Refugees

Some schools in the Karen refugee camps are facing difficulties to continue teaching in upcoming years due to lack of funding, according to education officials from the refugee camps. The Karen Refugee Committee Education Entity’s chair Naw Daborah Htoo said these schools are facing difficulties since some donor organizations have cut funding for the refugee camps and some will stop…

Refugees from Burma are finding it difficult to stay, difficult to go home. In Thailand, funding cuts to refugee camps have left over 100,000 displaced people from Burma to choose between trying to survive in deteriorating conditions and returning to a country not ready to receive them. The refugees are spread throughout 9 camps perched on Thailand’s southwest border with…

Students and teachers from refugee camps along the border and from migrant schools in Mae Sot gathered to honor their teachers on the World Teacher’s Day on the 5th October. Led by the Karen Refugee Committee Education Entity (KRCEE) and camp education officials the ceremonies were held at Mae La, Umphiem, Nupo, Mae La Oon, Mae Ra Ma Luang, Tham…

At a public seminar in Thailand last week, Karen and Karenni officials raised concerns about the increasing pressure for refugees to return from the Thai-Myanmar border as international funding for camps dries up. “The refugees from the Thai-Myanmar border are not ready to return home,” said Naw Elizabeth, deputy director of the Karenni Education Department, who took part in the…

Refugee advocates on the Thai Burma border have called for international donors to continue funding for refugees and internally displace people in Burma. The Shan State Refugee Committee (Thai Border) issued a statement that pointed out that “food aid we have received has been gradually reduced, and will be totally stopped in October 2017.” The Shan State Refugee Committee estimated…

After three H1N1 flu cases were confirmed at a refugee camp along the Thai-Myanmar border last week, the area has been under quarantine with entries and exits temporarily suspended, according to officials at the camp. The Karen Refugee Committee send the restriction at the Mae La Ma Luang Camp is effective for 15 days starting from August 23, when the…

Many Karen refugees from camps along the Thai-Burma border have been resettled in Sweden since 2005 under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s resettlement program. Karen News spoke* with Naw Thida Naing, chair of the Karen Swedish Community, at the end of July about the Karen community there and efforts to preserve Karen culture overseas. Q: Please tell…

Karen refugee youth took part in a politics, peace and management bootcamp this week. Over 70 people attended the three-day training, which was held at the Mae La refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border, according to members of the Karen Youth Organization. The KYO organized the youth forum as a positive activity for youth in the camp, where abuse of…

Only five houses have been rebuilt in a Karenni refugee camp in Thailand after a fire in the beginning of the month. According to camp leadership, there is a shortage of wood and bamboo. “We have only been able to rebuild five houses as a sufficient amount of bamboo and wood hasn’t arrived at the camp yet, causing delays. I…

South Korea welcomed nearly two dozen Karen refugees to the country this week as part of a three-year resettlement program that began in 2015. The 23 people from the Mae La refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border arrived in Seoul on July 25, joining 86 refugees from Burma already resettled in Korea. “We went to the airport to welcome them…