Refugees

Following complaints about a refugee profiling survey been carried out by the Mae Fah Luang Foundation (MFLF) in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the Mae La refugee camp, officials met to discus the issues of complaint and agreed to continue its surveying. Saw George, vice chairperson of the Karen Refugees Committee (KRC), said that…

A Karen Women’s Organisation staff member who has just returned from Nu Poe refugee camp estimated that there are as many as 200 dengue fever cases. Karen News is led to understand that two Nu Poe camp residents died in recent days from complications associated with dengue fever. In a separate incident Karen News has learnt that a 2-year-old girl…

A new report by the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) raises concerns over how the Burma government’s war against the Kachin has greatly increased the risk of human trafficking along the China-Burma border, with young girls or women targeted. The report, titled ‘Pushed to the Brink’, states that the displacement of over 100,000 people over the past two years, lack…

The Karen National Union’s general secretary, Padoh Kwe Htoo Win, in an exclusive interview with Karen News explains why now is not the right time to return refugees or displaced people. “When there is no more fighting and no more human right violations, they [displaced people] can start to rebuild their lives. Since we don’t have a concrete ceasefire, we…

Following three days of discussion representatives from organizations working on refugee issues along the Thai-Burma border, refugee representatives, civil society groups, political leaders agreed that the current situation in Burma is not safe for refugees to return. Over 40 representatives including the United Nation High Commission on Refugee, Refugee Camps Committees, The Border Consortium, Karen National Union, Thai official from…

For the first time since 1974 the Burma government has met with the Karen Refugee Committee in Hpa-an Town. The government put forward its plan to KRC that they wanted to ‘trial a pilot project’ to take back about 50 refugees households who are now living in camps on the Thai Burma border. On April 26, over 30 members of…

Refugees from the Mae Ra Mo and Mae La Oon refugee camps, in Mae Hong Son District, on the Thai-Burma border, who are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have been given permission to apply for resettlement in Japan. The UNHCR issued an announcement stating families can apply for resettlement at its office, located at the…

Following the recent fire that killed 39 refugees and destroyed the Ban Mae Surin refugee camp, people living in camps along the Thai Burma border are scared that their respective camps are firetraps. As precautionary measure, refugee camp officials have put in place compulsory measures. Residents have been told that they have to fill plastic bags with sand and water…

The Karen Refugees Committee has issued a statement outlining its position on the repatriation of Karen refugees on the Thai-Burma border. The KRC said that the recent political reforms in Burma that took place in 2010 “signals a ray of hope for many refugees to be able to return to their homeland.” Figures released by The Border Consortium (TBC), an…

Karen News is led to understand that the death toll from the fire that destroyed the Ban Mae Surin refugee camp has now been confirmed as 35 with one person still unaccounted for. Dr Paisarn Thanyawinitchakul, the chief of the Mae Hong Son Public Health Office, was reported in the Bankok Post, as saying that, “35 people have been confirmed…