Mizzima News
Burma Campaign UK has called on Britain to double funding for the
Thailand-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), which provides food and shelter
for Burmese refugees, following Aung San Suu Kyi’s plea for aid to
refugees in her Nobel speech on Saturday.
A
street in the Mae La Refugee Camp on the Thai-Burma border. Almost
140,000 Karen refugees have been living in Thai refugee camps for up to
20 years. The minority ethnic group fled their country in the 1990s
following a major offensive by the Burmese government army against the
Karen National Union. Photo: AFP
“When I was at the Mae La
refugee camp in Thailand recently, I met dedicated people who were
striving daily to make the lives of the inmates as free from hardship as
possible,” Suu Kyi said in the speech delivered in Oslo on Sunday.
“They spoke of their concern over ‘donor fatigue,’ which could also
translate as ‘compassion fatigue.’"
Around 150,000 refugees from Burma live in camps on the Thailand -Burma border, BCUK said in a statement on Sunday. The camps face ration cuts of 25 per cent and cuts in other essentials such as clothing, blankets and shelter, it said.
The BCUK said the European Union has reduced funding for TBBC. Another reason for a funding shortfall, it said, is the rising costs of essentials such as rice, and to compensate for lower exchange rates.
British aid to Burma has been quadrupled in recent years, it said.
In the last Britain Parliamentary session, more than 60 MPs signed an Early Day Motion calling for funding to the Thailand Burma Border Consortium to be significantly increased. Overall, the refugees are facing a funding shortfall of around US$ 5-10 million, said the BCUK.
“Aung San Suu Kyi has delivered a clear message that she wants to see funding for refugees increased,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK.
Suu Kyi visited the Mae La camp near Mae Sot, Thailand, on June 3 during her foreign trip outside of Burma in 24 years. There are more than more than 140,000 Burmese refugees, mostly ethnic Karen, living in 10 camps along the 1,800km Thai-Burmese border.
Suu Kyi was not allowed to use a loud-speaker to address the refugees, Mizzima reported. But, standing on a chair to make herself visible, she was allowed to speak briefly to the crowd of well-wishers and supporters at a medical clinic.
Observers said Thai authorities restricted Suu Kyi’s movements in deference to Burmese authorities, who voiced disappointment with the scope of Suu Kyi’s actions and her extensive media exposure in Thailand during her first trip abroad.
According to the Thai-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), an umbrella group of NGOs working along the border, there are more than 140,000 Burmese refugees, mostly ethnic Karen, living in 10 camps along the 1,800km Thai-Burmese border, including more than 53,000 unregistered people.
In eastern Burma, particularly in Karen state, healthcare and education standards are rated among the worst in Asia. The sprawling Mae La camp houses close to 50,000 people, some of whom have lived there for decades.
Around 150,000 refugees from Burma live in camps on the Thailand -Burma border, BCUK said in a statement on Sunday. The camps face ration cuts of 25 per cent and cuts in other essentials such as clothing, blankets and shelter, it said.
The BCUK said the European Union has reduced funding for TBBC. Another reason for a funding shortfall, it said, is the rising costs of essentials such as rice, and to compensate for lower exchange rates.
British aid to Burma has been quadrupled in recent years, it said.
In the last Britain Parliamentary session, more than 60 MPs signed an Early Day Motion calling for funding to the Thailand Burma Border Consortium to be significantly increased. Overall, the refugees are facing a funding shortfall of around US$ 5-10 million, said the BCUK.
“Aung San Suu Kyi has delivered a clear message that she wants to see funding for refugees increased,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK.
Suu Kyi visited the Mae La camp near Mae Sot, Thailand, on June 3 during her foreign trip outside of Burma in 24 years. There are more than more than 140,000 Burmese refugees, mostly ethnic Karen, living in 10 camps along the 1,800km Thai-Burmese border.
Suu Kyi was not allowed to use a loud-speaker to address the refugees, Mizzima reported. But, standing on a chair to make herself visible, she was allowed to speak briefly to the crowd of well-wishers and supporters at a medical clinic.
Observers said Thai authorities restricted Suu Kyi’s movements in deference to Burmese authorities, who voiced disappointment with the scope of Suu Kyi’s actions and her extensive media exposure in Thailand during her first trip abroad.
According to the Thai-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), an umbrella group of NGOs working along the border, there are more than 140,000 Burmese refugees, mostly ethnic Karen, living in 10 camps along the 1,800km Thai-Burmese border, including more than 53,000 unregistered people.
In eastern Burma, particularly in Karen state, healthcare and education standards are rated among the worst in Asia. The sprawling Mae La camp houses close to 50,000 people, some of whom have lived there for decades.
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