Refugees

A delegation, advocating on behalf of refugees and displaced people from Burma took their cause to Britian’s Parliament in an attempt to highlight the affects of funding cuts on services to people along the Thai Burma. “As refugees, we are under tremendous pressure in the camps. There have been many reductions in services including cuts to healthcare, education, shelter, and…

Media reports this week that talks between the Burma and the Thai government’s focused on repatriation of refugees sent fear and rumours through the nine refugee camps on the border between the two countries. Reports in the Thai English language media got it wrong, according to a spokesperson for the Committee of Internally Displaced People (CIDKP). Saw Steve, chairperson of…

The United Nation High Commission for Refugees and the Thai Ministry of Interior are planning a joint exercise to verify refugee population in the nine camps along the Thai-Burma border in January, according to sources from camp service providers. Saw Robert Htwe, chairperson of the Karen Refugee Committee confirmed to Karen News about the planned verification process. “The UNHCR and…

The New York based Human Rights Watch called on the Burmese government to amend citizenship law, claiming it “fuels repression” and denies basic human rights to the country’s ethnic Rohingya minority. Brad Adams, HRW’s Asia director, said the law entrenched discrimination and must be changed. “Burma’s discriminatory citizenship law not only deprives Rohingya of citizenship, but for decades has encouraged…

Twenty-year old Hla Ko* has an easy smile, a cool haircut and the manic energy of a young man with few ties. He studies medicine but adores politics. He has an opinion about everything but isn’t too sure about anything. The church is an anchor, but hanging out and flirting with his many female friends is how he spends a…

Aung Naing was six years old when he moved to Nu Poe refugee camp in Thailand, leaving conflict-wracked Karen State, in Eastern Burma. Sitting down in the small compound on the outskirts of Chiang Mai that has been his home for the last 15 months, Aung Naing recalls those first years in the camp. “My mother and father had gone…

To mark the International Day of Peace, Karen News spoke to members of the Karen community about the importance of peace. Following six decades of conflict, the Karen National Union entered into a preliminary ceasefire with the Burmese government in 2012. But a lasting peace deal remains elusive and sporadic clashes between KNU and government forces have continued, with the…

Mr. Iain Hall, the senior field coordinator for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees based in the Thai border town of Mae Sot gave an exclusive interview to Karen News. In the exclusive interview, Mr Hall covers a wide range of issues affecting refugees including repatriation, international humanitarian guidelines, the Burmese government’s responsibilities to protect its citizens and the…

The Karen National Union’s, secretary 1, Padoh Saw Thaw Thi Bweh told Karen News that unless the situation in Burma guarantees refugees safety, their dignity and is conducted according to international humanitarian guidelines any return at the moment is not appropriate. In an interview with Karen News, Padoh Saw Thaw Thi Bweh, Secratry of the Karen National Union, warned that…

When Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha announced on July 11 that the Thai refugee camps on the Thai-Myanmar border would be emptied, many wondered if there really is new resolve by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to repatriate the 130,000 Myanmar refugees who have been living in Thailand for many years. Gen Prayuth cited national security as the reason…