Refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border

Dotted along the Thai-Burmese border are nine official refugee camps housing almost 100,000 refugees from Myanmar. There are others who live elsewhere in Thailand, and the total number of Burmese refugees has waxed and waned over the years, following political conflicts, the military campaigns between the Burmese army and armed ethnic groups, and the persecution of dissident and divergent voices.

Refugee camps and their residents, grudgingly sheltered by the Thai government, have been in existence, in one form or another, since 1984. University students who fled persecution in Myanmar are now middle-aged camp leaders; villagers who ran from fighting and structural violence in the ethnic states now work for camp-based NGOs; children born in these camps have grown up and begotten a whole new gen-eration of refugees.

Throughout this time, the waves of political turmoil in Myanmar have overshadowed the camps and the future of the residents, leaving them stranded on the tides of uncertainty and liminality. Ongoing political changes in Myanmar combined with funding cuts for refugee services and provisions, the closing of the largest resettlement programme and the redirection of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar have shaken up the everyday lives of camp residents once again. They now face even greater uncertainty and anxiety about their future. Should they stay in camp and hope for the best? Should they cut their losses and leave, joining the 1 million Burmese migrants in Thailand working in labour-intensive industries?

In the book I am writing, I ask the following questions:

How is the future conceptualized, constructed and controlled in refugee camps in general and in particular through schooling and learning programmes? What does this say about the different actors/stakeholders and their approach to refugee futures? And what does this tell us about how time is conceived of and experienced? 

ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute Perspectives •

Education; A Micro-theatre of Ethnic Politics and the Peace Process in Myanmar

Schools in this region (and in Myanmar as a whole) have traditionally been sites of struggle over identity and ideas about nationhood. This has increased now that physical access to education has expanded. This phenomenon has been described as "ceasefire state-making" in reference to the justice provision of ethnic armed groups. We take this one step further, arguing that both non-state armed groups and the Myanmar government are expanding their social services during this ceasefire period. As we show below, this generates various forms of contestation: that between the Myanmar government and the ethnic armed groups over the legitimacy of the latter's educational provision, and that between the Myanmar government and local non-state schools over language, curriculum and management of these schools.
Tea Circle •

Hanging in the Balance: Challenges in Relocating a Post-secondary School from a Thai Refugee Camp to a Ceasefire area in Myanmar

Given the precarious and uncertain circumstances in both the refugee camps and the places of return, we examine how School X, a camp post-secondary school, is planning to relocate to Karen State, Myanmar. This is significant because the challenges it encounters – the nature of local politics, the politics of humanitarian aid and sustainability – are the same ones that other (non-educational) institutions and repatriated communities will face.
Educating Marginalized Communities in East and Southeast Asia •

Working towards partnership in education: civil society and NGOs in refugee camps in Thailand

The relationship between civil society groups and NGOs providing education in refugee camps in Thailand demonstrates the possibilities and limits of creating authentic partnership. Through a discussion of the hierarchy of power, the political context of refugee camps and the negotiations involved in developing textbooks and curricula, this article considers how civil society groups and NGOs have worked to uphold the underlying values of partnership through the use communication, accommodation and negotiation.
Routledge Handbook of Asian Borderlands •

The Moral Economy of the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border

This chapter examines the moral sentiments, values, norms, and affects that circulate among the myriad populations in the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border space – refugees, migrants, the internally displaced, Karen villagers, Thai communities of both Tai and other ethnicities, animist and Muslim groups, industrialists, traders and business people. This is turn shapes the ideologies and (cross-border) activities of this region.
Asia Dialogue •

Contesting sovereignty: education and schooling in ceasefire areas of Karen State

The bilateral ceasefire signed between the KNU and the Burmese government in 2012 has brought about the cessation of armed conflict in Karen State, Myanmar, albeit with intermittent skirmishes. Nevertheless, the struggle between the Karen National Union (KNU) (and other Karen armed organizations) and the Burmese government over sovereignty in Karen State continues in a myriad of ways. This article examines this conflict over power and authority in the sphere of education and demonstrates that it is being staged in two arenas, at the central government level and in schools.
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute Working Paper •

