Aid Workers Call for Millions in Donations for Fire-Ravaged Burma Refugee Camp

Survivors carry aid and belongings salvaged from ruins of the Mae Surin refugee camp near Mae Hong Son on Sunday. (Photo: Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha)

More than 2,300 refugees who became homeless when fire destroyed their shelters in Mae Surin refugee camp, in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Province, have received immediate assistance but need supplies to rebuild their homes.

The fire that broke out in the isolated refugee camp on Friday destroyed about 400 houses made of bamboo, wood, and roofed with dried leaves, before it was brought under control on Saturday.

On Monday, the Thailand Burma Border Consortium put out a call for 13 million Thai baht (US $444,000) in donations to rebuild the camp.

The blaze—reportedly caused by a cooking accident—killed at least 35 people and injured dozens more.

A Karenni schoolgirl, Eliza, a volunteer delivering aid to the victims, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that some 36 people died in the blaze.

An estimated 400 houses were reduced to ash. The more than 2,000 refugees made homeless are sheltering in accommodation set up by the Thailand Border Consortium and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Eliza said that the fire spread quickly because it was hot and windy in the camp.

The fire trapped the victims and encircled them.

Located in an isolated region, there are no modern fire extinguishers in the camp. Residents normally use buckets of water and sand to put out any fires.

Vivian Tan, the spokesperson for the UNHCR in Asia, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that her organization has provided immediate assistance, such as blankets and plastic sheeting for temporary shelters to the victims.

“For now, the focus is the immediate assistance. In the medium term, this camp is run by the [Thai] government. So I think the government will probably do some kind of planning of how to rebuild the shelters,” said Vivian Tan.

Mae Surin refugee camp housed about 3,500 refugees who fled from Burmese government military offensives in Karenni State, eastern Burma. Mae Surin is one of nine Burmese refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border.

According to the UNHCR report, a local clinic and distribution center at the camp were also razed in the blaze. With the cooperation of Thai authorities and local camp committee leaders, the International Rescue Committee and International Committee of the Red Cross has also offered assistance for the victims.

Sally Thompson, the director of the Thailand Border Consortium, a humanitarian agency said: “At the moment, they have plastic sheeting, mosquito nets, and mats. The immediate assistance is sufficient. But, they will need assistance for reconstructing [their homes].”

“We will need to provide all construction materials again … everything to reconstruct new houses.

“Before that assistance is provided, the debris in the burnt areas will be cleared where the new buildings will be built,” said Thompson.

According to the Bangkok Post, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra asked the Interior Ministry, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department and the armed forces to set up an emergency center to ensure sufficient food, drinking water, medicine and clothing will be supplied to the refugees.

Deputy Interior Minister Chatt Kuldiloke and ministry officials also visited the camp on Saturday to oversee the establishment of temporary shelters and the provision of medical treatment.

There are about 150,000 refugees who live in the nine refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border. Most of them are ethnic Karen who fled home due to civil wars in their hometown.

Rescue workers have ended the search for victims of a fire that tore through a Burmese refugee camp in northern Thailand, killing at least 36 people and leaving thousands homeless.

A man walks between body bags of victims of the fire at the Ban Mae Surin refugee camp near Mae Hong Son. Photo: REUTERS

 

By Agence France Presse

Ten children were among those killed in Friday's fire which destroyed Mae Surin camp in Mae Hong Son province, provincial governor Narumol Paravat said.

"The search operation has finished today. Rescue teams found 36 dead, among them were 10 children," she said, adding 13 of the bodies were yet to be identified.

"A police investigation has yet to conclude the cause of the fire."

Desperate refugees chopped bamboo and gathered large leaves from the surrounding jungle to build makeshift shelters as relief trickled in to the remote area, according to witnesses.

The blaze is believed to have destroyed 400 houses and left more than two thousand people homeless at the remote mountainous camp, leaving behind a stark landscape of charred tree stumps and debris. 

The Thai government has pledged an investigation into the fire at the camp, which was set up in 1992 and houses roughly 3,500 refugees.
Ten camps strung out along the Thai-Burma border are home to a total of about 130,000 people, who first began arriving in the 1980s.
Many of the refugees have fled conflict zones in ethnic minority areas of Burma.
After a new quasi-civilian government replaced the long-ruling junta in Burma two years ago, Thailand announced it wanted to shut the border camps, raising concern among their residents.
But so far they have been allowed to stay and the Thai government has stressed that it will only send them back when it is safe to do so.
Many of the refugees are from Burma's eastern Karen state, where a major rebel group, the Karen National Union (KNU) signed a ceasefire deal with the new regime last year after decades of civil war. 

Edited by Chris Irvine, telegraph.co.uk

 

Ed Chiles' daughter to open special restaurant in Thailand

By RICHARD DYMOND — rdymond@bradenton.com

Christin Chiles,of Holmes Beach, far right, poses with children she is teaching at a Burmese refugee school in Thailand.Chiles is in Thailand near the Burma border doing missionary work, part of which is to open a burger restaurant to provide jobs to refugees. She said she learned the restaurant business from her father, Ed Chiles, owner of The Sandbar, The BeachHouse and PHOTO PROVIDED

MANATEE -- Every so often, someone comes along whose destiny appears in etched in stone from the moment of their birth.

