Tony arrived safely following a safe journey through the mountains to arrive into sunny Mae Sot. The town has a substantial population of Burmese refugees and economic migrants. The exact number of Burmese in Mae Sot is unclear but estimates say that over 100,000 exist in addition to the 106,000 already recorded in the official census. In recent years the ongoing refugee situation has attracted NGO's and International aid agencies to set programs in the town and surrounding areas.

 

Week Three Thai – Burma border

 

Sunday 26^th July

 

Met up with Say Say in the night market he would not feel safe meeting anywhere else. Say Say is the adopted son of Padoh Mahn Shar Lar Pahn. Mahn Shar was assassinated in Mae Sot in 2007; He was the leader of the KNU. His two daughters Bwa Bwa and Zoya Pahn live and work in London for the Burma Campaign. They work tirelessly campaigning for political change in Burma and last week Zoya was instrumental in organizing the Karen communities in Europe to form the New European Karen Network (EKN). Zoya has recently written and published her autobiography called “Little Daughter”. It is a fantastic moving first hand account of growing up under this monster of a regime, and her family’s constant struggle to stay one step ahead of the regime, a memoir of survival in the west and inside Burma. To obtain a copy go to

www.Burmacampaign.org website then Amazon as BCUK receive a percentage of the cost.

Say Say updated us on the situation of the latest offensives by the regime, he said up to 6,000 ethnic Karen civilians have fled Burma following a new military offensive by the Burmese army and their allies, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, most have fled to Thailand. Say Say’s wife and two children have all fled to Norway; his security is a constant worry. He wants to stay and continue the struggle his parents gave their life for, but knows he is a target for the regimes agents in Mae Sot. I asked if he was free to join us for the training in Mae la camp next week.

 He replied profoundly he said that in his life he did not know what it was like to be free, he said only when the struggle is over will I be free!.

 

Monday 27^th July

 

 Back to Borderline to join the women’s group, these groups are the backbone of Karen society, the women face a daily struggle, bringing up their own and usually other people’s children. A lot of the men have been killed in action or detained in the notorious prisons or still in the jungle defending innocent civilians or backpacking medical aid and equipment inside.  The women’s groups joined together a few years ago to form this cooperative of all ethnic groups selling their weaving products. They weave the material in the refugee camps and transport it out of the camps. Then sell the bags scarves and handicrafts to NGO’s or the few tourists that dare to venture into Mae Sot, in their tiny shop, enabling them to be self sufficient and sustainable. The assortment of products created, designed and produced with so few resources available always amazes me and I have always found this little place a haven of tranquility in a very frenetic town.

 They also have a Burmese tea shop selling the famous Burmese hot sweet tea (the Burmese are famous for their tea shops) as in all Burmese tea shops drunk sitting on the floor.

 Last week, going into Mae la Oon camp we were stopped by the Thai soldiers. I got out of the truck to see what the problem was. The Thai soldiers asked that the parcel on the back be removed from the truck as they did not have it listed on the inventory in their books. It was the oil for the weaving machines as well as cotton thread. The women’s groups in camp were so upset they had waited one month for these to come in and now were unable to finish the weaving until it arrives. Life is constantly frustrating exsistance living in a refugee camp.

 

Tuesday 28^th July

 

Two migrant schools training today first one Pyo Khin, this is the Muslim migrant school that is so so poor. As I had carried out some health education last year I asked the teacher what she would like me to cover she said the hygiene standard of the children is so poor they need hand washing training. Hand washing is very topical here as in most parts of the world at the moment with H1N1 virus hitting the headlines, and quite a lot of the children were wearing very dirty face masks, these have been giving out to everyone by the Thai authority’s as a blanket measure with no education, media coverage or understanding of using the masks. We discuss the importance of good hand hygiene and explain the research which says that in migrant schools with children hand hygiene techniques with soap and water can actually save lives.

A lot of the children’s parents are inside Burma, so they live and board at the school. Today they have not got enough fresh clean water. They continue to sieve the water through tee shirts as they tell me this makes the water clean. No vegetables to go with the rice today just a little steamed rice.

This afternoon my visit to Parami another migrant school was delayed by Thai authorities, carrying out official registering of the school. This happens every month and the school can be closed down at any time depending on the bribe. The bottle of whiskey did the trick today.