Competing Forms of Sovereignty in the Karen State of Myanmar

The Thai-Burmese border, represented by an innocuous line on a map, is more than a marker of geographical space. It articulates the territorial limits of sovereignty2 and represents the ideology behind the doctrine of modern nation-states. Accordingly, every political state must have a definite territorial boundary which corresponds with differences of culture and language. Moreover, territorial sovereignty is absolute, indivisible and mutually exclusive, as set out by the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia.
ISEAS Gender Perspectives •

Forced Migration and Adolescent Reproductive Health

This article combines findings from a study on reproductive health in three populations along the Thailand-Burma border and research conducted on adolescent pregnancy in camps for Burmese refugees in Thailand. The data show that adolescents in three populations—communities in eastern Burma (isolated rural villages, conflict-affected areas, and internally displaced per- son (IDP) areas in eastern Burma), migrant communities and refugee camps in Thailand—face difficulties in gaining access to reproductive health infor- mation and services.
The Straits Times •

Thai 'solution' may worsen situation

The uncertain plight of more than 140,000 refugees living in camps along the Thai-Myanmar border has become even more precarious. On April 11, Thailand's National Security Council chief Tawin Pleansri announced that the closure of the refugee camps was imminent. He added that the National Security Council, the institution that has overall authority over refugee issues, is in discussions with the Myanmar government and in contact with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) about repatriating the refugees to Myanmar.
Global Studies of Childhood •

Rice, Slippers, Bananas and Caneball: children’s narratives of internal displacement and forced migration from Burma

This article provides an account of internal displacement and forced migration from the viewpoint of children living in a refugee camp in Thailand. Using photographs they created and narratives they related, the children represented concepts of structural violence, poverty, food security, school, peer relationships and play and articulated how these were woven into their lived experience.
UNESCO •

Education in refugee camps in Thailand: policy, practice and paucity

One of the notable features of education in the refugee camps in Thailand is that the system of schools and learning was set up, and is staffed and managed by the refugees residing in the camps, with help from external organisations. There are 70 schools in the seven predominantly Karen camps staffed by approximately 80 headteachers and 1 600 teachers. They support and foster the learning of more than 34 000 students.
ZOA Refugee Care •

Education Survey 2009

The ZOA Education Survey 2010 is the fourth of a series of surveys on the education in refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border. The purpose of the education survey is to • document the provision of education in the camps • provide background information on a sample of residents • make systematic comparisons across time, and • generate discussions and recommendations for future education provision strategies. The Education Survey in 2009 was conducted using set questionnaires with 3,910 respondents1. This was supplemented by focus group interviews with particular groups of camp residents.
Comparative Education Review •

Education, Diversity and Inclusion in Burmese Refugee Camps in Thailand

This paper examines education and inclusion in seven predominantlyKaren refugee camps along the Thai–Burmese border. While the majorityof camp residents is Karen, there is also a myriad of ethnic groupsrepresenting the diversity of ethnic groups in Burma. This is combinedwith a variety of languages, religious affiliations and political leanings.Despite this diversity, the education system is relatively standardized.This is because it has been inexistence for more than 20 years and fallsunder the jurisdiction of Karen Education Department (KED), the ‘ministryof education’ of the exiled Karen ‘government’, the Karen National Union(KNU).
Forced Migration Review •

Educational change in a protracted refugee context

The provision of education in the refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border has evolved over 20 years, adapting its purpose, expanding its reach and improving its quality and relevance. Throughout this time, political uncertainties, protracted and constant refugee flows, and a changing policy environment have affected refugees’ access to education, the quality and relevance of the education they receive and their ability to use the skills and knowledge acquired for income generation and community development.