugees have sought safety in Umphang and Phop Phra districts, Tak province. Refugees are sheltered in temporary safety areas (TSA), which are placed under the general jurisdiction of the Royal Thai Army in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) established by the RTG in March 2021. SITUATION OVERVIEW ON THE THAI MYANMAR BORDER In Kayah, clashes have been erupting and escalating since the Karen National Union (KNU) sent a letter to the Tatmadaw on 7 March, demanding the Military withdraw from the KNU controlled area – Brigade 6. As a result, 2,437 Myanmar refugees have fled the upsurge of violence in Kayah State into Phop Phra and Umphang Districts, Tak Province, since 17 March 2022. Out of this number, 869 have returned to Myanmar. Although some refugees have gone back to Myanmar, the Royal Thai Government (RTG) continues to record new arrivals. As of 13 April 2022, the RTG reported that 1,514 Myanmar individuals remain on the Thai side of the border in Tak Province, Thailand. In Myanmar, the situation continues to deteriorate, with conflicts intensifying and spreading further. In the South-East, intensified daily clashes continued between the Tatmadaw and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). Fighting occurs over a large area, with incidents reported in Kayin State’s Hpapun, Kawkareik, Myawaddy, Kyainseikgyi townships, Mon State’s Kyaikhto and Bago Region’s Shwegyin Township. Intensified clashes have also been reported in several areas of the Tanintharyi Region between the Tatmadaw, KNLA, and People’s Defence Force (PDF), including Myeik and Palaw townships. In Kayah State, clashes continue to be reported in Demoso Township. Nearby Pekon Township in Shan State (South) has also been affected by fighting..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2022-04-18
Date of entry/update: 2022-04-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, today expressed its continued encouragement and support for the adoption of measures to improve the wellbeing and safety of Myanmar refugees who have been arriving in Thailand since mid-December. According to official sources, over 9,500 civilians had been forced to flee their homes in Kayin and Kayah states in southeast Myanmar, seeking shelter and protection in Tak and Mae Hong Son Provinces in Thailand. While the majority have returned to Myanmar, UNHCR understands from the Thai authorities that approximately 1,000 refugees remain in Mae Sot, the vast majority of whom are staying in a site in Mae Kone Kane. While recognizing the assistance provided thus far by the Government with the support of local communities, this may not be sustainable nor sufficient for individuals with vulnerabilities and specific healthcare needs. The situation remains extremely uncertain and volatile in Myanmar. Given the pressing humanitarian needs of the refugees and the continued fighting on the Myanmar side of the border, UNHCR calls on the Royal Thai Government to transfer the group of refugees being sheltered in the ‘temporary safety area’ in Mae Sot, Tak Province, to another location where they can access safer and more dignified temporary accommodation, and receive improved humanitarian assistance. UNHCR reiterates its readiness to assist the Thai authorities in responding to the humanitarian needs of the new arrivals. To that effect, UNHCR and humanitarian partners continue to request access to the refugee population. UNHCR also reiterates its call that, in accordance with international law, all those seeking international protection and fleeing conflict, generalized violence or persecution be allowed to cross borders in search of safety, and that they are not forcibly sent back to a place where their lives and freedom could be in danger..."
Source/publisher: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
2022-01-20
Date of entry/update: 2022-01-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "မြန်မာအစိုးရ အဆက်ဆက်သည် ပြည်နယ်အသီးသီးနှင့် ပြည်နယ်သားများအပေါ် လွှမ်းမိုးချုပ်ကိုင်ခြင်းဖြင့် ၎င်းတို့အာဏာတည်မြဲရန် ကြိုးစားခဲ့ကြသည်။ ၎င်းတို့၏ ကြိုးစားမှုများသည် ဗမာ့ တပ်မတော်နှင့် ကေအဲန်ယူ – ကရင်အမျိုးသားအစည်းအရုံး ကဲ့သို့သော တိုင်းရင်းသား လက်နက်ကိုင် အဖွဲ့စည်းများအကြား ပဋိပက္ခများသာ အမြစ်တွယ်၊ ဆက်လက်ဖြစ်ပေါ်ခဲ့သည်။ အကျိုးဆက်အားဖြင့် လက်နက်ကိုင်အဖွဲ့စည်း အဖွဲ့၀င်များနှင့် စစ်ရှောင် ဒုက္ခသည်များသည် ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံသို့ ထွက်ပြေးခိုလှုံခဲ့ရသည်။ ၁၉၈၀ နှင့် ၁၉၉၀ နှောင်းပိုင်း နှစ်များတွင် ထိုင်းနှင့် မြန်မာ နယ်စပ်တလျှောက်တွင် ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်း ၄၀ ကျော် ရှိခဲ့သည် (Kasetsisi 2001; Trichote 2004; Vaddhanaphuti and Sitthikriengkrai 2016) ။ အစပိုင်းတွင် ထိုင်း အာဏာပိုင်များသည် ဒုက္ခသည်များအား လူသားချင်းစာနာ ထောက်ထား မှုဆိုင်ရာ ပံ့ပိုးမှုများ၊ ယာယီ ခိုလှုံခွင့်များပေးခဲ့သည်။ သို့သော် ၁၉၉၀ နှောင်းပိုင်းကာလများတွင် ယာယီ ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်းများကို ဗမာ့ တပ်မတော်မှ မကြာခဏ တိုက်ခိုက်သည့်အတွက် ထိုင်းအာဏာပိုင်များက ၎င်းတို့ စီမံရ လွယ်ကူစေရန် ဒုက္ခသည်များကို ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်းကြီးများထဲသို့ ရောနှော စုပေါင်းထားခဲ့သည်။ ယခုဆိုလျှင် ထိုင်းနယ်စပ် ခရိုင်လေးခု ဖြစ်သည့် တတ်၊ မယ်ဟောင်ဆောင်၊ ကဥ္စနပုရီ၊ ရာဇပုရီ တို့ရှိ ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်း ကိုးခုသာလျှင် အကူညီများ ရရှိတော့သည်။ လက်ရှိတွင် ထိုင်း-မြန်မာ နယ်စပ်တွင် ဒုက္ခသည်‌ပေါင်း ကိုး‌ထောင်ကျော် ရှိပြီး အများစုမှာ ကရင် ဒုက္ခသည်များ ဖြစ်ကြသည်။ အများစုမှာ ဒုက္ခသည်အဖြစ် ခိုလှုံ နေရသည်မှာ ဆယ်စုနှစ် သုံးခုစာ ရှိပြီ ဖြစ်သည်။ ဒုက္ခသည်များအပေါ် ကမ္ဘာ၏ အာရုံစိုက်အလေးထားမှုသည် ၂၀၁၁ ခုနှစ်မှစ၍ လျော့ပါး ပျောက်ကွယ် လာပြီး ဒုက္ခသည်များ၏ အနာဂတ်မှာလည်း မသေချာမရေရာ ဖြစ်လာသည်။ ‌ထိုင်း-မြန်မာ နယ်စပ်ရှိ အိုးအိမ် စွန့်ခွါတိမ်းရှောင်ရသူ ဒုက္ခသည်များအတွက် လုံခြုံစိတ်ချရသည့်၊ လက်တွေ့ အလုပ်ဖြစ်နိုင်မည့် နည်းလမ်း အဖြေ များ ပေးရန်ဆိုလျှင် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အဖွဲ့စည်းများအနေဖြင့် ဒုက္ခသည်များ၏ အသံနှင့် အမြင်များကို ထည့်သွင်းစဥ်းစားရမည် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ စာရေးသူ ကိုယ်တိုင်သည် ထိုင်း-မြန်မာ နယ်စပ် တွင် ကြီးပြင်းလာသည့် ကရင်တယောက်ဖြစ်သည့်အလျောက် ဒုက္ခသည်အရေးကိစ္စသည် စာရေးသူအတွက် ရင်ဘတ်ချင်းနီးစပ်သည့် အလွန်အရေးကြီးကိစ္စ တခုဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ကျွန်တော်သည် တတ်ခရိုင် မဲဆောက်မြို့ တွင် အခြေ စိုက်သည့် Partners Relief and Development Foundation နှင့်အတူ၊ ဒုက္ခသည်များနှင့်အတူ အလုပ် လုပ် နေသည် မှာ သုံးနှစ်မျှရှိပြီ ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ မဲဆောက်ရှိ ဒုက္ခသည်များသည် ကျွန်တော်တို့နှင့်ရင်းနှီးကြပြီး သူတို့နှင့်ပြောဆိုဆက်ဆံရသည်မှာ ကျွန်တော့် နေ့စဥ်ဘ၀၏ တစိတ်တပိုင်းဖြစ်လို့နေသည်။ ကျွန်တော့် ဇာတိမြေသို့ ကားစီးပြန်သည့် အခါများတွင် ကရင် ဒုက္ခသည်များနှင့် တွေ့ဆုံသည်။ သူတို့နှင့်စကားပြောရသည်ကို ကျွန်တော်နှစ်ခြိုက်သည်။ သို့ဖြစ်၍လည်း ကရင်ဒုက္ခသည် အများစုနှင့် ကျွန်တော် ရင်းနှီးလာခြင်း ဖြစ်သည်။ ဒုက္ခသည်သူငယ်ချင်းတယောက်ဆိုလျှင် ကျွန်တော်အလုပ်လုပ်သည့် ဖောင်ဒေးရှင်းတွင် လုပ်ကိုင်သည်။ ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်းမှ နေရပ်မြန်မာပြည်သို့ ပြန်ရန် သို့မဟုတ် စား၀တ်နေရေးအတွက် အလုပ်လုပ်ရန်အတွက် ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်းမှ ထွက်ခွာသွားသူများထက်၊ အခြားဘေးကင်းရာသို့ ပြောင်းရွှေ့ ခိုလှုံရန် သို့မဟုတ် အကူညီ အထောက်ပံ့များ ပိုမိုရရှိလာရန် ဒုက္ခသည် စခန်းတွင် စောင့်ဆိုင်းသူများ ရှိနေသည့်အပေါ် ကျွန်တော်နားမလည်နိုင် ဖြစ်လာသည်။ ထိုနားမလည်မှုက ကျွန်တော့်အား ချင်းမိုင် (ဇင်းမယ်) တက္ကသိုလ်တွင် တိုင်းရင်းသား‌လူမျိုးရေးရာနှင့် ဖွံ့ဖြိုးတိုးတက်ရေး ဘာသာရပ်ဖြင့် မဟာတန်း တက်ရောက်ရန် တွန်းအားဖြစ်စေခဲ့သည်။ တိုင်းရင်းသားလူမျိုးရေးရာလေ့လာမှု နှင့် ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေး စင်တာ (CESD) တွင် လေ့လာဆည်းပူးရသည့် အဓိက ပထမ ရည်ရွယ်ချက်မှာ ဒုက္ခသည်များဆိုင်ရာ မူဝါဒအပြောင်းလဲဖြစ်ပေါ်စေရေး တွန်းတိုက်ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် မဟုတ်ဘဲ ဒုက္ခသည်များ၏ ပြဿနာများ၊ ဘဝများ နှင့် အိပ်မက်များကို နက်နက်နဲနဲ နားလည်နိုင်ရန် လေ့လာလို ခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွါ ရွှေ့ပြောင်းမှုကို ဖြစ်ပေါ်စေသည့် အခြေနေ ဖြစ်တည်ပုံ အကြောင်းတရားများ နှင့် ပိုမိုကျယ်ပြန့်သောအင်အားစုများကို နားလည်ရန် ကျွန်တော်လပေါင်းများစွာ အချိန်ယူခဲ့ရသည်။ ဒုက္ခသည်များအတွက် အ‌ထောက်ကူဖြစ်မည့် ရလဒ်များကို ဖန်တီးရန်ဆိုလျှင် ရေရှည် အလုပ်ဖြစ်မည့်နည်းလမ်းများကို အဖြေရှာဖော်ထုတ်နေသည့် နိုင်ငံတကာ အဖွဲ့စည်းများအနေဖြင့် ဒုက္ခသည် များ၏ အသံကို နားထောင်ရန် လိုအပ်သည်ဟု ကျွန်တော်နားလည်လာခဲ့သည်။ နေရာသစ်များတွင် ဘဝ တလျှောက်လုံး အခြေချ နေထိုင်ရမည့် ဒုက္ခသည်များအတွက် အဆိုပါကိစ္စရပ်နှင့်ပတ်သတ်၍ အနဲဆုံး မည်သို့ ဖြစ်သင့်သည် ဆိုသည့် ရွေးချယ်စရာ ပေးသင့်ပါသည်။ ရေရှည်အလုပ်ဖြစ်မည့် နည်းလမ်းအဖြေများ? ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်းများသည် ယာယီအတွက် ရည်ရွယ်သော်လည်း ဒုက္ခသည်များအတွက် ရေရှည်အလုပ် ဖြစ်မည့် နည်းလမ်းများ လိုအပ်ပါသည်။ အထူးသဖြင့် နိုင်ငံတကာရန်ပုံငွေများ လျော့ပါး ပျောက်ကွယ် သွား နိုင်သည့်အတွက် ကူညီဖြေရှင်းမည့်နည်းလမ်းများသည် ၎င်းတို့အတွက် ရေရှည်အလုပ်ဖြစ်မည့် နည်းလမ်း မျိုးဖြစ်ရန် လိုအပ်သည်။ ဒုက္ခသည် စခန်းများပိတ်သိမ်း နိုင်ရန်မျှော်လင့်ချက်ဖြင့် ထိုင်း-မြန်မာ နယ်စပ်မှ ဒုက္ခသည်များအပါအဝင် ဒုက္ခသည်များအတွက် ဒုက္ခသည်ဆိုင်ရာ ကုလသမဂ္ဂမဟာမင်းကြီးရုံး (UNHCR) မှ ထုတ်ဖော် ထားသည့် နည်းလမ်း အဖြေ သုံးခုမှာ အခြားဘေးကင်းရာအရပ်သို့ ရွှေ့ပြောင်း အခြေချနေထိုင် ခြင်း၊ မိမိနေထိုင်သည့် ဒေသရှိ လူမှုအသိုက်၀န်းများနှင့် ပေါင်းစည်းနေထိုင်ခြင်း နှင့် မိမိဆန္ဒအလျောက် နေရပ်ပြန်ခြင်း တို့ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ဒုက္ခသည်များအနေဖြင့် မိမိတို့၏ မူလနိုင်ငံသို့ ပြန်ရန်မဖြစ်နိုင်သည့်အခါတွင် ပထမ နည်းလမ်းအဖြေ ဖြစ်သည့် အခြားဘေးကင်းရာအရပ်သို့ ရွှေ့ပြောင်း အခြေချနေထိုင်ခြင်းအား စဥ်းစားသည်။ ရွှေ့ပြောင်း အခြေချ နေထိုင်ခြင်းသည် ဒုက္ခသည်များအနေဖြင့် အခြားနိုင်ငံတခုတွင် ပိုမိုတည်ငြိမ်သည့် ဘဝ တခု ရှာဖွေနိုင်ရန် အထောက်ကူပေးသည်။ ၂၀၀၅ ခုနှစ်တွင် အမေရိကန်အစိုးရသည် ထိုင်း-မြန်မာ နယ်စပ်မှ ဒုက္ခသည်များအား လက်ခံရန် သဘောတူခဲ့သည်။ သို့သော် ၂၀၁၄ ခုနှစ်တွင် အဆိုပါနည်းလမ်းသည် ရပ်တန့် သွားခဲ့သည်။ ယနေ့တွင် အမေရိကန်၏ ‌ရွှေ့ပြောင်းအခြေချ နေထိုင်ရေး အစီစဥ်တွင် အမည်စာရင်း ပေးသွင်း ထားပြီး ပြောင်းရွှေ့ရန် စောင့်ဆိုင်းနေသည့် ဒုက္ခသည်များ ရှိနေသေးသည်။ အချို့ ဒုက္ခသည်များသည် အဆိုပါအစီစဥ် တနေ့ ပြန်လည်စတင်မည်အထင်ဖြင့် ဆက်လက်စောင့်ဆိုင်းနေကြသည်။ မိမိတို့နေထိုင်ရာအရပ်ဒေသရှိ လူမှုအသိုက်၀န်းတွင် ‌ပေါင်းစည်းနေထိုင်ခြင်းဖြစ်သည့် ဒုတိယ နည်းလမ်းတွင် ဒုက္ခသည်များသည် ၎င်းတို့ ခိုလှုံရာ ပထမ နိုင်ငံတွင် ဘဝတခု အပြည့်အဝ တည်ဆောက်နိုင်ရန် လိုအပ်သည့် ဘာသာစကားနှင့် အခြား ကျွမ်းကျင်မှုများအတွက် အကူညီများရရှိသည်။ သို့သော်လည်း ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံသည် ၁၉၅၁ ခုနှစ် ဒုက္ခသည်ဆိုင်ရာညီလာခံ အဖွဲ့၀င်နိုင်ငံ မဟုတ်သည့်အတွက် ဒေသတွင်း‌ပေါင်းစည်းရေးသည် လက်တွေ့တွင် မဖြစ်နိုင်ပေ။ သို့သော်လည်း အချို့ ဒုက္ခသည်များမှာ မိမိနည်းလမ်းဖြင့် ဒေသခံများနှင့် ပေါင်းစည်းနေထိုင် နိုင်ရန် ကြိုးစားကြသည်။ ‌ဒေသခံလူမှုအသိုင်း၀ိုင်းနှင့် ဆက်ဆံရေးတည်ဆောက်နိုင်ရန် ထိုင်းကျောင်းများ သို့ မိမိတို့၏သားသမီးများစေလွှတ်ခြင်းမျိုးရှိသကဲ့သို့ အချို့ကိစ္စရပ်များတွင် ဒုက္ခသည် များသည် ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံသားများနှင့် လက်ထက်ကြသည်လည်း ရှိသည်။ တတိယနည်းလမ်းသည် မိမိတို့သဘောဆန္ဒအလျောက် မိမိ၏မူလနိုင်ငံ နေရပ်သို့ပြန်ခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။ လက်ရှိတွင် ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံရှိ ဒုက္ခသည်များအတွက် တခုတည်း‌သော တရား၀င်လုပ်ဆောင်နိုင်သော နည်းလမ်းတခုလည်းဖြစ်သည်။ အချို့ ဒုက္ခသည်များအနေဖြင့် ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံတွင် ၎င်းတို့၏ စား၀တ်နေရေး အခြေနေ ယိုယွင်းဆိုးရွားမည်ကို စိုးရိမ်မှုများရှိပြီး မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသို့ အမှန်တကယ် ပြန်ချင်စိတ်ရှိသော်လည်း အချို့မှာ ၎င်းတို့သဘော ဆန္ဒမပါဘဲ “မိမိတို့ဆန္ဒအလျောက်” ဟုဆိုကာ အတင်းကျပ်ပြန်ရန် စေခိုင်းခံရခြင်း မျိုးရှိသည်။ အဘယ်ကြောင့်ဆိုသော် ကုလသမဂ္ဂ မဟာမင်းကြီးရုံး၏ နေရပ်ပြန်ရေးဆိုသည်မှာ အစိုးရထိန်းချုပ်ထားသော ဒေသများသို့ ပြန်ပို့ခြင်းဖြစ်ပြီး ဒုက္ခသည်အများစု၏ နေအိမ်များမှာ ကေအဲန်ယူ ထိန်းချုပ်နယ်မြေများတွင် ရှိသောကြောင့် အဆိုပါနည်းလမ်းကို လက်မခံလိုခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။ မြန်မာသို့ နေရပ်ပြန်ရေးမှာ အလွန်ရှုပ်ထွေးသော ပြဿနာဖြစ်ပြီး ဒုက္ခသည်အချို့ကသာလျှင် ကုလသမဂ္ဂ မဟာမင်းကြီးရုံး ၏ နေရပ်ပြန်ပို့ရေး နည်းလမ်းဖြင့် ပြန်ကြသည်။ အချို့ဒုက္ခသည်များမှာ ကေအဲန်ယူ ထိန်းချုပ်နယ် မြေများသို့ ပြန်ရန် ရွေးချယ်သော်လည်း အဆိုပါလမ်းကြောင်းမှာလည်း စိန်ခေါ်မှုများ သောလမ်းကြောင်းဖြစ်ကြောင်း ကျွန်တော်လင်းပါမည်။ ကျွန်တော်သုတေသနလုပ်စဥ်တွင် နယ်စပ်ဒေသရှိ ရွာအတော်များများသို့ ခရီးထွက်ခွင့်ရခဲ့သကဲ့သို့ ကရင်ပြည်နယ်ရှိ ကေအဲန်ယူ ထိန်းချုပ်နယ်မြေသို့ ပြန်ရန် ရွေးချယ်ခဲ့သည့် ဒုက္ခသည်များစွာနှင့် လည်း တွေ့ခွင့်ရခဲ့သည်။ အများစု ပြန်ကြသည့် အကြောင်းရင်းသည် ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်းများမှတဆင့် ၎င်းတို့ထံပေးပို့သည့် အကူညီများ လျော့ကျသွားခြင်းကြောင့်ဖြစ်သည်။ ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံ၏ မူဝါဒ စည်းမျဥ်းစည်းကမ်းများအရ ဒုက္ခသည်များသည် ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်းမှ တရားဝင်ထွက်ခွာ၍ မရပေ။ ၎င်းတို့အနေဖြင့် အကူညီများ တောင်းခံရန်နှင့် ပိုလွတ်လပ်စွာ လှုပ်ရှားသွားလာခွင့် တောင်းခံရန် တရား၀င် လမ်းကြောင်းများမရှိဘဲ နှုတ်ဆိတ်နေရသည်။ သို့ ဖြစ်၍ ရန်ပုံငွေ အရေအတွက်နှင့် ရန်ပုံငွေပေးသည့် အမျိုးအစားများ လျော့နည်းလာသည့်အခါ ၎င်းတို့အပေါ် တိုက်ရိုက်သက်ရောက်စေသည်။ ကျွန်တော့် အင်တာဗျူးတွင် ဖြေဆိုခဲ့သူအချို့က ရန်ပုံငွေလျော့ကျခြင်းကြောင့် ၎င်းတို့လိုအပ်သည့် အခြေခံ လိုအပ်ချက်လေးမျိုးဖြစ်သော အဝတ်အစား၊ စားနပ်ရိက္ခာ၊ နေရာထိုင်ခင်းနှင့် ဆေးဝါးများ မရရှိကြောင်း ပြောဆိုကြသည်။ နေရပ်ပြန်ရေးနှင့်ပတ်သတ်၍ ဒုက္ခသည်များ မည်သို့စဥ်းစားသနည်း ကရင်ဒုက္ခသည်တဦးဖြစ်သူ နော်ဆူပိုး (အမည်လွှဲ) သည် မကြာမီက မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင်း အစိုးရ ထိန်းချုပ် သည့် နေရာတခုမဟုတ်သည့် ဒေသသို့ ပြန်ရန် ဆုံးဖြတ်ခဲ့သည် ။ သူမသည် ကေအဲန်ယူ ထိန်းချုပ်နေရာသို့ သွားရန် ရွေးချယ်ခဲ့သည်။ ကျွန်တော့် သီးစစ် စာတမ်းအတွက် ဒေတာ အချက်လက်များ ကောက်ယူနေစဥ်က သူမနှင့် သူမ၏ မိသားစုတို့နှင့်အတူ နေ့လည်စာစားရန် ဖိတ်ကြားပြီးနောက် သူမ၏ စခန်းမှထွက်ခွာသည့် အတွေ့ အကြုံကို ပြောပြခဲ့သည်။ နော်ဆူပိုး ၏ ဝါးအိမ်လေးမှာ ရိုးရိုးရှင်းရှင်းဖြစ်သည်။ သူမ စကားပြောသည့်အခါ သမီးနှစ်ယောက်မှာ သူမ၏ အမျိုးသားဘေးတွင် ထိုင်နေသည်။ သူမသည် မူလအစက ကရင်အမျိုးသား လွတ်မြောက်ရေး တပ်မတော် (KNLA) တပ်မဟာ ၆ နယ်မြေမှ ဖြစ်သည်။ ၎င်းတို့ ရွာတွင် တိုက်ပွဲများ ဖြစ်ပွားသဖြင့် မိသားစုနှင့် အတူ ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံသို့ ဖြတ်ကျော်ဝင်ရောက်ခဲ့သည်။ ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်းများတွင် ၁၅ နှစ်မျှ နေထိုင်ပြီးနောက် စခန်းသို့ ပို့သည့် စားနပ်ရိက္ခာအကူညီများ သိသိသာသာ လျော့နည်းလာခဲ့သည်။ နော်ဆူပိုးက “ကျွန်မတို့ ချက်ပြုတ်စားသောက်ဖို့ သစ်သား၊ ဝါး ရှာမရလို့ မီးတောင်မွှေးလို့မရခဲ့ဘူး။ ကျွန်မတို့နေ့စဥ်ဘဝက ဆင်းရဲမွဲတေမှုတွေနဲ့ ရင်ဆိုင်ရတယ်။ ထင်းခြောက်ရှာဖို့လေးကို ကျွန်မတို့ စခန်းကနေ ပုန်းလျှိုးကွယ်လျှိုး ထွက်ခဲ့ရတယ်။ ဒါကြောင့် ကျွန်မ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံကို ပြန်ဖို့ဆုံးဖြတ်ခဲ့တာ” ဟု ကျွန်တော့်ကို ပြောပြပါသည်။ အသက်အများကြီးပိုကြီးသည့် ဦးလေး တီးဝါး (အမည်လွှဲ) က အချို့ ဒုက္ခသည်များအတွက် ကေအဲန်ယူ ထိန်းချုပ်ရာ နယ်မြေသို့ ပြန်ရန် ဘာကြောင့်ပိုလိုလားသည် ဆိုသည့် သူ့အမြင်ကိုပြောပြသည်။ ကေအဲန်ယူထိန်းချုပ် နယ်မြေရှိ ဝမှီးအေး (အမည်လွှဲ) ရွာတွင် ကျွန်တော်သူ့ကိုတွေ့ခဲ့သည်။ ထိုနေ့က ထိပ်ထူတဲ့ နေ့တနေ့ဖြစ်ပြီး အဖေ့ဆိုင်ကယ်အဟောင်းကို စီးလာခဲ့သည့်အတွက် ပြိုမလို မဲမှောင်ညှို့မှိုင်း နေသည့် ကောင်းကင်ကို ကျွန်တော်အကဲခတ် မောင်းနှင်လာခဲ့သည်။ လမ်းတလျှောက်တွင် လယ်သမားများ ပြောင်းမျိုးစေ့ချနေကြပြီး အညိုရောင်ကမ္ဘာမြေကြီးမှ ချောကလက်ကဲ့သို့ ပေါ်ထွက်လာသည့် မြင်ကွင်းအား ကြည့်ရင်း ကျွန်တော့် မျက်နှာပေါ် ရိုက်ခတ်လာသည့်လေကို သဘောကျနေခဲ့သည်။ ဝမှီးအေးရွာသို့ ကျွန်တော်ရောက်သည့်အခါ ဦးလေး တီး၀ါးနှင့် မတွေ့ခင် လူအများကြီးနှင့် ကျွန်တော် စကားလက်ဆုံကျသည်။ ၎င်းတို့ ကေအဲန်ယူ နယ်မြေတွင် နေထိုင်ရန် ရွေးချယ်ခဲ့သည်မှာ တပ်မတော်၏ သိမ်းပိုက်မှုများစွာ ကြုံတွေ့ခဲ့ ရသောကြောင့် ဖြစ်သည်။ ယနေ့ထိတိုင်တွေ့ကြုံနေရသေးသည်။ ၎င်းတို့သည် အာဏာပိုင်များအပေါ် သံသယရှိနေပြီး ၎င်းတို့၏ ရှုထောင့်မှာ “ကိုယ့်အခွင့်ရေး ရပိုင်ခွင့်အတွက် တိုက်တာကို ကိုယ့်အိမ်ကနေအတင်းကျပ် ဖယ်ထုတ်ခံရပြီး အဲ့လိုတိုက်ခိုက်ဖယ်ထုတ်ခဲ့တဲ့ သူတွေက မင်းပြန်လာလို့ ရပါတယ်လို့ တနေ့ပြောလာရင် မင်းယုံမလား။ မြန်မာ့နိုင်ငံရေးနဲ့ အခြေနေ တွေဟာ ပြောင်းလဲခဲ့ပြီလို့ ထင်ရတယ်၊ ဒါပေမယ့် အာဏာပိုင်အသစ်တွေကို မင်းယုံမလား” ဟူ၍ ဖြစ်သည်။ “မြန်မာအစိုးရက ဒုက္ခသည်တွေကို လက်ခံချင်တယ်လို့ ပြသဖို့ ကြိုးစားနေပေမယ့် သူတို့ကို ငါတို့ ယုံကြည်လိုက်လို့ မဖြစ်ဘူး” ဟု ဦးလေး တီးဝါးက ဘွင်းဘွင်းပဲ ဆိုပါသည်။ “ဆိတ်ခေါင်းချိတ် ပြီး ဝက်သားရောင်းနေတာ” ဟု ပုံပမာခိုင်းနှိုင်း ပါသည်။ စျေးကြီးသည့် ဆိတ်သား ရောင်းနေဟန်ဖြင့် ဆိတ်ခေါင်းအား ဆိုင်ဦးခန်းတွင် ချိတ်ထားသော်လည်း အမှန်တကယ်မှာ ဝယ်သူများကို တ၀က်စျေး သာရှိသော စျေးပေါသည့် ဝက်သားများကို ဆိတ်သားစျေးဖြင့် လိမ်ညာ ရောင်းချနေခြင်းသာ ဖြစ်သည်ဟု သူဆိုလိုခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။ ဦးလေးတီးဝါးအနေဖြင့် ကျန်ရှိသည့်သူ့ဘဝအား “မဖြုန်းတီး” လို၍ ဝမှီးအေးရွာသို့ ပြောင်းရွှေ့ရန် ဆုံးဖြတ်ခဲ့ခြင်းဖြစ်သည်။ သူသည် အသက်ကြီးလာပြီ ဖြစ်၍ နေထိုင်ရန် အချိန်သိပ်မကျန်တော့သည့် သူ့ အတွက် သူ့ဘဝအား ဒုက္ခပင်လယ်ဝေစေခဲ့သော၊ ဒဏ်ရာပေးခဲ့သော သူများကို မယုံကြည်တော့ဟု ပြောပြ သည်။ မြန်မာ အာဏာပိုင်များနှင့် ပတ်သတ်ရသည်မှာ အချိန်ဖြုန်းတီးခြင်းသာဖြစ်သည်။ “ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်း မှာထက်စာရင် ဒီနေရာကို ပိုလာချင်ကြတယ်။ ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်းမှာ အကူညီတွေလျော့၊ အလုပ်တွေလည်း ရှာမရဘဲ အခြေနေတွေက အရမ်းဆိုးနေတယ်။ ဦးလေးကအသက်ကြီးလာပြီလေ ၊ ဦးလေးဖျားရင် ဘယ်သူမှ ဦးစားပေး အလုပ်ပေး မှာမဟုတ်ဘူး” ဟု ဦးလေးတီးဝါးက ပြောသည်။ ဦးလေးတီးဝါး၏ အတွေ့ကြုံများက ဒုက္ခသည်များ၏ခံစားချက်များကို ၎င်းတို့၏စိတ်ဒဏ်ရာများ၊ မမေ့နိုင်စရာ မှတ်ဥာဏ်များက မည်မျှစိုးမိုးနေသည်ကို ပြသသည်။ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့ စစ်တပ်အာဏာသိမ်း မှုပြီး အခြေနေများကို ကြည့်ပါက တပ်မတော်နှင့် KNLA ကဲ့သို့သော တိုင်းရင်းသား လက်နက်ကိုင် အဖွဲ့များနှင့် တိုက်ပွဲများအတိုင်းတာတခုရှိနေသေးသည် ကိုတွေ့နိုင်သည်။ အဆိုပါအခြေနေက “ဒုက္ခသည်များ အမှန်တကယ် အိမ်ပြန်နိုင်ပြီလား” ဆိုသည့် မေးစရာဖြစ်လာသည်။ ထိုင်း-မြန်မာနယ်စပ်တွင် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အကျပ်တည်းစတင်ကတည်းမှ ကုလသမဂ္ဂ မဟာမင်းကြီးရုံးနှင့် ထိုင်းအာဏာပိုင်တို့ အားပေးဆောင်ရွက်ခဲ့သည့် အပေါ်မှမူချမှတ် ဆောင်ရွက်သည့် နည်းလမ်းများအား ပြန်လည်စဥ်းစားသုံးသပ်ရန်လိုပါသည်။ အဆိုပါ ဖြေရှင်းသည့် နည်းလမ်းများက ဒုက္ခသည်များ၏ အနာဂတ် ဘဝအပေါ်တိုက်ရိုက်သက်ရောက်မည် ဖြစ်သည်။ အာဏာပိုင်များအားလုံး မည်သည့်ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်မှ မချမှတ် မဆုံးဖြတ်ခင် ဒုက္ခသည်များ၏ အသံများနှင့် စိတ်ကူးများကို ထည့်သွင်း စဥ်းစား၍ ၎င်းတို့အတွက် အမှန်တကယ်အကျိုးရှိ ရေရှည်အထောက်ကူဖြစ်မည့် ဖြေရှင်းနည်းများကို ဖန်တီးဖော်ထုတ်ကြရန်လိုအပ်ပါသည်။ ကိုးကား Kasetsiri, C. (2001). Burma: History and Politics [ဗမာနိုင်ငံ – သမိုင်းနှင့်နိုင်ငံရေး]. The Foundation for the Promotion of Social Sciences and Humanities Textbooks Projects. Trichote, P. (2004). The Policy of Burma Repatriation from Thailand Research Project [ထိုင်းမှ ဗမာသို့ နေရပ်ပြန်ရေးမူဝါဒ သုတေသန စီမံကိန်း]. Institute of Asian Studies. Chulalongkorn University. Vaddhanaphuti, C. & Sitthikriengkrai, M. (2016). The Alternative of Policy to Solving the problem of refugees in temporary shelters [ယာယီခိုလှုံရာနေရာများရှိ ဒုက္ခသည်များ၏ ပြဿနာ အဖြေရှာ‌ ရေး အခြားမူဝါဒသစ်]. National Human Rights Commission of Thailand. Aryuwat Raruen သည် ချင်းမိုင်တက္ကသိုလ် (CMU) ၏ တိုင်းရင်းသားလူမျိုးရေးနှင့် ဖွံ့ ဖြိုးတိုးတက်ရေး အစီစဥ်မှ ပညာရေးဘွဲ့ရကျောင်းသားတဦးဖြစ်သည်။ သူသည် ဒုက္ခသည်များအရေး၊ တိုင်းရင်းသား လူမျိုးအရေး၊ ရွှေ့ပြောင်းနေထိုင်သူများ နှင့် နယ်စပ်ဒေသအရေးများကို စိတ်ဝင်စားသည်။ လက်ရှိတွင် သူသည် ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံ တတ်ခရိုင် မဲဆောက်မြို့ရှိ ဒုက္ခသည်များအတွက် ညှိနှိုင်းရေးမှုးအဖြစ်လည်းကောင်း ရွှေ့ပြောင်းနေထိုင်သူများအတွက် ကျောင်းတွက် ဆရာတဦး အဖြစ် လည်းကောင်း ဆောင်ရွက်နေသည်။ ယခုဆောင်းပါးသည် ယခုနှစ်ကုန်ပိုင်းတွင် ထုတ်ဝေမည့် Moving Around Myanmar: Migration In, From and Back [မြန်မာပြည်အနှံ့ ရွေ့လျားသွားလာခြင်း။ ။ မြန်မာပြည်ထဲ၊ မြန်မာပြည်မှ နှင့် မြန်မာပြည်သို့ ] (ချင်းမိုင်တက္ကသိုလ်မှ ပုံနှိပ်ထုတ်‌ဝေမှု) စာအုပ်တွင် သူပါ၀င်ရေးသားခဲ့သည့်အခန်း တခန်းပေါ် အခြေခံသည်။ ယခုပို့စ်အား လက်ဘက်ရည်ဝိုင်း ဘာသာပြန်အဖွဲ့မှ ပြန်ဆိုသည်။.."
