Living on the edge is a way of life for Myanmar's refugees ( AFP ) October 27, 2002


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Living on the edge is a way of life for Myanmar's refugees

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Oct 27 (AFP)

Life is returning to normal for most people living along the Thai-Myanmar border now that Myanmar has reopened its checkpoints to Thailand after a five-month closure.But for refugees sheltering in Thai border camps, life is as precarious as ever.

"No one here feels safe but we have to stay because we are refugees and we have no choice," said Kyauk Pha, an elder from a camp in northern Mae Hong Son province.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, some 120,000 refugees from Myanmar are living in 11 camps along the Thai-Myanmar border.Most hail from ethnic minority border regions where rebel groups are fighting the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) for independence, and have fled to Thailand in a bid to preserve their lives.

Here their lives are safe -- subject to occasional cross-border attacks by the SPDC and pro-Yangon militia groups - - but they are forced to stay in their camps and are not permitted to work, farm or forage in surrounding forests.

Currently around 4,300 Karenni refugees in Mae Hong Son's Camp Three are being shifted under the orders of Thai authorities to Camp Two, an already overcrowded settlement of 12,000 refugees six kilometres (four miles) away.

"The Thai authorities did not give an official reason for the move, but the rumour is it was because the nearby villagers thought the refugees were causing 'problems'," a border source said.

So far, 222 bamboo huts have been built by the refugees themselves in the new location and nearly 2,000 people have made the move, the chairwoman of Karenni Refugee Assistance Committee Tula Paw told AFP.

Camp Two is just two kilometres from the Myanmar border, compared to Camp Three's eight -- raising fears the refugees are more at risk of an attack by hostile forces.Two refugees were killed at the camp about five years ago when the SPDC mounted an attack, sources said.

"One of the major problems is the camp's security. Refugees are concerned about their safety because the new camp is located so close to one of the Myanmar army's frontline bases," Tula Paw said.One man said children might be playing happily outside their new homes, but this belied the worry their parents were going through.

"Sometimes we feel that we are just waiting for the Myanmar soldiers or their shells," he said.

The move, which is occurring several families at a time and without assistance from the Thai authorities, was suspended last week as Camp Three ran out of space to build new huts.Other problems facing the new camp were a lack of water and increased health risks, with malaria and dysentry more prevalent than at the old camp, other border sources said.

A teacher working in Camp Three said the move was disrupting the education of the more than 500 students at her school."The school year is going to be lost this year. The children who have already moved have to walk to Camp Two every day and back again, at least an hour each way," she said. "And the school will have to close for a few months when it is moved too."

Many of the children suffered during the start of the move as they helped with the move, walking through monsoon-drenched mud.

"A lot of the children had feet infections from the mud. The roads were really bad so they were helping push the stuck trucks," the teacher said.Natural disasters are another problem refugees must grapple with.

Floods ravaged much of Thailand during August and September this year, but the worst disaster occured when a mudslide and flash floods swept through Ban Sala camp, also in Mae Hong Son province.Sixteen refugees were killed, mostly by large trees toppled over by floodwaters cascading down a mountainside. Hundreds of makeshift homes and buildings were damaged, leaving a thousand people homeless.Thai authorities blamed the disaster on illegal logging carried out by the refugees, but the refugees pointed the finger at unscrupulous Thai businessmen operating in the area last decade.

At Thailand's largest camp in adjacent Tak province, nearly 40,000 refugees including ethnic minorities, Muslim leaders, students and political activists are living in what they feel is a secure environment, the refugees say.

"I think our camp is lucky. There is less pressure on us (than in other camps) because we are close to major towns and we feel like we are close to the outside world," Ko Chin, a former student leader now living in the camp, told AFP.

The border area near their camp is controlled by the rebel Karen National Union, so the refugees are not threatened by attacks, he added.Nevertheless, the refugees would still prefer to head back to their homeland, Ko Chin said.

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