"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).
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).
"Displacement inevitably complicates and changes people’s relationships with objects and places, as well as with each other. In order to live as ‘normally’ as possible within a new place, Karenni refugees seek to make it as familiar in material ways, and as like the old, as possible. In so doing, they are attempting to connect two points in space (the refugee camp ‘here’ and the preexile ‘there’) and two time periods (the displaced ‘now’ and the premigration ‘then’). The connections are continually being renewed through ritual practices, clothing, food and myriad everyday activities.
Essentially, this is about creating a sense, however flawed, of ‘home’ – somewhere people feel is comfortable and intrinsically linked to who and what they perceive themselves to be. While it is unhelpful for relief agencies and anthropologists alike to idealise the worlds that refugees have left behind, refugees often do precisely that. It renders the experience understandable and the present more bearable. The cultural experience of displacement is reflected in how refugees act in the physical world of which they are a part. How, for example, does life in the camps relate to cultural aesthetics about the ‘right’ or ‘best’ way to live and feel? In what ways do the memories and imagination of the home that has been left behind influence the ways in which refugees seek to create a sense of home in the camp? What particular material objects and aspects of the physical environment (if any) are important in these processes, and why? What does it physically feel like to be a refugee?
At least three elements in human interaction with the physical world have become particularly significant in Karenni forced displacement. Firstly, opportunities to repeat physical actions familiar from the past, such as building houses and other creative processes possible in the camp, are important – and not only because they ameliorate the boredom and anxiety of displacement and provide necessary physical objects. They may be comforting in their familiarity, enable the structuring of time, and provide distraction and a sense of doing the best one can. They also allow the continued development and practice of valued skills." (Sandra Dudley, A Sense of Home in Exile 2007)
Essentially, this is about creating a sense, however flawed, of ‘home’ – somewhere people feel is comfortable and intrinsically linked to who and what they perceive themselves to be. While it is unhelpful for relief agencies and anthropologists alike to idealise the worlds that refugees have left behind, refugees often do precisely that. It renders the experience understandable and the present more bearable. The cultural experience of displacement is reflected in how refugees act in the physical world of which they are a part. How, for example, does life in the camps relate to cultural aesthetics about the ‘right’ or ‘best’ way to live and feel? In what ways do the memories and imagination of the home that has been left behind influence the ways in which refugees seek to create a sense of home in the camp? What particular material objects and aspects of the physical environment (if any) are important in these processes, and why? What does it physically feel like to be a refugee?
At least three elements in human interaction with the physical world have become particularly significant in Karenni forced displacement. Firstly, opportunities to repeat physical actions familiar from the past, such as building houses and other creative processes possible in the camp, are important – and not only because they ameliorate the boredom and anxiety of displacement and provide necessary physical objects. They may be comforting in their familiarity, enable the structuring of time, and provide distraction and a sense of doing the best one can. They also allow the continued development and practice of valued skills." (Sandra Dudley, A Sense of Home in Exile 2007)
Three main types of forced migration in – and from – Burma are: Type 1 – armed-conflict-induced displacement; Type 2 – State/society-induced displacement; and Type 3 – livelihood/vulnerability-induced displacement. Many IDPs and others move repeatedly, sometimes for a combination of different reasons (i.e. a mixture of the ‘ideal’ Types 1-3); others have been displaced for some time, and have found at least semi-durable solutions to their plight; many are living inter-mixed with communities who are not – or have not recently been – displaced. (Ashley South, Burma : the Changing Nature of Displacement Crises 2007)
A recent publication (Vincent and Sorensen 2001, p. 266) suggests that “studying displaced people’s longer term strategies of mobility and locality will help humanitarian organisations to avoid basing their assistance on false assumptions about ‘home’ and ‘belonging’…. [Such an approach] should underscore the importance of designing actions not according to preconceived notions, but according to the way internally displaced persons live their lives, in all their complexity.”
"Forced migration in Burma may be caused by a single event such as a natural disaster, a military attack or a relocation/eviction order from the military or civil authorities for military, infrastructure or commercial purposes. Typically, these events affect whole villages or communities or sections of towns, and are relatively sudden. More commonly, however, displacement is caused by a series of events, including coercive measures imposed by the authorities such as forced labour, land confiscation, extortion and forced agricultural practices. These measures, which constitute serious violations of human rights, typically act cumulatively over time, reducing the family’s resource base, and thus its income, until the household economy collapses and leaving home becomes the best or only option." (Andrew Bosson, The Role of Coercive Measures in Internal Displacement in Burma)
Article on the Black Market of Resettlement Programs
Article on the Black Market of Resettlement Programs
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