MAE SOT — Almost 80 refugees in Nu Po camp held a sit-down demonstration on Tuesday afternoon to protest against their delayed resettlement cases.
The Burmese and Karen protesters said they were calling on the United Nations' refugee agency, the UNHCR, to bring an end to the long delays which the refugees say they have endured while waiting to leave the camp and resettle in a third country.
"We are fed up with waiting to leave this camp and wasting our lives," a shopkeeper who participated in the protest told The Irrawaddy.
"There is no future for our children here. We want to give them a proper education and a life. We want UNHCR to put an end to our cases being put on hold by America. If the US don't want us, they should make a decision so we can go to another country," he said.
The sit-down protest, which was held in front of the UNHCR office in the camp, went on for one hour and was held without chanting.
Among the demonstrators were forced labor victims, former political prisoners, Buddhist monks and children who held banners asking the UNHCR to consider their welfare and put an end to the cases on hold.
"When we inquire to the UNHCR about our cases they just tell us there is no news and not to come back," Hla Aye, a leader of the protest, told The Irrawaddy.
"In the beginning, we were told we would get an answer within a month as to whether we would be resettled, but we were told we had to wait without any indication. But we cannot wait any more. Our pain and suffering is too much in these bad living conditions," he said.
After an hour protesting, the UNHCR officers invited four camp leaders into their office to discuss their issues and told them that they would discuss the situation with their head office in Bangkok. The leaders said they told the UNHCR officers that if no action is taken they will continue the protest until the problem is resolved.
Nu Po camp has more than 10,000 refugees, the majority of whom are Karen who have fled conflict in eastern Burma.
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