Home Programs Five-Country Focus Thai/Burma Border: Growing Up in a Refugee Camp

Background

A military junta has controlled Myanmar (also known as Burma) since the 1960s. Since 1988, Burmese have fled human rights abuses in Myanmar and sought refuge in Thailand. Currently there are nearly 120,000 refugees in nine camps along the Thai/Burmese border. An additional 1.5 to 2 million Burmese are estimated to be living as illegal migrants in Thailand and elsewhere. At least 500,000 are internally displaced within Myanmar.

In May 2008, a massive cyclone smashed into the country, killing tens of thousands and leaving an estimated 2.4 million people destitute.

Reuters AlertNet reports that 5 million people (of a population of almost 50 million) in Myanmar do not have enough to eat.

Many of the refugees in Thailand have known nothing but life in a refugee camp. It is one of the world’s most protracted refugee settings.

The Women’s Refugee Commission in Thailand

The Women‘s Refugee Commission has a long history of monitoring the situation of Burmese refugees in Thailand. We have conducted on-the-ground assessments on reproductive health, education, young people, firewood and livelihoods. We also financially support local organizations working with the refugees. Some of our key activities:

• Provided subgrants to two networks of 16 local NGOs to enable them to provide reproductive health care for adolescents (2005 to present)
• Provided a subgrant for a livelihoods pilot project with the International Rescue Committee (2006 – 2008)
• Conducted a youth assessment (2008)
• Carried out a disabilities assessment (2007)
• Conducted a livelihoods assessment (2006)
• Conducted a field mission site visit for our fuel/firewood Initiative (2008)
• Undertook a trafficking assessment (2005)
• Our 2004 Global Survey on Education in Emergencies included a case study on Thailand
• Conducted a reproductive health assessment (2003)

Our Current Work

• Will hold a regional livelihoods workshop in Thailand in 2009.
• Are providing a subgrant to support a network of eight local NGOs on the Thai-Burma border.
• One of our Youth Advisory Group members is a Burmese refugee.
• Have supported through a subgrant a livelihoods pilot project with the American Refugee Committee (2006 to present).
• The Watchlist on Armed Conflict and Children issued a report May 2009 and has a partnership with a local partner.

Future Plans

• Conduct livelihoods country-level workshop and conduct ongoing mentoring (2010)
• Organize disabilities workshop and provide ongoing mentoring (2009)
• Our reproductive health program will conduct a site visit to explore the possibility of carrying out a pilot project on care for survivors of sexual assault and follow-up on recommendations from the 2003 reproductive health assessment (2009)
• Organize a workshop/training on IASC Task Force SAFE (fuel/firewood) outputs in Bangkok for regional UN/NGO staff (2009)

Reports

• Living in Limbo: Burma's youth in Thailand see few opportunities to use education and vocational skills (2008)
• Disabilities among Refugees and Conflict-affected Populations and (disabilities) Resource Kit for Fieldworkers (2008)
• “We Want to Work”: Providing Livelihood Opportunities for Refugees in Thailand (2006)
• Thai-Burma Border Reproductive Health Assessment (2006)
• Abuse Without End: Burmese Refugee Women and Children at Risk of Trafficking (2006)
• Thai-Burma Border Reproductive Health Assessment Annotated Bibliography (2004)
• Fear and Hope: Displaced Burmese Women in Burma and Thailand (2000)

Media Coverage

• Dr. Cynthia: A Crusader for Health Care for Refugees and the Displaced, planetwire.org, June 2000.

How You Can Take Action

We advocate for the needs of refugee women, children and young people around the world. Help raise awareness and resources for displaced Burmese women, children and young people.

Last updated June 2009

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