Christin Chiles of Holmes Beach is one of those people, says her father, well-known Manatee County restaurateur Ed Chiles, owner of the Sandbar in north Anna Maria Island, The Beach House in Bradenton Beach and the Mar Vista on the north end of Longboat Key.
Christin Chiles nearly died at birth 24 years ago. She was a breech baby who was delivered in the back room of the family home in Holmes Beach, her father said.
Why was she spared? Her father believes it was to do what she is doing now, volunteering around the world as a missionary.
"Christin came into the world as a miracle baby," Chiles said. "From being purple at birth, she became a hall of famer at Manatee High School and went on to the University of Florida where she started a Young Life Christian youth program at Buchholz High School in Gainesville."
But nothing, even his daughter's experience recently with a Christian organization called The World Race, which toured 11 countries in 11 months, backpacking and living in a tent, could prepare Ed Chiles for the Skype call he received from her recently.
Burgers in Thailand?
Ed Chiles gasped when his daughter called from Mae Sot, a city in Thailand near the Burma border and told him she and nine other volunteers of The Journey mission group decided to open a burger restaurant in order to give jobs
to Burmese refugees.
An estimated 100,000 Burmese refugees occupy Mae Sot, escaping the horrific decades-old civil war in their country, Ed Chiles said.
"I said to her, 'Christin, wait a minute. A hamburger in Thailand?'" Ed Chiles said, also wondering where you can get beef in Thailand.
"Dad," Ed Chiles said his daughter replied. "This is a way to have refugees work and learn a trade and get dignity. And, besides, this is, 'The Chiles Group Goes International.'"
"I am not a hard sell for her," Ed Chiles said Friday, noting that there is a BJ's or Sam's Club-type store nearby where the volunteers can buy merchandise. "She sold me. Of course, it's not really the Chiles Group goes international. It's these 10 people doing this incredible thing."
Learning from her dad, Christin Chiles instructed her volunteer friends that they should have a "soft opening" on April 3 before the grand opening of the burger restaurant on April 8.
The restaurant is to be called Famous Ray's, after a well-known personality in Mae Sot.
"Ultimately, once we get going, the profits of the restaurant will go toward a community development project in Burma," Christin Chiles told her father. "One of our goals is to build a school in a nearby village, train adults to become teachers and provide education for the children. We hope this will prevent human trafficking, which is at an all-time high."
Christin Chiles, speaking to the Herald on Skype, said The Journey was started by Jimmy McCarty from Atlanta, a man whose lifelong dream is to address unacceptable realities.
"We were here for a month and a half and there are a lot of nongovernment organization workers here," Christin Chiles said. "We realized you can't find a good burger anywhere in Mae Sot and Westerners need some good comfort food."
The restaurant is in a three-story concrete building in Mae Sot that the members of The Journey have rented. They hope to run day run a guest house on the upper floors so they can provide even more jobs for Burmese refugees.
The first staff person Christin Chiles hired was a 20-year-old woman named Nali who has been left with the care of five brothers and sisters, including one mentally handicapped sibling, Chiles said.
"She was making $100 a month and we are doubling her salary," Chiles said. "She speaks five languages and has the sweetest spirit. She burst out crying when we told her she got the job. If we were not here and this were not happening, this wouldn't be the case for her."
Famous Ray's will feature a Thai burger for $3 which will include a beef patty topped with Thai seasoning and crispy fried morning glory, which is similar to kale.
Christin Chiles is returning home in three weeks for a short visit and then says she is going back to Thailand.
This mission is different from all the rest, she said.
"This is so different than a short-term mission trip because this will offer stability," Christin Chiles said. "People need jobs and work. So, not only are we spreading the Gospel and I am teaching English at a Burmese refugee school, but the sustainable aspect sets this apart."
As for her views on faith and God, Christin Chiles said she has no complex explanations, just a simple one.
"God is love," Chiles said. "I know God is love and cares so much for us and there is hope and jobs and life and freedom in what He has to offer."
Christin Chiles and her colleagues are currently in a capital campaign to raise $25,000 by April 15 to keep the restaurant operating. They have already raised $10,000, Ed Chiles said.
People can give by mailing a check to: Kingdom Inc., P.O. Box 98438, Atlanta Ga. 30359. Indicate it's for The Journey Project.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/03/30/4460189/ed-chiles-daughter-to-open-special.html#storylink=cpy

mmigration Ministry Says Census Needed in Burma

A Thai official stands guard as refugees from Burma sit at the Thai-Burma border town of Mae Sot on November 9, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Burmese refugees living in the camps along the Burma-Thailand border need to be repatriated if they want to be included in the national census, a senior official from the Ministry of Immigration and Population (MIP) told The Irrawaddy.

The MIP will make a list of children who were born in refugee camps as part of the next national census, Dr Khaing Khaing Soe, the personal assistant to the MIP minister, but the census will only include people who are resident in Burma.

“The census will only include people in Burma,” Khaing Khaing Soe said. “We won’t include those who are in other country’s territory in the list. We will, however, ask respective families whether they have anyone working abroad.”

She added that even though the MIP will not pay attention to those who have gone beyond the country’s borders, it will make a list of internally displaced persons (IDPs) inside Burma.

“Her statement is worrisome,” commented Saw El Kleh, the secretary of Mae La refugee camp in Thailand’s Tak Province.

“Children born in this camp are stateless so, in the future, who will provide them with education, health and social services that a citizen should receive?” he questioned, adding that there have been 70 to 80 newly born babies every month in Mae La, the biggest and most populated camp along the border.

According to The Border Consortium (TBC), there are currently seven Karen and two Karenni refugee camps in Mae Hong Son, Tak and Kanchanaburi provinces in Thailand. A total of 128,783 people are taking shelter in the camps, it said in a statement issued in December last year.

Apart from those refugee camps, the TBC said, there are seven IDP camps in Burma’s forests, which host another 17,079 people.

The TBC, which was formerly known as the Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), has been providing Burmese refugees, who started fleeing to border areas in the 1980s, with basic food supplies, such as rice, beans, fish-paste and salt.

“We are wondering what President Thein Sein’s Government is thinking about its citizens currently living in refugee camps,” said Dr George, the vice-chairman of Karen Refugee Committee (KRC).