Source/publisher: "Tea Circle" (Myanmar)
2021-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Successive Myanmar governments have attempted to consolidate power by gaining control over various states and people. Their efforts have resulted in entrenched, ongoing conflicts between the Burmese military and other ethnic armed organisations, such as the Karen National Union (KNU). Consequently, many ethnic armed group members and displaced people have fled to Thailand to seek refuge from armed conflict. More than forty refugee camps were set up along the Thai-Myanmar border in the late 1980s and 1990s (Kasetsisi 2001; Trichote 2004; Vaddhanaphuti and Sitthikriengkrai 2016). At first, Thai authorities provided some humanitarian support for refugees, and provided them with temporary asylum. But, as the Myanmar military periodically attacked these camps, in the late 1990s, Thai authorities consolidated the refugees into bigger camps to facilitate control over them. Now assistance is provided to refugees in only nine refugee camps in four border provinces: Tak, Mae Hong Son, Kanchanaburi, and Ratchaburi. Currently, there are more than ninety thousand refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border, most of whom are Karen. Many have now been refugees for more than three decades. Since 2011, global attention on these camps has faded, and the future of these refugees is uncertain. In order to provide safe, viable options for displaced people on the Thai-Myanmar border, humanitarian organisations must consider the voices and perspectives of refugees. This issue is close to my heart as I am a Karen who grew up near the Thai-Myanmar border. I have been working with refugees for almost three years with Partners Relief and Development Foundation based in Mae Sot, Tak. Refugees are very close to us here in Mae Sot and interaction with refugees is a part of daily life. Whenever I take the bus back to my hometown, I see Karen refugees often. I love to talk, so that is how I got to know many of them. One of my refugee friends worked for the same foundation as me. I became perplexed by how many refugees stayed in the camps, waiting for relocation or improved aid, rather than leaving the camps for repatriation to Myanmar or to pursue other livelihoods. This drove me to pursue my MA in ethnicity and development at Chiang Mai University. My first main goal for studying at the Center for Ethnic Studies and Development was not to push any policy changes for refugees, but to understand them in depth: their problems, their lives, their dreams. It took me several months to understand the structures and the larger forces driving displacement in the area. I realised that in order to create helpful outcomes, international organizations involved in defining durable solutions must listen to the voices of refugees. Refugees, who must live out the rest of their lives in resettlement sites, must at least be given some choice in the matter. Durable solutions? Refugee camps are intended to be temporary, but refugees themselves need long term options, especially as international funding fades. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has offered three “durable solutions” to refugees, including on the Thai-Myanmar, in the hopes of closing the camps: resettlement, local integration, and voluntary repatriation. The first option, resettlement, is raised when refugees are unable to return to their country of origin. Resettlement helps refugees find a more stable life in another country. In 2005, the US government agreed to receive refugees from the Thai-Myanmar border. However, this option was closed in January 2014. Today, there are still some refugees who registered with the US resettlement program who are still waiting for relocation. Some refugees continue waiting with the hope that one day the resettlement program will reopen. The second option, local integration, is where refugees receive help with their language and other skills needed to live a full life in their first country of refuge. However, since Thailand is not a member of the 1951 Refugee Convention, local integration is not realistically possible. Still, some refugees try to integrate individually. They build up relationships between refugees and the local community by sending their children to Thai schools or, in some cases, refugees get married to Thai citizen. The third option is the voluntary repatriation of refugees to their countries of origin. Officially, this is the only available alternative for refugees in Thailand right now. While some refugees in Thailand are concerned about their deteriorating livelihoods in Thailand and do genuinely wish to return to Myanmar, some are in fact forced to “voluntarily” return to Myanmar against their will. Because repatriation to UNHCR would mean going back to a government-controlled area, refugees may reject this option as their homes are in a KNU-controlled area. That makes repatriation to Myanmar very complicated issue and few refugees choose to repatriate with UNHCR. As I will explain, some refugees choose to return to KNU-controlled areas on their own, but this is a challenging path too. During my research I had the opportunity to travel to several villages in the border area and met many refugees who chose to return to KNU-controlled areas of Karen State. Most of them said the reason for their return was the reduction in aid delivered to them through the refugee camps. According to Thai policies, refugees are unable to officially leave the camp. They have to keep quiet, with no legal recourse to request more aid or freer movement. So, when the quality and quantity of funding decreases, it directly affects them. Some of my interviewees pointed out that as a result of funding reductions, they have been unable to receive the four necessities they require, which are clothing, food, housing, and medicine. How refugees themselves think about repatriation Karen refugee Naw Su Poe (a pseudonym) recently decided to return to Myanmar – but not to a government-controlled location. Instead, she chose to go to an area controlled by the KNU. She explained her experience leaving the camp after inviting me to have lunch with her and her family while I was collecting data for my thesis. Naw Su Poe’s bamboo house was very plain and her two daughters sat beside her husband as she talked. She told me that she was originally from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 6 area. Her family first crossed into Thailand because there was a military battle in their village. After spending fifteen years in the refugee camps, there was a marked reduction in food aid delivered through the camp. Naw Su Poe said, “We couldn’t even make a fire for cooking because we couldn’t find bamboo or wood. In our daily lives we were confronted by poverty. We had to hide and sneak out of the camp just to collect basic wood and bamboo. This is why I made the decision to return to Myanmar.” The much older Uncle Tee Wah (a pseudonym) provided further perspective on why repatriating to a KNU area is preferable for some refugees. I met him in Wa Hmee Aye Village (also a pseudonym) in a KNU-controlled village, close to the Thailand border. It was a cloudy day, and I kept watch on the grey, threatening skies as I rode my Dad’s old motorbike there. Along the road, farmers were planting corn seeds and I enjoyed the air rushing past my face, seeing the brown earth landscape uncovering itself like chocolate. When I arrived at Wa Hmee Aye village, I spoke to several people before Uncle Tee Wah. They had chosen to live here, in a KNU area, because they had experienced too much subjugation by the Tatmadaw, even until today. They remained skeptical of authorities and their perspective was: if you fight for your rights and are forced from your own home, would you believe the people who attacked you if they one day said you could return? Myanmar’s politics and circumstances may have appeared to have changed, but would you trust the “new” authorities? Uncle Tee Wah said bluntly: “Myanmar’s administration is attempting to showcase its willingness to receive refugees but we can’t put our faith in them.” He used the analogy of, “hanging the goat’s head, but selling the pork meat”. This refers to someone putting a goat head above their market stall, implying they are selling expensive goat meat, although they are actually selling cheap, half-price pork meat at a goat price to customers. Uncle Tee Wah also decided to move to Wa Hmee Aye Village out of a desire not to “waste” the remaining time in his life. He said that because he was getting older and did not have much time left, he refused to believe the people who had wounded him and caused his life so much misery. Engaging with the Myanmar authorities was a complete waste of time. “It’s also preferable to come to this area rather than in a refugee camp, which is not ideal. The situation is pretty terrible there since, in addition to the decreased aid, you can’t find work. I am getting older and when I get sick, I will be pushed to the bottom of the priority list for work,” Uncle Tee Wah said. The experiences of Uncle Tee Wah show how trauma and unforgettable memories can reinforce refugee ambivalence. If you look at the current situation in Myanmar after the 1 February military coup, there is still considerable fighting between ethnic armed groups such as the Karen National Liberation Army and the Tatmadaw. This begs the question: “Can these refugees really go home now?” The top-down durable solutions that the UNHCR and Thai authorities have promoted since the humanitarian crisis began on the Thailand-Myanmar border require revision. They will continue to directly affect refugee lives in the future. Before all the authorities make their decisions, they must include refugee voices and ideas in order to create real durable solutions for them. References Kasetsiri, C. (2001). Burma: History and Politics. The Foundation for the Promotion of Social Sciences and Humanities Textbooks Projects. Trichote, P. (2004). The Policy of Burma Repatriation from Thailand Research Project. Institute of Asian Studies. Chulalongkorn University. Vaddhanaphuti, C. & Sitthikriengkrai, M. (2016). The Alternative of Policy to Solving the problem of refugees in temporary shelters. National Human Rights Commission of Thailand..."
Source/publisher: Tea Circle (Myanmar)
2021-09-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-09-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Topic: Peace and Security
Sub-title: The United Nations independent human rights expert on Myanmar on Friday called on countries that have not yet done so, to impose arms embargo on the country urgently, to stop the “massacre” of citizens across the country.
Topic: Peace and Security
Description: "Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the southeast Asian nation, underscored in a statement, the need to stop the flow of weapons and so called dual-use weapons technology into the hands of forces under the command of the military junta, describing it as “literally a matter of life and death.” “There is no time to lose … I urge governments who support cutting the flow of weapons to a brutal military junta to consider immediately establishing their own arms embargo against Myanmar while simultaneously encouraging UN Security Council action.” ‘Dual-use’ technology Mr. Andrews also said that bilateral arms embargoes should encompass both weapons and dual-use technology, including surveillance equipment. “Together, they will represent an important step forward to literally taking guns out of the hands of those killing innocent men, women and children.” The Special Rapporteur also applauded a call by over 200 civil society organizations to bring the arms embargo issue to the attention of the 15-member Security Council. He is currently updating a list of States that have established arms embargoes against Myanmar, Mr. Andrews added, noting that he intended to publish an updated list next month. The independent expert’s report to the Human Rights Council in March identified that nations that had already established arms embargoes. Month four Into its fourth month, the political turmoil – marked by near daily pro-democracy protests and a brutal crackdown by security forces – has reportedly claimed at least 750 lives and wounded countless more. There are also serious concerns over the continuing impact of the crisis, with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) warning of an economic collapse, and the UN human rights chief cautioning that Myanmar could spiral into a “full-blown conflict” similar to the implosion of Syria over the past decade, if the bloodshed does not stop.....Preparing supplies for refugees, in Thailand: Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has said that it is pre-positioning key relief items and personal protective equipment (PPE) in Thailand, which could potentially be provided to those fleeing violence in Myanmar. According to a bulletin issued earlier this week, about 2,300 people crossed from Myanmar into Thailand on 27 April due to increased fighting and they are currently hosted in safe zones, managed by the Thai Army. “UNHCR has advocated for access to the population and offered support to the Thai Government’s efforts to respond to further displacement from Myanmar and address refugees’ protection needs”, it said. As of 31 December 2020, there are about 92,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand, who fled previous waves of displacement, in nine temporary shelters, according to UNHCR.....Refugee arrivals in India: Similarly, the agency estimates that between 4,000 to 6,000 refugees from Myanmar have entered into the Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur since March, where local charities and individuals have provided life-saving assistance those arriving. “Some 190 have moved onward to New Delhi, where UNHCR is assessing their needs and has begun registering and providing them with basic assistance”, the agency added, noting that it has offered its support to the Indian Government in protection, and humanitarian coordination and response to new arrivals from Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: UN News
2021-05-07
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Sub-title: End Pushbacks, Grant Access to Aid and Asylum
Description: "Malaysia and Thailand should urgently rescue Rohingya refugees stranded at sea and provide them with assistance and access to asylum, Human Rights Watch said today. On June 8, 2020, Malaysian authorities detained 269 Rohingya refugees who arrived on a damaged boat off Malaysia’s coast at Langkawi. A second boat with an estimated 300 Rohingya remains at sea near Thailand’s Koh Adang island, according to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. Both boats left from Bangladesh in February, meaning that the hundreds of ethnic Rohingya on board have been at sea for four months without access to adequate food and water. On a previous boat of Rohingya bound for Malaysia that was rescued by the Bangladesh coast guard, as many as 100 may have died on board as a result of the deplorable conditions. “Southeast Asian governments are callously passing the buck on protecting Rohingya refugees desperate for sanctuary and a future after Myanmar’s military drove them from their homes with mass atrocities,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “While Myanmar remains ultimately responsible for the Rohingya refugees’ plight, Malaysia and Thailand should stop wearing blinders about the immediate risks and suffering that they face at sea.” Malaysian officials who intercepted the boat carrying Rohingya on June 8 intended to return it to international waters, but a damaged engine prevented the pushback. Approximately 50 refugees jumped off the boat and swam to shore, where they were detained, while the boat with the remaining passengers was towed to Langkawi. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency arrested them on arrival and has detained them at the Nation Building Camp center..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
2020-06-12
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Infographic: Thailand-Myanmar Border Resettlement Dashboard - January 2020..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via reliefweb (New York)
2020-02-10
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 362.54 KB
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Description: INFOGRAPHIC
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (USA)
2019-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 363.39 KB
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Sub-title: Report says mental health crisis surges in refugee camps after cuts to aid and end of resettlement programmes.
