Can’t go forward, can’t go back: uncertain future for Myanmar refugees stuck in a Thai camp for decades
- There are more than 97,000 refugees in the temporary camps, half of them children
- In Thailand, they are not allowed access to formal employment, health care or education, but returning home is still not a viable alternative for many
When her first child – a daughter – was born, Pa Pa Win dreamed of a grand wedding for her many years down the line, with a big celebration in their village in Myanmar’s Mon state.
Instead, when the time came 20 years later, Pa Pa Win and her family settled for a modest gathering in the Mae La refugee camp in northern Thailand.
They are among about 31,000 refugees in Mae La, the largest of nine camps on the Thai-Myanmar border. She and her family have been there for 13 years.
“We came here because we were not safe in Myanmar. We thought we could go back after a while, or that we could make a life here in Thailand,” said Pa Pa Win, who is Muslim.
“But it is not safe for us to go back, and we do not know what is to become of us here.”
There are 97,439 refugees from Myanmar in the camps – half of them children – according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.