News letter

Writer Opinion

            Many people around the world deserve the freedom to travel and freedom to work. Others have learned to take for granted that they are unable to do so. Thousands of refugees from Burma have lived confined to the camps in Thailand for 30 years ago. Although refugee camps are hardly natural places to live, thousands have been born in the camps and never left. For the vast majority of them, the only way of life they have ever known is one forced to be dependent on outside assistance. For many young refugees, refugee camps are where they were born and where they grew up, and the only reality they have ever seen exists within the fences of the camp. Nowadays, there are over 140,000 refugees along Thai-Burma border. Among these, around 80,000 are new arrivals in refugee camps.

            No one suspected that they have to live in refugee camp for the whole life. Majority of the refugees in the camps are Karen (79.1%) or Karenni (10.3%) from eastern Burma (TBC, December, 2014), who have fled armed conflicts and terrible human rights abuse and torture by the junta Burmese military.

            Many new refugees arrival are asking only one question in these years. They are curious what the difference between refugee and new refugee is. However, it hugely caused the misunderstanding among them. Majority new arrival refugees assume that;

“The meaning of the refugee means someone who has been forced to leave a country because of war or for religious or political Reasons. However, new refugee arrival’s meaning is different in camp. People called they are not refugees because they just come and take the advantages from camp. Then, they are not registered by UNHCR.” New arrival from Mae La Camp

There are several authorities control the refugee camps in Thai-Burma border. They are MOI, UNHCR, KRC and Camp Commander. Within these organization, they all are link together in working officially.

All in all, this report mainly focus on why new arrivals should go to third country. You may also concern the advantages, disadvantages and challenges of living in refugee camp or repatriation to Burma. Finally, this report is going to show the good points of resettlement in third country.