Description: "Drastic cuts to humanitarian assistance for refugees who fled Myanmar for Thailand have stoked widespread "hopelessness and depression" in camps along the border, deepening a mental health crisis that has seen suicide rates soar, a coalition of civil society groups says. Major donors including Norway and Sweden have withdrawn funding for the camps in recent years, while the European Union has ended food aid in favour of other projects, leading to cuts in food rations for around 100,000 refugees as aid workers struggle with less than half the money they had in 2012. Fifteen local groups have urged foreign donors to reinstate funds in a report published on Thursday to mark World Refugee Day. The report, There Is No One Who Does Not Miss Home, is based on interviews with 338 displaced people from various ethnic minority groups living in camps in Myanmar and Thailand. The report noted cuts to aid have led to concern that refugees are coming under pressure to move out of the 10 camps along the border and back to Myanmar, where negotiations to end decades of conflict between the military and various rebel groups have stalled and violence continues. The situation has led to "higher rates of depression and suicide" in the camps, the report said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
2019-06-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "ကီၢ်ကၠီၣ်တဲၣ်-ကီၢ်ပယီၤကီၢ်ဆၢ ဘၣ်ကီဘၣ်ခဲ ဒဲက၀ီၤသ့ၣ်တဖၣ်အပူၤ (The Border Consortium-TBC )လၢအဆီၣ်ထဲမွၤစၢၤ ဒဲက၀ီၤဖိသ့ၣ်တဖၣ် ဖဲတလါအံၤအတီၢ်ပူၤ သုးကျဲၤ၀ဲ လၢကစူးကါအါထီၣ် (Food card ခးက့) အဂ့ၢ်န့ၣ် ဒဲက၀ီၤ ဘၣ်မူဘၣ်ဒါတဖၣ်တဲ၀ဲန့ၣ်လီၤႉ ဖဲအပူၤကွံာ် ၂၀၁၆နံၣ်၊ လါယူၤလံန့ၣ် (TBC) စးထီၣ်သူကွၢ်၀ဲ ( Food card ခးက့) အံၤလၢ ဒဲက၀ီၤ ၂ဘ့ၣ် လၢအမ့ၢ် နိၣ်ဖိဒီး ထါမ်ဟ့ၣ်ဒဲက၀ီၤခံဘ့ၣ်အပူၤလီၤႉ စးထီၣ်က့ၤ တနံၣ်အံၤလါဖ့ၤဘြူၤအါရံၤအပူၤ ဒဲက၀ီၤလၢအအိၣ်တ့ၢ် တဖၣ်န့ၣ် ကသူအါထီၣ်၀ဲအဂ့ၢ် ကညီဘၣ်ကီဘၣ်ခဲကမံးတံာ်=( KRC)ၦၤပၢၤလီၢ်ဆ့ၣ်နီၤ စီၤရီပၠဘၢးထွ့တဲဘၣ်ခ့ၣ်အဲးစံၣ်-ကညီတၢ်ကစီၣ်န့ၣ်လီၤႉ..."
Creator/author: စးအဲၣ်ဆူ
Source/publisher: KIC (Karen Information Center)
2019-02-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Sgaw Karen
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Description: "ဒ် တၢ်က့ၤဆူအလီၢ်အကျဲလၢ နီၢ်ကစၢ်တၢ်ဘၣ်သး (Voluntary Repatriation Center-VRC)အတၢ်ရဲၣ် တၢ်ကျဲၤအသိး ဖဲတလါအံၤ လါဖ့ၤဘြူၤအါရံၤအတီၢ်ပူၤန့ၣ် ကီၢ်ကၠီၣ်တဲၣ်=ကီၢ်ပယီၤကီၢ်ဆၢ ၦၤဘၣ်ကီဘၣ်ခဲ ဒဲက၀ီၤတဖၣ်ပူၤ ၦၤဒဲက၀ီၤဖိ (၅၇၅)ဂၤ ကက့ၤလီၤ၀ဲဆူကီၢ်ပယီၤအပူၤန့ၣ်လီၤႉ ကီၢ်ကၠီၣ်တဲၣ်၊ ကီၢ်ပယီၤပဒိၣ်ဒီး (UNHCR) ၦၤဘၣ်မူဘၣ်ဒါတဖၣ် မၤသကိးတၢ်အဖီခိၣ် စးထီၣ် ဖဲတလါအံၤလါဖ့ၤဘြူၤအါရံၤ (၂၀) သီအနံၤ၊ မဲၢ်လးဘၣ်ကီဘၣ်ခဲဒဲက၀ီၤအပူၤ ၦၤနီၣ်ဂံၢ်(၁၃၃)ဂၤ၊ ဖဲလါဖ့ၤဘြူၤအါရံၤ (၂၁)သီအနံၤန့ၣ် အူးပၠၣ် ဘၣ်ကီဘၣ်ခဲဒဲက၀ီၤအပူၤ ၦၤနီၣ်ဂံၢ်(၂၀၁)ဂၤ၊ ဒီးဒဲက၀ီၤအဂၤ ဒ်အမ့ၢ်နိၣ်ဖိ(၁၃၇)ဂၤ၊ ဘါဒိၣ်ယါ(၄၅)ဂၤ၊ ဘးမဲၣ်နဲစဲၣ် (ကရ့ၣ်နံၣ်ဘၣ်ကီဘၣ်ခဲဒဲက၀ီၤ) ၅၉ ဂၤခဲလၢာ်(၅၇၅)ဂၤ ကပိာ်ထွဲဒီးက့ၤအခံအဂ့ၢ်န့ၣ် ဒဲက၀ီၤၦၤဘၣ်မူဘၣ်ဒါတဖၣ်စံး၀ဲန့ၣ်လီၤႉ..."
Source/publisher: KIC (Karen Information Center)
2019-02-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Sgaw Karen
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Description: "The women discussed issues for two days and decided to form the new Grassroots Women’s Network. At the conclusion of the seminar the attendees jointly endorsed the following resolutions: We call on the Burma Army to stop their military operations in all ethnic areas. We want the 2008 constitution to be abolished and call on the Burma Government to begin a process whereby a genuine federal constitution can be drawn up. We also call on all stakeholders to stop mega development projects in all ethnic areas until there is genuine peace and a political settlement. There must be no forced repatriation of refugees. We also call on the international community and donors to continue to support humanitarian aid to refugees and IDPs according to international standards until peace is restored in the country..."
Creator/author: The Karen Women’s Organisation
Source/publisher: Karen Women's Organisation
2018-03-30
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Sgaw Karen, Burmese ျမန္မာဘာသာ, English
Format : pdf
Size: 336.17 KB
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Description: "ကီၢ်ကၠီၣ်တဲၣ်ကီၢ်ကယီၤကီၢ်ဆၢ၊ မဲၢ်လးကညီဘၣ်ကီဘၣ်ခဲဒဲက၀ီၤပူၤ ၦၤဘၣ်ကီဘၣ်ခဲဖိဂ့ၢ်၀ီ ဘီမုၢ်စၢဖှိၣ်၀ဲၤဒၢး (UNHCR) အိးထီၣ်ဃာ်၀ဲ (Voluntary Repatriation Center-VRC ) လၢအမ့ၢ်တၢ်က့ၤကဒါက့ၤလၢနီၢ်ကစၢ်တၢ်ဘၣ်သး အံၤအ၀ဲၤဒၢးအပူၤ ၦၤလၢအဟဲတီၣ်ထီၣ်ဃာ်မံၤ ၁၈ ဂၤအံၤ ဖဲလါနိၣ်၀့ဘၢၣ် ၁၅သီအနံၤ ကီၢ်ကၠီၣ်တဲၣ်ဒီးကီၢ်ပယီၤၦၤ ဘၣ်မူဘၣ်ဒါတဖၣ် ဟဲတၢ်ထံၣ်လိာ်သံဒိးသံကွၢ်အ၀ဲသ့ၣ်၀ံၤ၀ဲလံအဂ့ၢ်န့ၣ် ဒဲက၀ီၤၦၤ ဘၣ်မူဘၣ်ဒါတဖၣ်တဲ၀ဲန့ၣ်လီၤႉ..."