 

Wednesday 29^th July  

 

Today Philip travels from Mae Sot to BKK by bus 8 hours then fly’s back to the UK. Philip has traveled for 3 weeks with us, during which time he has diligently photographed and videoed some very difficult situations that we have experienced on this journey. He has been extremely sensitive to the situations and shared the courage and bravery of these fantastic people and their struggle along the way. On his last night he talked about the stars that shine out in the depth of darkness, he will be a big miss, but I know that the Burmese have grabbed his heart and will not let go.

Tonight received a phone call form a Burmese friend who works at the clinic he has been told by the Thai authority’s that he will be deported tommorrow. He said tonight he is so scared to return to his country as the regime is very dangerous. He asked us to continue working for all the Burmese people until they receive democracy, and asked us to try and find him in Rangoon, very difficult with the regime monitoring internet inside and secret police everywhere, hopefully we will see him when we visit.

 

Thursday 30^th July

 

Returned back to Mae la camp today. The first thing that strikes you about this camp is the size. Last estimate was about 45,000 refugees, there are about 5,000 ghost refugees and on the increase, some came after the cyclone in the delta region. As the UN have stopped new registrations in camp new arrivals are usually hidden and all rice and oil rations shared. The problem with the new arrivals is they bring infections usually diarrhoea and sickness into the camp and in this overcrowded hot environment and huts very close together infections spreads very quickly.

When we first came to the border a lot of NGO programmes where working in these camps. The NGOs particularly the medics whose remit it is to stay in these situations for a limited time pulled out to enable local community based organizations like the Karen Women’s group’s to have ownership of their own programmes.

This was working well until, what we call the fifth cut came, the resettlement programme to the third country. Because a lot of the educated Karen who usually speak English have left or are waiting to go to a third country this leaves a big gap in these programmes. I have heard that some of the big organizations like World Education will be working back into the camps setting up programme’s that they withdrew from 6 years ago, again it seems so much like a backward step. A lot of the participants are new arrivals and have just come from inside Burma. When discussing hand washing they told me when they are in the jungle they are far away from water streams and too scared to go out and find water in case they are caught by the SPDC!. So they never wash their hands.

 

Friday 31st July

 

Back into Mae la camp, to carry out follow up home visits to the children with special needs. As it has been raining very heavy the ground is very muddy and slippy. To get to the children I am dropped off at Zone A Section 4. When you arrive into camp you are given section number and zone. You are given a small amount of bamboo and build your own house. You cannot cut anything down and you can’t grow anything. Communication is really difficult in camp as there are no phones or internet.

 

As I walk for about half and hour you get a good idea of daily life living in these camps. There is no running water nearby, most people walk to the standpipes they are on twice a day, 5am and 5pm. You have to queue for water then carry it back home. In the rainy season the charcoal is usually damp so it takes a while to get the fire going. Then the preparations begin for breakfast. Breakfast consists of rice and some yellow beans or fish paste and chili. There is a big problem with malnutrition and diets deficient in calcium and vitamins, medics see rickets  and other diet deficient diseases in this camp.

After breakfast you have to wash the clothes at the river and try and dry them, this is really difficult in the rainy season. Then it may be ration time. Everyone is issued with a ration card for fortnightly rations. No one is officially suppose to leave the camp and if caught could be deported back to Burma.

 

When we eventually arrive at our destination the child with severe epilepsy was on her own, without any supervision, her mother had gone to find vegetables outside the camps perimeter. She has been caught doing this before, but said she needs the vegetables for the children’s health so will risk it. The community health worker explains that the mother was harassed when she returned back last week. The Thai soldiers harass a lot of the young females in camp and often threaten them with rape even following them to their huts and then report them for leaving camp, this has been well documented.

We return later and give mum some medication for epilepsy and knowledge on understanding the condition. The child is constantly concussed with frequent unsupervised drop fits which have caused soft tissue damage to the head. This has resulted in severe brain damage. Because of the child’s condition she has been isolated and hidden away from the main community. Understanding of special needs is not a high priority in the camps. These children are often left to die if there condition is so severe. Lack of knowledge and usually superstition means parents are ostracized if their children have conditions like epilepsy. I am very surprised the child is still alive with such high care needs.

It once again makes me realize how far we have come in the UK in the education and management of special needs children. I give mum a donation I received from the UK. This will enable her to supplement the rice rations with much needed vegetables vitamins and calcium. She says something very quietly and I notice that she is crying, when translated she says can I take the child to my country and get her access to good health care as she is frightened the child will die soon!.

 

 Anxiously awaiting the results of the trial of ASSK imprisonment.