Pushing Past the Definitions: Migration From Burma to Thailand

Important, authoritative and timely report.
I. THAI GOVERNMENT CLASSIFICATION FOR PEOPLE FROM BURMA:

Temporarily Displaced; Students and Political Dissidents ; Migrants .

II. BRIEF PROFILE OF THE MIGRANTS FROM BURMA .

III REASONS FOR LEAVING BURMA :

Forced Relocations and Land Confiscation ;
Forced Labor and Portering;

War and Political Oppression;

Taxation and Loss of Livelihood;

Economic Conditions .

IV. FEAR OF RETURN.

V. RECEPTION CENTERS.

VI. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS....
"Recent estimates indicate that up to two million people from Burma currently reside in Thailand, reflecting one of the largest migration flows in Southeast Asia. Many factors contribute to this mass exodus, but the vast majority of people leaving Burma are clearly fleeing persecution, fear and human rights abuses. While the initial reasons for leaving may be expressed in economic terms, underlying causes surface that explain the realities of their lives in Burma and their vulnerabilities upon return. Accounts given in Thailand, whether it be in the border camps, towns, cities, factories or farms, describe instances of forced relocation and confiscation of land; forced labor and portering; taxation and loss of livelihood; war and political oppression in Burma. Many of those who have fled had lived as internally displaced persons in Burma before crossing the border into Thailand. For most, it is the inability to survive or find safety in their home country that causes them to leave.

Once in Thailand, both the Royal Thai Government (RTG) and the international community have taken to classifying the people from Burma under specific categories that are at best misleading, and in the worst instances, dangerous. These categories distort the grave circumstances surrounding this migration by failing to take into account the realities that have brought people across the border. They also dictate people’s legal status within the country, the level of support and assistance that might be available to them and the degree of protection afforded them under international mechanisms. Consequently, most live in fear of deportation back into the hands of their persecutors or to the abusive environments from which they fled..." Additional keywords: IDPs, Internal displacement, displaced, refoulement.