Source/publisher: KIC (Karen Information Center)
2018-11-23
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Sgaw Karen, English
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Description: "Unrecognised Leaders, Tomorrow?s Hope: Raising the Voices of Forgotten Youth” is a documentary film by Burma Link, the Karen Student Network Group (KSNG) and the Karen Youth Organisation (KYO). The documentary amplifies the voices of ethnic refugee youth who live on the Thailand-Burma border, highlighting their calls for inclusion in political processes and recognition of refugee education certificates. The documentary was launched in a press conference in Yangon, Burma, on 22 February, 2017. For more information, please visit: Facebook: facebook.com/voicesofyouthfilm Website: voicesofyouth.burmalink.org The distribution of this documentary is supported by the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network and Right to Play.
Source/publisher: Burma Link, the Karen Student Network Group (KSNG) and the Karen Youth Organisation (KYO)
2017-02-22
Date of entry/update: 2017-03-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Karen, English, English sub-titles. Burmese
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Description: "In an interview with Burma Link, the refugee who led the petition signed by over 3,600 refugees in Mae La camp explains how he feels about the profiling survey and why he organised a campaign to have the survey modified and re-authored with refugees? participation and approval. He also details the hurdles they faced when campaigning against camp authorities? will, and shares his thoughts about life being confined to a refugee camp in Thailand. The survey is set to begin today, June 17th, in Mae La camp."
Source/publisher: Burma Link
2015-06-17
Date of entry/update: 2016-03-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Christine is a 22-year-old Karen refugee who lives in Mae La refugee camp with her husband and young daughter. She has lived there for seven years ?as a prisoner? inside the barbed wire fence, and now teaches in one of the post-ten schools in the camp. In this interview, Christine talks about the desperation and lack of hope in Mae La as uncertainty about the future mounts and refugees feel that they have no control over their own future. She fears that authorities will organise forced repatriation although they ?don?t know where to go? and ?nothing has changed for the poor?. Christine recently completed Burma Link?s AOC (Agents of Change) training and she is eager to have her voice heard. She wants authorities to take action NOW to help refugees like her and her young daughter."
Source/publisher: Burma Link
Date of entry/update: 2016-03-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Naw Eh is an incredibly determined 20-year-old Karen woman whose perseverance, motivation and hopeful spirit have taken her far beyond what she ever could have imagined as a child. Growing up as an undocumented migrant under extreme poverty and lack of opportunity, unlike many others in Thailand young Naw Eh had no chance to go to school. Instead, she spent her mornings selling snacks to school children, before starting her daily round of looking after the household and collecting recyclables on the streets. Naw Eh was 12 years old when she finally had the opportunity to go to school. From childhood of labour, desperation and rejection by other children, Naw Eh?s determination has, incredibly, led her to study for an internationally recognised GED diploma on the Thailand-Burma border. This is her account on how education, trying incredibly hard, and never giving up, has changed her life and led her towards light and new opportunities."
Source/publisher: Burma Link
2014-12-15
Date of entry/update: 2016-03-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "John Bosco is like any 23-year-old who dreams of good education and a career, and who likes to read, use the internet, and play football. Unlike many young people, however, John?s life is confined within the fences of Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp in Thailand. John is ethnic Karenni and comes from a big family in a rural village with no access to electricity or water. Although John grew up under militarization and afraid of ?the sounds of guns shooting and bombs exploding,” his main priority was education. John?s family wanted him to have a better life and a future, and they sent him to the Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp in 2009. He hasn?t been able to see his family since. In the camp, John says that restrictions on movement and travel are increasing hand in hand with decreasing aid. Like so many others, John is now trapped in one of the most isolated refugee camps in Thailand, which remains out of the electricity grid and is surrounded by landmines. John still considers himself lucky; he doesn?t have to worry about repatriation as much as the many others who have no family in Burma and no place to go."
Source/publisher: Burma Link
2015-03-24
Date of entry/update: 2016-03-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Kataerina, a Kayan (also known as Padaung) woman from Pyin Soung village in southern Shan State, is now 35 years old and has three daughters. Her life seems smooth for now, but it was tough and full of struggles for food, education and freedom. Kataerina?s story echoes so many voices from the people of Burma, who have had to endure child labour and an ongoing struggle for food and basic living standards. From armed conflict to being locked up and nearly killed by Burmese soldiers, Kataerina?s struggles finally led her to the Thailand-Burma border where she now lives in the Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp in Mae Hong Son Province. From Katarina?s story, you can learn more about the difficulties faced by the Kayan people in eastern Burma, where Kataerina hopes she will not be forced to return to."
Source/publisher: Burma Link
2015-08-29
Date of entry/update: 2016-03-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Executive Summary: "All women and girls, no matter where they live, have the fundamental right to be free from violence. This Report examined the extent to which women and girls who live in the seven Karen-majority camps along the Thai-Burma border enjoy, and can exercise, this fundamental human right. Specifically, this study examined 289 cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) against women in Mae Ra Ma Luang, Mae La Oon, Mae La, Umpiem Mai, Noh Poe, Ban Don Yang and Htam Hin refugee camps from 2011 to 2013 to determine the factors contributing to official reporting of crimes as well as the justice system?s response to such crimes. We conclude that the justice system provided an inadequate outcome for victims of violence in 80% of cases in 6 of the 7 camps. This stunning figure suggests that the justice system available to women and girls completely fails to protect them or ensure their basic human rights."
Source/publisher: Karen Women?s Organization (KWO)
2013-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-01-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Karen (ကရင်ဘာသာ)
Format : pdf
Size: 1.94 MB
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Description: Executive Summary: "All women and girls, no matter where they live, have the fundamental right to be free from violence. This Report examined the extent to which women and girls who live in the seven Karen-majority camps along the Thai-Burma border enjoy, and can exercise, this fundamental human right. Specifically, this study examined 289 cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) against women in Mae Ra Ma Luang, Mae La Oon, Mae La, Umpiem Mai, Noh Poe, Ban Don Yang and Htam Hin refugee camps from 2011 to 2013 to determine the factors contributing to official reporting of crimes as well as the justice system?s response to such crimes. We conclude that the justice system provided an inadequate outcome for victims of violence in 80% of cases in 6 of the 7 camps. This stunning figure suggests that the justice system available to women and girls completely fails to protect them or ensure their basic human rights."
Source/publisher: Karen Women?s Organization (KWO)
2013-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-01-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.78 MB
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Description: Introduction: "1.1 This ?Comprehensive Plan Addressing the Needs of Displaced Persons on the Thailand/Myanmar (Burma) Border in 2007/8? has been prepared by t he Committee for the Coordination of Services to Displaced Persons in Thailand (CCSDPT) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Office in Bangkok... 1.2 The first CCSDPT/ UNHCR Comprehensive Plan was for 2006 and was drawn up through a participatory process during 2005. It was presented to the Royal Thai Government (RTG) at a workshop in December that year. The 2006 plan was then expanded for 2006/ 7 and presented to Donors at a Donor Forum in May 2006 also attended by the National Security Counc il (NSC) and the Ministry of Interior (MOI)... 1.3 The Comprehensive Plan for 2007/8 draws on the earlier processes but this time also incorporates inputs from UNHCR?s Strengthening Protection Capacity Projec t-Thailand (SPCP-Thailand). This was initiated in August 2006 and is another gap ident ification exercise aimed at impr oving the protection capacity of Thailand to receive and protect refugees, enhance t heir means of self-reliance and expand opportunities for durable solutions... 1.4 The result is a more complete document whic h summarises current protection and humanitarian assistance services in 2007, anticipat ed services in 2008 and gaps identif ied in each sector. For many of the most important gaps, specific project propo sals with budget estimates are appended... 1.5 Implementation of the Comprehensive Plan will require ongoing cooperation between all stakeholders Specific challenges requiring action to move the pl an forward are set out for CCSDPT/ UNHCR, the Donors and the RTG..."
Source/publisher: CCSDPT and UNHCR
2008-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.32 MB
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Description: "Since late 2011, I have made contacted with Karen refugee communities in two geographic locations ?one on the Thai-Burma border and one in Melbourne, Australia, which has provided me opportunities to observe and participate in a number of activities organized by those displaced residents. During my three-year engagement, I have come across many Karen refugees who have enthusiastically taken part in the production as well as circulation and consumption of Karen pop music, especially in the form of music CDs or DVDs and audio and video files shared through online media platforms such as YouTube. Some explain that music offers them opportunities to enjoy themselves and to ?hang out? with like-minded fellow Karen. Moreover, I have found that music involvement helps some Karen individuals to cope with and to make sense of situations of displacement, oppression and alienation. Notably, the sentimental charge of song lyrics and melodies as well as the visual representations in music videos become a source of a sense of Karen identity and solidarity, and thereby make it possible for the producers as well as their audiences to maintain connections with their counterparts in different countries.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015.
Creator/author: Manoch Chummuangpak
Source/publisher: International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015
2015-07-26
Date of entry/update: 2015-08-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 373.42 KB
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Description: Abstract: "An estimated twelve million people worldwide are stateless, or living without the legal bond of citizenship or nationality with any state, and consequently face barriers to employment, property ownership, education, health care, customary legal rights, and national and international protection. More than one-quarter of the world?s stateless people live in Thailand. This feminist ethnography explores the impact of statelessness on the everyday lives of Burmese women political exiles living in Thailand through the paradigm of human security and its six indicators: food, economic, personal, political, health, and community security. The research reveals that exclusion from national and international legal protections creates pervasive and profound political and personal insecurity due to violence and harassment from state and non-state actors. Strong networks, however, between exiled activists and their organizations provide community security, through which stateless women may access various levels of food, economic, and health security. Using the human security paradigm as a metric, this research identifies acute barriers to Burmese stateless women exiles? experiences and expectations of well-being, therefore illustrating the potential of human security as a measurement by which conflict resolution scholars and practitioners may describe and evaluate their work in the context of positive peace."
