Refugees

Bad weather has closed schools and is making life miserable for residents in Umphiem Mai refugees camp that is located on the Thai side of the border with Burma. Refugee camp residents say October has been a bad month for them. Heavy rain, strong winds and dense fog has made it hard for refugees living in Umphien Mai camp, in…

Karen Community Based Organizations issued a position paper on the repatriation of refugees along the Thai-Burma border back to Burma saying it is critical that they are included in the process. The KCBO in a statement paper said that all pre-conditions should be met and procedures need to be in place before refugees are returned otherwise it will be against…

Thai police have decided that the family of a Karen refugee killed in a road accident will be paid 235,000 baht compensation by the truck driver responsible for the woman’s death last week. Mae La refugee camp officials said Thai police have now settled the case and the truck owner involved in the incident that killed the woman will pay…

Human Rights Watch warns that thousands of ethnic Kachin fleeing war in Burma are at risk of abuses, food shortages and conflict China should stop the forced return of thousands of ethnic Kachin refugees to northern Burma, where they are at risk from “armed hostilities, Burmese Army abuses, and lack of aid,” Human Rights Watch said in a media statement…

Refugees at Mae La Refugee camp on the Thai Burma border with relatives resettled I third countries are about to be screened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Thailand to see if they are eligible to be resettled. It is estimated that there are as many as 52,000 people living at the Mae La refugee camp that…

A Kachin relief group reports that Chinese doctors and a team of medics are battling to contain an outbreak of measles among children in a Kachin refugee camp on the China side of the border with Burma. Health workers say the measles outbreak has spread quickly among children under the age of 10 living in the La Ying, Kachin refugee…

The Kachin Women Association Thailand urged the Myanmar Human Right Commission to do a proper comprehensive and in-depth inquiry into the massive amount of people who have been displaced or made refugees by Burma Army offensives in Kachin State. The government controlled newspaper, the Myanmar Alin, reported on a statement put out by the Myanmar Human Right Commission’s recent trip…

The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) raised their concerns to the United Nations Special Human Rights Rapporteur, Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana that now is not the time to repatriate Karen refugees back to Burma. KHRG told Mr Quintana that the Burma’s military still has a “shoot on sight” order in place in Karen State that affects people living in internally…

After she finishes her study, Naw Hsa K’Mwee Paw wants to become a medic to help her village. To achieve her dream Naw Hsa K’Mwee Paw has had to pay a high price. Naw Hsa K’Mwee Paw, now 18, has had to live hundreds of miles apart from her family since she was 13 so she could study in a…

Naw Dabora Htoo, education coordinator with the Karen Refugee Committee, said schoolteachers working in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border are long over due a pay rise, but this academic year they will get an increase in their monthly subsidy. Speaking to Karen News, Naw Dabora said camp teachers have deserved better pay for a long time. “We would like…