Aid organizations working for Burmese refugees have said that there are many difficulties for refugees to go back to their homes.

“The main concerns include landmines and ceasefire issues,” said an official from a Thai border-based relief agency, who asked to remain anonymous. “They are yet confident with the ceasefire situation, so they are worried about fresh clashes between the government and armed ethnic groups.

“Another critical issue for them is how they are going to survive when they get back to their place of origin. They still can’t return until the overall situation becomes stable,” he said.

The national census project, which would be the first since 1983, will be carried out in 2014.

The United Nations estimated Burma’s population in 2010-2011 as 53.4 million while the MIP said there were 59.8 million people living in the country.

Refugee project seeks to sweep Malaysians off their feet

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 4 (UNHCR) - Doing housework on a weekend is a dreaded chore at best. Why then would someone spend their day off cleaning up after others?

Ask Thomas, a refugee leader who on a recent weekend led some 50 refugees from Myanmar to Kuala Lumpur's Wangsa Permai area. Wearing bright green vests that proclaimed "Refugees Care for Malaysia," they walked with brooms, rakes and garbage bags in the back lanes of a housing area. Undeterred by the scorching heat, they cleaned gutters, cleared garbage and pulled out weeds.

They were part of a neighbourhood clean-up initiative funded by the UN refugee agency and aimed at changing the perception of the local community towards refugees.

"Malaysians complained that refugees are littering, spitting betel nut juice on the pavements, and are noisy and disorderly when they get drunk," said Thomas. "The local people were getting very upset, and there was a lot of tension between refugees and the locals. We did not want the situation to become worse."

There are some 100,000 refugee men, women, and children registered with UNHCR in Malaysia, living in towns and cities across the country, in close proximity to Malaysian communities.

Since 2011, UNHCR through its Social Protection Fund (SPF) has worked with various refugee communities on peaceful co-existence projects, like the neighbourhood clean-up, to help address friction between local communities and refugees living close together.

One source of friction was the misconception that refugees were littering and destroying public property. "In areas where locals, refugees, and immigrants live close to each other, local communities commonly blame foreigners for problems in the neighbourhood," said Letchimi Doraisamy, the UNHCR officer in charge of the SPF.

"The neighbourhood clean-up projects show that refugees care about Malaysia and the neighbourhoods they live in. Regardless of who caused the problems, they want to be part of the solution in making these neighbourhoods pleasant to live in."

Since it began, dozens of refugee communities in the greater Kuala Lumpur area have participated in neighbourhood clean-ups. Some communities have taken it further by establishing night watches to curb the drunken and disorderly behaviour of some refugees which locals perceived as threatening.

The first community clean-up was held by the Myanmar refugees of the Chin ethnicity in the Loke Yew area of Kuala Lumpur.

The coordinator, Kennedy, said they wanted to demonstrate that refugees were not a threat to local communities and can contribute to the society they live in. "Our efforts paid off, because after a few weeks of clean-up, the locals living here began smiling at us and were friendlier," said Kennedy.

Joshua is a community leader of the Myanmar refugees of the Kachin ethnicity living in the Setapak area of Kuala Lumpur. "We had problems with Malaysian bullies in the flats where we live. They would ride the elevator with our people and beat them, rob them or just say bad things," said Joshua. "After we started the clean-ups, it was easier for us to speak to the residents' association about the bullying, and we received less harassment."

One clear benefit of the initiative is when local communities take note of the efforts.

In the Cheras area of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Muhammad Basir resides in a block of flats where a small community of refugees lives closely to Malaysians. He said initially there were fights and drunken and disorderly behaviour when the refugee men got together in the evenings.

"We understand they were frustrated because they could not work," said Muhammad. "But since the clean-up and night watches, things have improved."

Muhammad and a group of a dozen or so locals support the refugees in the clean-up by giving breakfast, refreshments, and joining in the clean-up. "Even refugee children help to clean the neighbourhood. There have not been many locals joining in, let alone children. We respect refugees for this hard work they put in," said Muhammad.

Back in Wangsa Permai, Thomas is realistic on how much more effort is needed. "We know there will be problems because our culture is different from Malaysians'," he said. "Slowly, we hope the locals will no longer hold ill-feelings towards us, but embrace us as members of the neighbourhood. It takes time for people to change, but we are trying."

By Yante Ismail in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Malaysia : Refugee project seeks to sweep Malaysians off their feet