Creator/author: Elizabeth Hooker
Source/publisher: Portland University (MS thesis)
2012-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2013-10-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 587.97 KB
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Description: 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..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
2012-09-13
Date of entry/update: 2012-09-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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
Source/publisher: Women?s League of Burma
2012-09-11
Date of entry/update: 2012-09-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Dares Chusri, Tarina Rubin, Ma. Esmeralda Silva, Jason D. Theede, Sunanta Wongchalee, Patcharin Chansawang
Source/publisher: Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University
2011-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-08-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 875.13 KB
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Description: "...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..."
Creator/author: Premjai VUNGSIRIPHISAL, Graham Bennett, Chanarat Poomkacha, Waranya Jitpong, Kamonwan Reungsamran
Source/publisher: Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University
2011-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-08-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 723.45 KB
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Description: 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.
Creator/author: Premjai VUNGSIRIPHISAL, Supang Chantavanich, SUPAPHAN KHANCHAI, Waranya Jitpong, YOKO KUROIWA
Source/publisher: ASIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR MIGRATION INSTITUTE OF ASIAN STUDIES, CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY Bangkok, Thailand
2010-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-08-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 630.32 KB
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Naruemon Thabchumpon, Bea Moraras, Jiraporn Laocharoenwong, Wannaprapa Karom
Source/publisher: Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University
2011-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-08-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.49 MB
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Suwattana Thadaniti, Kanokphan U-Cha, Bart Lambregts, Jaturapat Bhiromkaew, Vullop Prombang, Suchoaw Toommakorn, Saowanee Wijitkosum
Source/publisher: Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University
2011-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-08-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 4.19 MB
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Yongyuth Chalamwong, the Thailand Development Research Institute team
Source/publisher: Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University
2011-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-08-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.44 MB
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Ben Harkins, Nawita Direkwut, Aungkana Kamonpetch
Source/publisher: Asian Research Center for Migration Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University
2011-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-08-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.4 MB
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Description: "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."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
2011-05-06
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
2011-05-17
Date of entry/update: 2012-02-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 503.17 KB
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Description: "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."
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera (101 East)
2011-08-11
Date of entry/update: 2011-12-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Karen (English sub-titles)
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Description: "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..."
Creator/author: Su-Ann Oh
Source/publisher: "Straits Times"
2011-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2011-07-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 54.65 KB
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Description: "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..."
Source/publisher: Refugees International
2011-03-24
Date of entry/update: 2011-03-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 93.1 KB
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Description: Pie gender charts of refugee camps plus UNHCR offices etc. Figures as at end April 2008
Source/publisher: UNHCR via ReliefWeb
2008-05-21
Date of entry/update: 2011-01-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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. ..."
Source/publisher: UNHCR
2000-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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..."
Creator/author: Veronika Martin, Betsy Apple
Source/publisher: Refugees International via Asian Tribune
2002-10-10
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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
Source/publisher: Women?s Commission on Refugee Women and Children
2000-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 182.55 KB
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Description: "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..."
Source/publisher: Shan Human Rights Foundation via Shan Herald Agency for news
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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..."
Creator/author: Russ Christensen, Sann Kyaw
Source/publisher: "Cultural Survival Quarterly" Issue 24.3
2000-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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.
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (ASA 16/11/00)
2000-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Francais
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Description: "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..."
Source/publisher: Christian Aid
2004-05-24
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...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.
Source/publisher: Amnesty International
2002-07-17
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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
Creator/author: Donald W. Belcher
Source/publisher: USAID, MSI
2004-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Kyaw Zwa Moe
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 18, No. 5
2010-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-08-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 7
2009-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-02-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Yeni
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 7
2009-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-02-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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.”"
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group News Bulletin (KHRG #2009-B10)
2009-09-22
Date of entry/update: 2010-02-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Shows refugee camps with pie charts of age distribution plus location of UNHCR offices, main towns and villages etc.
Source/publisher: UNHCR
2008-05-21
Date of entry/update: 2009-12-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Shows refugee camps, UNHCR offices, main towns and villages etc.
Source/publisher: UNHCR
2008-07-07
Date of entry/update: 2009-12-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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..."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Right Group Field Reports (KHRG #2009-F14)
2009-09-08
Date of entry/update: 2009-10-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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..."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group Field Reports (KHRG #2009-F11)
2009-06-29
Date of entry/update: 2009-10-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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."
Source/publisher: Refugees International
2009-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2009-10-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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..."
Source/publisher: International Rescue Committee (IRC)
2009-02-26
Date of entry/update: 2009-05-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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.
Creator/author: Joel Harding, Shane Scanlon, Sean Lees, Carson Beker, Ai Li Lim
Source/publisher: "Forced Migration Review" No. 30
2008-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
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Description: 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.
Creator/author: Chen Chen Lee, Isla Glaister
Source/publisher: "Forced Migration Review" No. 30
2008-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese, English
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Description: "...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."
Creator/author: Sally Thompson
Source/publisher: "Forced Migration Review" No. 30
2008-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
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Description: 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."
Creator/author: Margaret Green-Rauerhorst, Karen Jacobsen, Sandee Pyne with the International Rescue Committee
Source/publisher: International Rescue Committee, Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
2008-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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.
Creator/author: Margaret Green, Karen Jacobsen, Sandee Pyne
Source/publisher: "Forced Migration Review" No. 30
2008-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese, English
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Description: "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..."
Creator/author: Marie Theres Benner, Aree Muangsookjarouen, Egbert Sondorp, Joy Townsend
Source/publisher: "Forced Migration Review" No. 30
2008-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
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Description: 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.
Creator/author: Sandra Dudley
Source/publisher: "Forced Migration Review" No. 30
2008-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
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Description: 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
2006-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2008-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: German, Deutsch
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Description: "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..."
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol 15, No. 11
2007-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-04-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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
Source/publisher: Burma Riders
2007-07-15
Date of entry/update: 2007-08-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: German, Deutsch
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Son Chhay
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No. 4
2006-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-12-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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 entrep?t 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..."
Creator/author: David Scott Mathieson
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No.2
2006-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Louis Reh
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 11
2005-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Yeni
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 7
2005-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Aung Lwin Oo
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 7
2005-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Edward Blair
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 7
2005-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Englilsh
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Description: 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..."
Creator/author: Kyaw Zwa Moe
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 2
2005-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2005-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...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?..."
Source/publisher: The Shan Women
2003-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2005-03-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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 women�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..."
Creator/author: Suzanne Belton (Ma Suu San)
Source/publisher: Burma - Women
2002-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-06-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 24.33 KB
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Description: "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 women�s stories that were collected in 2002 to outline typical cases, the reasons why the woman chose to end the pregnancy and impact on women�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..."
Creator/author: Suzanne Belton
Source/publisher: Health Messenger
2002-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-06-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 60.24 KB
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Description: "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..."
Creator/author: Emma Larkin
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol 12, No. 2
2004-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-06-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "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 Thailand�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..."
Creator/author: Suzanne Belton, Cynthia Maung
Source/publisher: Forced Migration Review No. 19
2004-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-06-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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.
Source/publisher: ICVA
2004-03-11
Date of entry/update: 2004-03-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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)...
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
2004-02-25
Date of entry/update: 2004-02-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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...
Creator/author: Aung Zaw, John S. Moncrief
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 9, No. 9
2001-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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..."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #97-05)
1997-03-18
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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 ..."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group Regional & Thematic Reports (KHRG #98-04)
1998-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 538.54 KB
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Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
1997-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
1998-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "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..."
Creator/author: Sandra Dudley
Source/publisher: "Cultural Survival Quarterly" Issue 24.3
2000-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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.
Creator/author: Hans-Günther Wagner
Source/publisher: Netzwerk engagierter Buddhisten
2002-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Deutsch, German
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Description: "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..."
Creator/author: Edith Bowles
Source/publisher: "Forced Migration Review" No. 2
1998-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 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.
Source/publisher: International Rescue Committee, Women?s Commission on Refugee Women and Children
2002-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 37.49 KB
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Description: 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.
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports
1994-09-27
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Mon - the forgotten refugees in Thailand Das Volk der Mon ist die Urbev?lkerung 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 Tr?ger einer fr?hen und hochentwickelten buddhistischen Kultur, wurden sie in den vergangenen Jahrhunderten von anderen, aus Norden eindringenen V?lkern immer mehr verdr?ngt. Sie stellen heute sowohl in Thailand wie in Burma eine stark benachteiligte ethnische Minderheit dar. Die Mon in Burma f?hren seit Jahrzehnten zusammen mit zahlreichen anderen ethnischen Minderheiten einen Kampf um ihre Unabh?ngigkeit und eigenst?ndige Entwicklung. Diese Bestrebungen werden von der Milit?rjunta mit einem systematischen Vernichtungsfeldzug beantwortet.
Creator/author: Hans-G?nther Wagner
Source/publisher: Netzwerk engagierter Buddhisten
1995-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Deutsch, German
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Description: "...[R]eport on the Women?s Commission Reproductive Health Project site visit in February 2000 to the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand [Dr Cynthia?s clinic]. One key finding in this report is that reproductive health data collection has steadily improved at the Mae Tao Clinic. This is a good sign of progress as data collection is essential to establish a baseline of information about the community that a provider is assisting. The data allows the Clinic staff to objectively identify and prioritize community health problems and thereby design their health services to address these problems. In addition, the Clinic family planning program contraceptive user-rate has increased annually due to family planning education conducted by the staff. The significant unmet need for family planning services, however, is evident in the numbers of women and girls presenting to the Clinic with complications of unsafe abortion. An alarming 23% of the 277 women presenting to the Clinic with abortion complications in 1999 were under 20 years old and almost the same percentage had already had one abortion."
Source/publisher: Women?s Commission for Refugee Women and Children
2000-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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