Repatriation of Burmese Refugees: More Miseries Await
By Samuel Ngala
May 31, 2011
When World War II was wrapping up in Southeast Asian frontlines, people living in Burma (now Myanmar) looked forward with much joy and anticipation to a time when they would gain independence from the Japanese, French, Dutch and British occupiers. The people longed for peace and rebuilding their lives and societies.
Instead of gaining much-desired peace when Myanmar (Burma) gained independence in 1948, the country descended into full-fledged civil war. Though country-wide, large-scale battles no longer occur today, sporadic fighting still takes place in ethnic regions of Myanmar (Burma) near borders with neighboring nations, marking the world’s longest ongoing civil war.
For the past four decades, Thailand has sheltered refugees and the destitute that fled wars, injustice and atrocities in the countries of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma). While refugees from the other nations have returned home or resettled abroad, Burmese refugees made up of different ethnic groups—Karen, Karenni, Burman, Mon, Shan, Rakhine, Chin, Kachin and other groups—remain in Thailand/Myanmar border regions. Thousands of them have been resettled overseas, but the majority of the people remain trapped in the refugee camps.
According to the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), an umbrella group of 12 humanitarian organizations working with more than 143,315 refugees , rice rations as well as other food commodities being provided to the refugees must be cut by up to 20 percent due to a shortfall in donations. This will squeeze the already limited food ration that the refugees have been receiving. With the refugees barred by the Thai government to work outside of their camps, their survival depends on the mercy and handouts that donors provide and on the policies of the Thai government.
Adventists have been at the forefront in providing humanitarian, medical and educational assistance to the refugees suffering under decades of armed conflicts in Indochina. The first field coordinator of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) was an Adventist missionary who unwittingly became involved with TBBC when the missionary offered to purchase rice for the refugees .
Using the pretext of a country-wide election that took place in Myanmar (Burma) last year, the government of Thailand, especially the country’s increasingly powerful security forces , has been keen to repatriate the refugees back to Myanmar (Burma). The majority of the people of Myanmar (Burma) and foreign observers categorized the election as nothing more than a sham resulting only in military generals who formerly wore military uniforms now adorning themselves in civilian attire. Though the new civilian president Thein Sein, a former general, promised a gradual democratization process for the country as well as the implementation of rule of law, actions on the ground seem contrary to his declarations.
Some good things have been taking place in the refugee camps of Thailand despite the dismal living conditions and the atmosphere of confinement. Many of the refugees who used to live in villages with no presence of any Adventist have accepted Christ as their personal Savior and became Seventh-day Adventist because of foreign or national missionaries. Many accepted Christ while studying at Adventist Schools such as Karen Adventist Academy, and Eden Valley Academy under the leadership of Helen Hall, a missionary from Australia.
Sending refugees from the camps in Thailand back to Myanmar (Burma) while fighting is taking place continually in Karen (Kayin), Karenni (Kayah), and Shan states is tantamount to sending them to their deathbeds. Unfortunately, according to Human Rights Watch, grave atrocities have been committed with impunity by Burmese soldiers belonging to Tatmadaw in the ongoing conflicts in ethnic regions. According to a United Nations report dated May 23, 2011 by Tomás Ojea Quintana, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (Burma), “These abuses include land confiscation, forced labour, internal displacement, extrajudicial killings and sexual violence. They are widespread, they continue today, and they remain essentially unaddressed by the authorities.”
Up to this point, the new government of Myanmar (Burma) has not initiated concrete measures through dialogue to solve ongoing conflicts between the ethnic armies fighting for freedom and for federalism. As long as the central government of Myanmar (Burma) resorts to solving ethnic tensions through force and not the negotiating table, there will not be a peaceful return for the innocent civilians holed up as refugees in the camps.
How would you feel if you were a refugee from Myanmar (Burma) soon to be forcibly repatriated from Thailand, knowing that lurking dangers await you? Will you join us in praying for the refugees from Myanmar (Burma) in the camps in Thailand? Thank you.
Image credit: http://www.vaitor.com/?p=1901