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.
"Thoughts on other durable solutions, such as repatriation or local integration, are missing, however. Even if repatriation is currently impossible, agencies should at least consider the possibility of unexpected changes in Burma which would lead to massive population movements. Early planning is imperative. At the same time, more thought should be given to the alternative solution of local integration. Although most host countries are against this option, my own research indicates that many Burmese people are already integrating, against the odds, and are an economic asset to their host countries. An open debate on all durable solutions and immediate improvements to the ‘closed’ camps are urgently needed for the sake of both the Burmese refugees and their host populations." (Inge Brees, www.conflictresearchgroup.be)"In every refugee camp I have ever visited, including those in Darfur, the vast majority of the people wanted to go home. But in Mae La, fewer than half of the refugees I spoke to said they wanted to go back. Even those who hoped to return said there was no point until democracy had been established." (Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development)
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