Refugee project seeks to sweep Malaysians off their feet 

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 4 (UNHCR) - Doing housework on a weekend is a dreaded chore at best. Why then would someone spend their day off cleaning up after others?
Ask Thomas, a refugee leader who on a recent weekend led some 50 refugees from Myanmar to Kuala Lumpur's Wangsa Permai area. Wearing bright green vests that proclaimed "Refugees Care for Malaysia," they walked with brooms, rakes and garbage bags in the back lanes of a housing area. Undeterred by the scorching heat, they cleaned gutters, cleared garbage and pulled out weeds.
They were part of a neighbourhood clean-up initiative funded by the UN refugee agency and aimed at changing the perception of the local community towards refugees.
"Malaysians complained that refugees are littering, spitting betel nut juice on the pavements, and are noisy and disorderly when they get drunk," said Thomas. "The local people were getting very upset, and there was a lot of tension between refugees and the locals. We did not want the situation to become worse."
There are some 100,000 refugee men, women, and children registered with UNHCR in Malaysia, living in towns and cities across the country, in close proximity to Malaysian communities.
Since 2011, UNHCR through its Social Protection Fund (SPF) has worked with various refugee communities on peaceful co-existence projects, like the neighbourhood clean-up, to help address friction between local communities and refugees living close together.
One source of friction was the misconception that refugees were littering and destroying public property. "In areas where locals, refugees, and immigrants live close to each other, local communities commonly blame foreigners for problems in the neighbourhood," said Letchimi Doraisamy, the UNHCR officer in charge of the SPF.
"The neighbourhood clean-up projects show that refugees care about Malaysia and the neighbourhoods they live in. Regardless of who caused the problems, they want to be part of the solution in making these neighbourhoods pleasant to live in."
Since it began, dozens of refugee communities in the greater Kuala Lumpur area have participated in neighbourhood clean-ups. Some communities have taken it further by establishing night watches to curb the drunken and disorderly behaviour of some refugees which locals perceived as threatening.
The first community clean-up was held by the Myanmar refugees of the Chin ethnicity in the Loke Yew area of Kuala Lumpur.
The coordinator, Kennedy, said they wanted to demonstrate that refugees were not a threat to local communities and can contribute to the society they live in. "Our efforts paid off, because after a few weeks of clean-up, the locals living here began smiling at us and were friendlier," said Kennedy.
Joshua is a community leader of the Myanmar refugees of the Kachin ethnicity living in the Setapak area of Kuala Lumpur. "We had problems with Malaysian bullies in the flats where we live. They would ride the elevator with our people and beat them, rob them or just say bad things," said Joshua. "After we started the clean-ups, it was easier for us to speak to the residents' association about the bullying, and we received less harassment."
One clear benefit of the initiative is when local communities take note of the efforts.
In the Cheras area of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Muhammad Basir resides in a block of flats where a small community of refugees lives closely to Malaysians. He said initially there were fights and drunken and disorderly behaviour when the refugee men got together in the evenings.
"We understand they were frustrated because they could not work," said Muhammad. "But since the clean-up and night watches, things have improved."
Muhammad and a group of a dozen or so locals support the refugees in the clean-up by giving breakfast, refreshments, and joining in the clean-up. "Even refugee children help to clean the neighbourhood. There have not been many locals joining in, let alone children. We respect refugees for this hard work they put in," said Muhammad.
Back in Wangsa Permai, Thomas is realistic on how much more effort is needed. "We know there will be problems because our culture is different from Malaysians'," he said. "Slowly, we hope the locals will no longer hold ill-feelings towards us, but embrace us as members of the neighbourhood. It takes time for people to change, but we are trying."
By Yante Ismail in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Cash aid for Ban Mae Surin refugees

Myanmar government officials have donated more than 320,000 baht to refugees living in the fire-stricken Ban Mae Surin camp in Mae Hong Son province.

Karen refugees flee as fire broke out in their thatch huts at the Ban Mae Surin refugee camp in Mae Hong Son province, northern Thailand on March 22. (AP Photo)

Authorities in Karenni State, close to the Thai-Myanmar border, donated 322,432 baht (10 million kyat) to Karenni refugees who were affected by the fire that killed 38 and displaced more than 2,300 people on March 22.

The cash was partly made up of personal donations from local leaders, including the head of the Myanmar Peace Centre, Aung Min.

According to The New Light of Myanmar, the country’s main state-run newspaper, the money was delivered to the camp by the Karenni National Progressive Party, along with “blankets, mosquito nets, clothes donated by local people”, and 500 bags of rice from the Nippon Foundation. 

 

 

The Karenni State government used the aid delivery to call on refugees to leave Thailand and return to their homeland. Officials promised to offer refugees basic welfare support on their return. 

“State government offers the national people from the relief camps in Thailand to return home and will provide basic needs to them when they arrive in the native regions,” a statement said.

Ban Mae Surin camp leader Shally Than confirmed that some of the donations had already arrived at the site, in a phone interview with The Irrawaddy, 

Sally Thompson, the director of The Border Consortium (TBC), a humanitarian aid agency that provides food and supplies to Myanmar refugees in Thailand, added that the reconstruction process of the camp will start next week.

There are more than 140,000 Myanmar refugees, mostly ethnic Karen, living in camps in Thailand.

Aid access restricted at fire-hit camp

Authorities at the Ban Mae Surin refugee camp in Mae Hong Son province are restricting access to the site so that only officials, including the military and police, are allowed to enter.

Refugees stand amid the ruins of burned homes at the Ban Mae Surin camp on March 24. Authorities have stepped up security at the site in recent days, according to reports. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)

Those unknown to authorities will no longer be granted access because the number of vehicles making the journey to the camp each day is causing traffic jams and the road is “broken”.

Staff from The Irrawaddy news site attempted to visit the camp on Sunday but claimed their vehicle was turned around by an army commander, who told them to seek permission to access the site from the Khum Yuam district local government office, or leave their aid deliveries at the district warehouse.

“If I allow you guys access, I will be held responsible. I am not authorised to give you permission. Any action can be taken against me by higher officials,” the commander reportedly said.  

“So, please go back and ask for entry permission.”

At the local district office, officials denied the journalists access to the camp.

“A woman at the reception told us the reason we were being denied access was because there was no cellphone signal, the road was treacherous, and rescue would be impossible if we got into trouble,” an Irrawaddy reporter said.

The journalist added that despite receiving no official permission to enter Ban Mae Surin, their team then managed to access the camp by following a Channel 3 aid convoy along the serpentine dirt track that leads from Khun Yuam. 

“The commander who turned us around also tried to deny entry to the Channel 3 aid convoy, but eventually let the aid delivery go ahead,” the reporter said. 

“As we left later that afternoon, we discovered from local residents that the border guard force had since been brought in to provide security checks on every vehicle attempting to access the camp, which is in urgent need of humanitarian relief.”

Sally Thompson, the director of The Border Consortium (TBC), a humanitarian aid agency, told The Irrawaddy that Thai authorities are clamping down on the site, making it hard for outside visitors to enter the camp.

“The Thais are claiming they are blocking unofficial vehicles entering the camp because of congestion,” she said. 

