Thailand – Are the Burmese refugee camps set to close?

By Geoffroy Caillet. Originally published in French in Enfants du Mekong Magazine n°168.

Even if it was issued furtively, the news did not pass unnoticed by NGOs like Children of the Mekong, whose work has been shaped by the refugees’ tragic stories for more than fifteen years. At the beginning of April, the Secretary General of the Thailand Security Council announced the Thai government’s plan to put an end to the numerous camps established along its border with Burma (Myanmar).

“We have discussed a plan with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to close the camps in Thailand and repatriate the refugees to Burma,” declared Tawin Pleansri, adding that “They have been living in Thailand for over twenty years and have become a burden to us.”At the beginning of the year the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) recorded 142,000 refugees of whom the majority belonged to the Karen ethnic minority, who had fled Burma to escape persecution.

For Arnaud Dubus, RFI (Radio France International) correspondent in Bangkok, this announcement, following a meeting between the prime minister of Thailand and Burma’s leaders, “is particularly aimed at testing international reaction”, hence the absence of a timescale for the operation. Whatever the outcome, it will most likely cause much concern for both refugees and NGOs alike.  And with good reason: the fate of the 4,500 Hmongs repatriated to Laos by the Thai army in 2010 remains unknown. Everyone fears the worst therefore for the Karen refugees should they be forced to return to Burma.

Since 2004, Children of the Mekong supports the Karen children and their families who live in these camps, together with local partners such as KWO (Karen Women Organization). Today, 68 Karen children are sponsored in Mae Ramoo and 90 in Mae Laoon. Child sponsorships also provide support for other children, so a total of 291 Karen children are supported in the camps. Sponsorships cover the purchase of hygiene packs (soap, shampoo, washing powder) school fees, school uniforms and stationeries. It also covers the costs of food for boarding children.

Over the next few weeks we will keep you updated on the Karens in Burma and Thailand, here on socialearth. Stay connected!

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