Fifty-five years of civil war have decimated Burma’s Karen State, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Most would like to return—by their own will when the fighting stops.
By Emma Larkin/Mae Sot, Thailand
Critics dismiss Asean plan for free movement of labor...
"DESPITE the high-minded ideals of the Asean Vision 2020 plan launched more than a decade ago by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), cynics continue to dismiss its aim of labor mobility in a “community of caring societies” as just so much humbug.
Burmese residents of a US city still find it hard to escape the politics of their homeland...
"Than Myint arrived in the “land of opportunities” as a refugee nine years ago, together with her husband and children. A native of Rangoon, Than Myint now lives in Fort Wayne, a city of some 200,000 people in the US state of Indiana. Now in her late 50s, she has learned how to survive and lead a satisfactory life in the US—the kind of existence she would never have been able to enjoy in Burma...
More than 10,000 Burmese migrants in Thailand’s Mae La refugee camp could soon be resettled in the US...
"It could be a scene from a travel trade show—a crowd of mostly young people clusters in front of poster boards bearing pictures of life in the US. These are no tourists, however, but Burmese refugees in Thailand hoping to resettle in the US and eager for any illustration of what they can expect to find there...
As thousands of Karen wait in resettlement camps, others already settled in foreign lands discover new challenges to their future...
Heh Nay Thaw has lived in refugee camps in Thailand for nearly a quarter-century since he crossed the border from Burma with his family at age five. He is now 29, with a wife and two children, and the long years of waiting for a permanent home may soon be over.
Like many of his fellow Karen, Heh Nay Thaw gave up hope that he could ever return to Karen State and applied for resettlement outside Asia—possibly in the US.
In addition to greater international attention on their plight in exile, Thailand’s growing community of Burmese Muslims wants a voice in the political future of their country... "...The desire for equal protection—at home and in exile—seems to be the order of the day for Mae Sot’s Burmese Muslim community. Like the majority of refugees, they wait for the opportunity to return to a free Burma.
Around 200 acres of land has been confiscated by platinum mining companies in Tachilek Township, eastern Shan State, despite nascent democratic reforms by the Burmese government, according to report released by the Lahu Women’s Organization (LWO).
"Grab For White Gold" has been produced by the Thailand-based LWO and two other local land activists and was presented at a press conference in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on Tuesday.
As more and more Burmese go to Thailand in pursuit of relative freedom from persecution and poverty, Burma's closet neighbor is seeking new ways to address the root causes of their immigrant problem.
An international symposium on migration in Asia was recently held in Bangkok. Burma sent a delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister U Khin Maung Win. Independent analysts and NGOs estimate that there are one million Burmese illegally working and living in Thailand. However, Thai officials put the figure at 800,000.
As many illegal immigrants wish to live in Thailand permanently, another serious problem arises - the growing number of stateless children. Between 1993 and 1996, the Mae Sot Hospital near the Thailand-Burma border delivered 2,202, 2,026, 2,031 and 2,077 stateless babies respectively.
Through our robust search engine, you can search for any item of the over 64,800 highly curated resources in the Land Library.
If you would like to find an overview of what is possible, feel free to peruse the Search Guide.