“But when we arrived at the camp we discovered we were driving one of the few vehicles in the camp that day. Most vehicles in the camp belonged to the Thai military or the police. The road, although difficult to navigate, was not ‘broken’, as the authorities are claiming.”

One possible cause of the heavy security presence is the ongoing police investigation into the fire on March 22, which killed 38 people, camp residents said.

Displaced persons in the camp who escaped the fire are now staying with relatives in unaffected areas, or have set up temporary shelters using waste materials and a few tents from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Shally Than, the chairwoman of Ban Mae Surin camp, told The Irrawaddy that the refugee committee is now planning its reconstruction program.

The TBC has put out a call for 13 million baht in donations to rebuild the camp.

In Thailand, Christians minister to ‘the least of these’ after refugee camp fire

By: Erik Tryggestad

 Church of Christ members in Thailand collected and distributed thousands of dollars worth of relief supplies after a fire killed dozens of people in a refugee camp.

Three women who lost their homes in the Ban Mae Surin refugee camp fire. (Photo provided by Robert Reagan)

The blaze, likely the result of a cooking fire, devastated the remote Ban Mae Surin refugee camp Thailand’s northwestern Mae Hong Son province, near the country’s border with Myanmar. The camp, launched in 1992, houses thousands of refugees who fled ethnic conflict in Myanmar. The blaze claimed 32 lives, injured 100 people and left nearly 2,300 homeless, CNN reports. Most of the victims are members of the Karen ethnic group.

Robert Reagan, a member of a mission team in Chiang Mai, Thailand, help launch a fundraiser for the victims, which netted about $3,000. Reagan and Thai Christians bought clothing, detergent and toothpaste. The Chiang Mai University Pharmacy donated 40 first-aid kits and gave Reagan a discount on 90 more — the rest of their stock. The Christians also bought lots of Thai style noodles and cooking supplies. Then they traveled to the camp.

"This lady was rummaging through the debris trying to find a pan for cooking," said Robert Reagan, left. (Photo provided)

“It was a little overwhelming at first – realizing that some families lost everything, even loved ones,” Reagan said in a recent blog post. “The refugee camp is divided into four sections. Two of the four sections burned. Most families lost everything they owned. I was pleased to see how those who lost their homes were being taken care of by the refugees from the two sections that didn’t burn.

“When I asked the local refugees about their current needs, they responded that their food and clothing needs had been taken care of. They said people are ready to help the areas that burned, but their school probably won’t get much help since it didn’t burn. … The main assembly hall has a dusty dirt floor, very few chairs and only a few tables.

“Now is a time of seeking clarification of how to help provide further assistance in a wise way. Lots of organizations will help with the rebuilding, but will anyone notice the school that didn’t burn? My heart feels drawn toward helping these refugees in a way that can be a long-term blessing to their kid’s education.”

Before he left the camp, Reagan joined a group of Christians in the camp for Sunday worship in the Karen language.

“The only word I understood was ‘Amen,’” he said, “but I felt like we were one in spirit, and several came up to thank me for joining their assembly when it was finished.”

 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

— Matthew 25: 37-40

The humble school building in the refugee camp. (Photo provided)

Fire destroys Thai-Burma border camp

CARITAS Australia, the international aid and development organisation of the Catholic Church, has committed $70,000 (AU) in emergency response assistance following the destruction of Ban Mae Surin Refugee Camp on the Thai-Burma border, one of the most remote and vulnerable in the region. The money Caritas is providing will go to helping Caritas Australia’s long-term partners The Border Consortium (TBC) and Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in providing humanitarian assistance to those refugees in the camp.

Karenni refugees from Burma/Myanmar make up 85 % of the refugees in the camp, with the remaining being Karen and other ethnicities.

At least 35 refugees died, more than 400 households were destroyed and 2, 300 were left homeless, after a fire broke out recently in the camp, in the Khum Yuam District, Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand.

Caritas CEO Jack de Groot said two sections of the camp have been completely devastated. The damage includes; two primary schools, one nursery, the Karenni Women’s Facility, the camp clinic and the two main food distribution centres.

“This disaster has had a huge impact on the refugees in this camp, one of four refugee camps that together shelter more than 44,000 people in this region in the North-West of Thailand,” Mr de Groot said.

“This camp is the smallest and the most remote of the four and houses almost 4,000 people, the overwhelming majority being Karenni, so the refugees there are among the most marginalised and vulnerable communities in the region.”

The TBC has been providing relief care for almost 30 years to more than 130,000 mainly Mon, Karen, Karenni and Shan refugees in about nine camp settlements along the Thai Burmese border. Meanwhile, the JRS, which provides education services to the refugees, is now focusing its efforts on rebuilding the primary schools and education facilities.

“It’s important that everyone in the community, especially children, get back to their normal lives as soon as possible,” Mr de Groot said.

“The fire destroyed the primary schools which allow about 230 children to be taught in 9 classrooms, as well as some other buildings such as a library and offices.

“The fire also burned down the vocational training facilities, so it’s created a lot of damage for the people in the camps.”

Most of the assistance will go toward humanitarian assistance such as; food and non-food items, shelter and the rebuilding and re-establishing of education facilities at the camp.

More: www.caritas.org.au

Outcome of Key's refugee deal 'as predicted'

By Refugee Council of New Zealand

The ramshackle fishing boat carrying 66 asylum seekers which has just beached off the far western coast of Australia with a sign saying the goal was New Zealand is just precisely what the Refugee Council of New Zealand predicted.

When the Prime Minister announced the "Queenstown deal" with Julia Gillard in February RCNZ stated that it would it would have the effect of dragging New Zealand into becoming part of Australia’s problem and this is now just exactly what is happening.

