Seeking Safety and Shelter in Thailand
We have received this additional update from a group supporting refugees along the Thai-Burma border, and who wishes to remain anonymous due to safety concerns. Although many of these refugees have escaped with their lives, they carry with them unspeakable trauma from the terror they witnessed at the hands of the military, and they are given no safe haven by Thai authorities, either. This makes the work of this group all the more remarkable, and so we at Better Burma are trying to support them in any way we can. No contribution is too small, and we thank you in advance for taking the time to read!
“Due to the massive bombings in the last two months, most refugee camps have been dissolved. Thousands of persecuted Burmese had to set out again to find safe places.”
During our relief operations in the Pa Luu camp, bombs detonated several times in the area. The aid organizations were evacuated as quickly as possible by the Thai military. Despite significant risks, the Thai security forces offer a certain level of security. In those cases, we were able to leave the cordoned-off border area safely. However, it always took us days to process the impressions. We can return safely to Mae Sot, but the thousands of refugees in the camps face the horror every day.
In the meantime, the fighting in the border area around Mae Sot has increased so much so is hardly possible to bring aid packages to the refugee camps. Due to the massive bombings in the last two months, most refugee camps have been dissolved. Thousands of persecuted Burmese had to set out again to find safe places.
Because of the inaccessibility of the camps, we are currently supporting mainly refugee families in the region around Mae Sot. Here, too, numerous camps have been set up in which migrants seek protection. These are often smaller groups of Burmese families living in the forests or on paddy fields.