history thesis

"There has been a notable progression to systematic aid dependency among the Myanmar refugees living in nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. Refugee participation shifted from self-reliance for shelter and food to the current situation in which the refugees have become fully dependent on the international community for their living in Thailand, tempered by partial self-management of their own health care, education services and food distribution." (Marie Benner, Neglect of Refugee Participation 2007)

Displaced people have "a right to a remedy", as recognized in the Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Person (UNHCR 2005).

inspiring projects

Projects for Burmese refugees in Thailand by the University of Trondheim.



Soe-Ker-Tie-House

bangkok landings

“After 25 years of responding to the consequences of conflict in eastern Burma, it is tragic to see the causes remain unaddressed and the situation is likely to further deteriorate during the next 12 months.” (Jack Dunford, executive director Thai Burmese Border Consortium)

The growing instability in eastern Burma from ongoing military conflict is forcing thousands of ethnic people to become internally displaced persons (IDPs), according to a press release from the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) on October 29, 2009.

The statement said at least 75,000 people in eastern Burma were forced to leave their homes during the past year, meaning the number of IDPs in the area now exceeds half a million. TBBC compared the scale of displacement to that of Darfur in eastern Sudan.

border crossings

An alternative way to cross a border:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX9S_m7W4UA 

thai policy

Official data from the UNHCR reports that there are nearly 300,000 Burmese refugees, most of them in Thailand. "Thailand has played host to Burmese refugees for more than two decades. Gross human rights abuses by the Burmese government have prompted the outflows and created grave problems for its neighbor (...) Refugees fleeing conflict are afforded temporary asylum until the conflict in the area from which they fled ends. The refugee population in the camps has expanded from little more than 20,000 in the mid-1980s to nearly 300,000 or more (the number is hard to track) and continues to grow." (www.burmeserefugee.org)

mae la

In order to research a suitable case study, one could consider longevity and size of a camp. Mae La, a Burmese refugee camp in Thailand (originated 25 years ago, estimated size of 50,000 inhabitants on 2km2) is an interesting site as there was no formal planning or material distribution: it grew from a bottom up initiative with locally available materials. In age and population size, however, it is comparable to Almere Buiten.