It was an ill-considered and flawed deal for our Government to take 150 asylum seekers from the Australian detention camps and displace 150 UN quota refuges. There has been no gain or benefit whatsoever to New Zealand, and it has simply served just as predicted to reinforce the people-smuggling trade in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The Gillard deal has also had the unintended detrimental effect to call attention to New Zealand as a possible destination for people-smugglers. It places desperate asylum claimants at ever greater risk of making an attempt to make a crossing over the treacherous Tasman.

By politicising refugee issues, undermining the UN Refugee Convention, and placing thousands of desperate asylum seekers in long term detention camps, the Australian government has created a terrible mess of its own making. For New Zealand to get sucked into that would be a serious political and policy mistake.

There was absolutely no benefit to New Zealand to prop up the failed policies of the Gillard government and get tacitly lured into actually becoming part of their problem.

The Refugee Council of New Zealand calls upon our politicians to uphold the UN Convention, to uphold the humanitarian standards that New Zealand had been internationally known for and to stop accepting any further transfers from the Australian detention camps.

It is difficult to understand where the government has been taking its advice from. Deals for short term political gain such as this have long term consequences which the dealer-makers often fail to comprehend.

Our politicians should be taking a completely different approach and have New Zealand become part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

The solution to ending people-smuggling and saving lives is not in putting desperate boat people in prison camps or using hapless refugees for political gain. Human beings are not meant for political deals or trading like stocks or shares.

The solution is to be found through New Zealand leading by example and through working in a concerted effort to persuade Malaysia and Indonesia to sign on to the UN Refugee Convention.

This is actually a realistic and doable goal if approached in the right way in cooperation and collaboration with the United Nations.

Myanmar team to vet Rohingya

Offers to take 2,000 back, subject to checks

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN : Myanmar will send officials to Thailand to help investigate whether about 2,000 Rohingya migrants now being sheltered in Thailand are from Myanmar's restive Rakhine state.

Surapong Tovichakchaikul, deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said Myanmar is unconvinced all the migrants were from the Rakhine state despite the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees confirming that most were.

The Myanmar government believes some of them might be from Bangladesh, which adjoins Rakhine state, he said.

Mr Surapong said Myanmar foreign minister Wanna Maung Lawin had informed him that Nay Pyi Taw was ready to take the Rohingya back to Rakhine if it could be established from the probe they were from Myanmar.

Mr Surapong yesterday asked his Myanmar counterpart to help solve the Rohingya migrants problem and to take them back home.

The request was made on the eve of the Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting, which is being held today to prepare for the 22nd Asean summit scheduled for April 24 and 25 in Brunei.

"The Myanmar foreign minister said he would convey my concern to President Thein Sein and he would send officials to Thailand to look into the Rohingya issue," Mr Surapong said.

Of the 2,000 Rohingya, about 500 are women and children.

The minister said he told his Myanmar counterpart the government had issued a six-month operation plan to help take care of the migrants, and that three months have already passed.

His Myanmar counterpart confirmed Myanmar would cooperate with Thailand and international organisations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in helping solve the issue, he said.

Thailand also asked Myanmar to help improve the quality of life for Rohingya people in Rakhine state, Mr Surapong said.

Aside from the Rohingya migration problem, the minister said he had asked his Myanmar counterpart to help solve the problem of forest fires and haze in Thailand's North.

Mr Surapong said Myanmar farmers normally burnt trees and grass to clear land between February and May along the northern Thai-Myanmar border.

He said the countries agreed to set up a joint working committee to solve the problem.

Thailand will also ask Laos, which shares a border, to take part in the efforts when the cabinet meets in Chiang Mai next month.

Thailand also asked Myanmar to help bring back refugees along the northern Thai-Myanmar border as he had heard some of them wanted to return home but they were still concerned about their livelihoods.

Mr Surapong said he was worried about the living conditions of the refugees at the camps along the border.

Thirty-seven Karen hilltribe people were killed after a fire broke out at the Ban Mae Surin refugee camp in Mae Hong Son's Khun Yuam district on March 24.

The Thai-Myanmar bilateral talks yesterday followed similar discussions between Thailand and Brunei.

Thailand is a coordinator in solving the South China Sea dispute.

Mr Surapong said he told his Brunei counterpart Mohamed Bolkiah that the code of conduct in the South China Sea should be adopted quickly to ensure stability in the region.

Meanwhile, Arthayudh Srisamoot, head of the Asean Affairs Department, said yesterday senior officials from the 10 Asean countries had discussed setting up an Asean Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR).

The issue will be reported to the Asean Foreign Ministers' Retreat today.

Mr Arthayudh said the AIPR would be set up in the form of a think-tank in the first phase and would be run by representatives from all 10 Asean countries.

The AIPR will have its headquarters at a university in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Cause of Thai refugee camp fire that killed 38 Burma refugees still a mystery

Myanmar refugee boys walk at their destroyed camp at the Mae Surin camp in Mae Hong Son province on March 24, 2013. Thai rescue workers picked through the ashes of hundreds of shelters for Myanmar refugees, after a ferocious blaze swept through a camp in northern Thailand killing 38 people. Around 100 people were injured. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Thai border forces are still investigating the cause of a March 22 fire that killed 38 people and displaced over 2,000 more in the Ban Mae Surin refugee camp. According to local police under the authority of Colonel Naruchit, 300 of 400 witnesses have been questioned since the blaze.

Sally Thompson, Executive Director of The Border Consortium, which works with refugees on the Thai-Burma border, said three theories regarding the cause of the fire have emerged.

"One [story] is that it started accidentally through a spark from a cooking pot in the camp," she said. “Another is that it was from a spark from a forest fire in the surrounding area that has come into the camp. And then more recently some people have also said that they had seen a helicopter and a burning object coming from the sky."

The district police chief, Colonel Nitinart Wittayawuthikul, who was in charge of the camp at the time of the incident, has been transferred from his post for allegedly being negligent in his response to the fire. Wittayawuthikul says he believes he was transferred for refusing to declare the fire accidental after hearing conflicting stories from witnesses.

The Ban Mae Surin camp is located in the Mae Hong Son province in the Northwestern region of Thailand. It is home to some 3,500 ethnic Karen refugees who have fled the decades-long conflict in neighboring Burma. Border police had tightened security, stopping aid from entering the camp, on Sunday following the inferno. People arriving at the camp to deliver aid were told to drop off all deliveries at the Khun Yuam district warehouse, as the only deliveries to the camp would be made by local municipal and district offices, according to local police.

The Irrawaddy reported Monday that security began stopping vehicles, including those delivering aid to the devastated camp, and was only granting access to Thai officials.

Aid deliveries have since resumed, and Burmese state authorities made an unexpected gesture on Wednesday when they presented donations to the camp to support ongoing relief efforts for the refugees. According to a second report published by The Irrawaddy on Thursday, authorities from the Karenni National Progressive Party in the Karenni State, which sits not far from the Thai-Burma border where Ban Mae Surin camp is located, donated 10 million kyat—$11,000— in cash, to refugees affected by the fire.

Individual donations of blankets, mosquito nets, clothes and rice have been made by Karenni locals as well as the Nippon Foundation. Shally Than, leader of the camp, confirmed the arrival of the donations. Than has asked the international community for 13 million Thai baht — $444,000 — in donations toward rebuilding efforts.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the blaze destroyed more than 400 homes, a school, clinic, warehouse, community facilities, and government and aid offices. The International Rescue Committee, which was among the first responders to the tragedy, has reported that over 2,300 displaced refugees are now seeking shelter with relatives in unaffected areas of the camp.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event and the IRC is doing everything it can to provide swift aid and support to the survivors,” said Christine Petrie, Director of International Rescue Committee programs in Thailand. She said the Committee has already reestablished running water, to aid in the prevention of disease.

“In record time, we have managed to replace damaged water pipes and set up emergency taps where people can collect water. So many refugees have helped us with the work, despite the loss and trauma they have suffered.”

Refugees welcomed at New Mainers Day

By Beth Quimby bquimby@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer 

PORTLAND — Ah Jiao, 30,  said she never felt safe until she arrived in the United States in November.

Josh Ntimugura from the congo shakes the hand of John Kavanaugh, father to Laragh Kavanaugh, right, a mentoring volunteer to Josh's sister, Jeanette, middle, as the large group of attendees met each other and found new friends in the community during New Mainers Day Saturday at the Sullivan Recreation and Fitness Complex on the USM Portland Campus.

Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

Ah Jiao, who now goes by the name Susan, said as a Burmese living in Malaysia she was always frightened of the police and the muggers and working 12 to 14 hours a day, and never had enough money for food.

Expecting a baby in August, she had to leave her husband behind in Malaysia. She arrived without friends or family. But she said she is making new friends in Portland.

“In Malaysia you have to worry all the time. This is a big change for me,” said Ah Jiao.

She was one of more than 100 recently arrived refugees and asylum seekers who participated in New Mainers Day at the University of Southern Maine Saturday. In its third year, the event aims at reaching out to the roughly 250 refugees and asylum seekers who moved to Maine in the past year.

“It’s a way to welcome the families to Maine” said Ashley Storrow, mentoring program coordinator at  Catholic Charities Maine Refugee Immigration Services, which co-hosted the occasion with the University of Southern Maine.

Catholic Charities Maine Refugee and Immigration Services has been the major provider of services in the state since 1975. It has helped 7,500 people through its resettlement program and 18,500 with support services.

The organizers took over the gym at the Sullivan Recreation and Fitness Complex where volunteers from Take Action Portland served trays of ethnic food prepared by Michelle Zang, the dinner cook at Preble Street Soup Kitchen in Portland.

There were games for the children, music and informational tours for those interested in taking courses at USM.

Malaysia Solution is dead in the water

Wondering about how humanely to stop the boats and how best to build a regional response to the irregular movement of asylum seekers in our region, I spent last week in Malaysia discussing the 'Malaysia Solution' with the Malaysian Bar Council, UNHCR, PROHAM (the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights), various local NGOs and Church groups.
I was anxious to see if there might be any prospect of reviving the Malaysia Solution, but with appropriate safeguards set down by the Houston Expert Panel, after the Malaysian Election on 5 May 2013 and before the commencement of the Australian election campaign and caretaker period presumably commencing no later than 10 August 2013.
If the Gillard Government were to propose Malaysia as a regional processing country it would need to table the necessary documentation in parliament by 20 June 2013 at the latest. As recently as 27 March 2013, Prime Minister Gillard repeated the mantra:

But the problem we confront here with implementing the agreement with Malaysia is of course that the Opposition has taken the view that it would prefer to be negative, and it would prefer to see more boats. If we could implement the Malaysia agreement we would do it very rapidly. We have been prevented from doing that by the negative approach taken by the Opposition.

The Malaysia Solution proposed that Australia transfer 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in return for Australia receiving 4000 refugees from Malaysia over the next four years.
When this idea was first floated in 2011, I was critical of it because I could not receive any clear answers about the plight of unaccompanied minors (UAMs). If they were to be included in the group of 800 transferees, the scheme would have been ethically very problematic; if they were not included, the scheme would have been unworkable because children would have come in increased numbers on later boats.
I have been generally supportive of the recommendations of the Expert Panel with the exception of their recommendations that Pacific Island facilities be reopened for offshore processing and that review of future offshore arrangements be moved from the High Court to Parliament (especially the Senate).
Both sides of the Chamber would have been well advised to heed the earlier warning of Andrew Metcalfe, past Secretary of the Immigration Department, that the Pacific Solution would not work again as a deterrent. The arrival figures since the panel reported have vindicated Metcalfe's assessment.
Shifting review of future arrangements, including a revised Malaysia Solution, to the Senate has meant it would be very difficult politically for the Gillard Government to succeed in putting in place any future offshore arrangements before the September election, given the 20 June cutoff date. There might have been a way through the political morass if the recommendations of the Expert Panel regarding Malaysia were achievable.
The new Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Brendan O'Connor has rightly said:

If the Malaysian government is expected to consider any further efforts to the agreement we have in place, they need to know from the Opposition that there is some chance that they will support it ... You cannot expect the Malaysian Government to continue down this path if they're going to be completely and utterly rejected and criticised again in a most outrageous fashion by Tony Abbott and the Opposition.

The only remote possibility of winning Opposition support would be if O'Connor and Gillard were able to satisfy all parties that they were able to sign off on all additional protections recommended by the Expert Panel. This would require a rigorous test in light of the remarks by panel member Paris Aristotle on the ABC Lateline program when discussing Manus Island this month. He said:

When we established the safeguards, we didn't say, 'Here's a set of safeguards to mitigate against the risks. If you can do them great; if you can't, go and do it anyway.' We were explicit. We said, 'These safeguards need to be implemented as a part of any offshore processing arrangements.'

In light of these remarks, the Government would need to address the Malaysia concerns listed by the panel:

There are concerns that relate to the non-legally binding nature of the Arrangement, the scope of oversight and monitoring mechanisms, the adequacy of pre-transfer assessments, channels for appeal and access to independent legal advice, practical options for resettlement as well as issues of compliance with international law obligations and human rights standards (particularly in relation to non-refoulement, conditions in Malaysia, standards of treatment and UAMs).

In particular, the Government would need to make the following changes recommended by the panel:

1. Provisions for UAMs and for other highly vulnerable asylum seekers need to be more explicitly detailed and agreed with Malaysia
2. A written agreement between Malaysia and UNHCR on implementation of the Arrangement
3. An effective monitoring system should be established involving 'senior officials and eminent persons from civil society in Australia and Malaysia'.

From my discussions last week in Malaysia, I do not think there is any possibility that any of these three changes could be effected between 5 May and 20 June. Unless all three changes were agreed to, there would be absolutely no prospect of the arrangement winning endorsement from the Expert Panel, let alone support from the Coalition parties or the Greens.
All of us seeking a breakthrough need to concede that O'Connor is not afforded the optimism expressed by his predecessor Chris Bowen in 2011 when he stated in his High Court affidavit that he had formed an 'understanding' from his conversations with the Malaysian Minister of Home Affairs and other Malaysian officials that the Malaysian Government 'was keen to improve its treatment of refugees and asylum seekers'. He swore:

I formed a clear belief from these discussions that the Malaysian government had made a significant conceptual shift in its thinking about how it wanted to treat refugees and asylum seekers and had begun the process of improving the protections offered to such persons. It was also clear to me that the Malaysian government was enthusiastic about using the transfer of 800 persons under the proposed arrangement as a kind of 'pilot' for their new approach to the treatment of asylum seekers generally.

He stated that Malaysia was 'actively considering' allowing work rights for all asylum seekers. No informed person in Malaysia with whom I met last week would attest these things two years on.
The situation confronting the 102,000 persons registered with UNHCR and the more than 50,000 other persons of concern to UNHCR in Malaysia has not improved since 2011. There has been no progress on work rights. There has been no conceptual shift by the Malaysian government. With over 4 million migrant workers, half of whom are undocumented, the present Malaysian government remains content to leave processing and protection of asylum seekers to the good, but very stretched, offices of UNHCR.
I applaud all efforts by the Australian Government to engage regionally on these difficult issues seeking regional solutions to regional problems. If we are to advance the issue in Malaysia, we will need to restate our interest in addressing regional problems including the overwhelming problem confronted by Malaysia, not just seeking a regional solution to the comparatively small Australian problem.
Many of the persons with whom I met last week appreciated the opportunity afforded two years ago for constructive discussions with the Malaysian government and across sectors in Malaysia. Many NGO members thought that there was in 2011, for the first time, a useful international spotlight on Malaysia's approach to asylum issues, together with constructive inter-departmental and inter-ministerial dialogue.
For the moment, Bowen has achieved all that is possible in setting down guaranteed protections within Malaysia. Second time round, O'Connor is most unlikely to achieve any better within a six week timeframe.
He is armed with the recommendations of the Houston Expert Panel but these will count for little with Malaysian decision makers bruised by the adverse Australian publicity they received first time round, knowing that this time they must run the gauntlet of the Australian Senate before the end of June.
While acknowledging the overwhelming problems confronting asylum seekers in Malaysia, many Malaysians rightly attest that Malaysia, with its loose borders and loose systems, is a preferred destination for many asylum seekers who find natural community among their own there. If Malaysia were to assume responsibility for registering asylum seekers who were then given the right to work, real progress could be made.
Some Malaysian experts, aware that Australia is presently receiving 1–2000 boat people per month, seriously doubt that 800 transferees would provide the necessary circuit breaker as proposed two years ago when the number arriving on our shores was far less. There was a suggestion that the increase, in part, may be explained by the apprehension that Australian policy will change significantly after our September election.
A revised Malaysia Solution consistent with the recommendations of the Expert Panel is an impossibility before the Australian election, regardless of the views expressed by our Opposition and minor parties. It's dead in the water. There can be no movement in Malaysia until after both elections.
It is time for each side of politics to stop blaming each other for the increasing wave of boats and for the Gillard Government to cease invoking the unreal prospect of a revised Malaysia Solution before the election.