• Burmese
Sunday, July 20, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Unseen Pressures Behind Refugees’ Voluntary Return

Saw Yan Naing by Saw Yan Naing
June 17, 2016
in Burma
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Unseen Pressures Behind Refugees’ Voluntary Return

A young girl living at Mae La refugee camp near Mae Sot

4.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON—The Thai government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have repeatedly insisted that the return of more than 120,000 Burmese refugees from Thailand should be voluntary.

According to NGOs, some refugees have returned and others have shown interest in doing so, but there are unseen pressures prompting these so-called voluntary returns.

A reduction in aid and a denial for third country resettlement has placed pressure on refugees to leave the camps.

RelatedPosts

Karen Offensive Seizes a Dozen Junta Bases Along Myanmar-Thai Border

Karen Offensive Seizes a Dozen Junta Bases Along Myanmar-Thai Border

May 30, 2025
3.2k
Bangladeshi Islamist Party Proposes Independent Rohingya State in Myanmar’s Rakhine

Bangladeshi Islamist Party Proposes Independent Rohingya State in Myanmar’s Rakhine

April 28, 2025
2.5k
Myanmar Refugees in Limbo, Thailand in Denial

Myanmar Refugees in Limbo, Thailand in Denial

March 22, 2025
2.7k

Many refugees in the nine camps along the Thai-Burma border lack sufficient assistance to support their daily lives. Some rely on small scale remittances and those who do not have a back-up return to their abandoned villages.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported in May that growing numbers of refugees in Thailand’s camps were encouraged by the peace process and reforms in Burma and were seeking support to return and rebuild their lives.

Sources in the camps said refugees were returning home if conditions appeared safe, but not because they were encouraged by the peace process. They added that lack of aid, denial of resettlement options and pressure from the Thai government were the actual motivating factors.

In preparation for refugee repatriation, houses are being built for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in Karen State, southeastern Burma. According to a report by Karen News, an ethnic Karen media outlet, a Japanese charity foundation called the Nippon Foundation funded the construction of more than 1,200 low-cost houses, seven schools, three clinics and one health center in Karen National Union (KNU) controlled territories in Mon State, Karen State and elsewhere.

In spite of ongoing preparations for repatriation, many of the refugees from these areas were displaced by conflict and said they did not want to return home because their villages and farmlands were still occupied by the Burma Army.

Burma’s government has been unclear on its policy regarding the return of disputed land—some of which is still littered with mines left from the conflict—to its original owners.

Model villages have been constructed, but many refugees said these were glorified domestic refugee camps and they preferred to return to their original lands where they could farm, raise livestock and run other small-scale businesses.

Aside from refugees displaced by conflict, there are economic migrants in the camps from urban areas, including the commercial capital Rangoon, who sought resettlement in the United States, Canada, Australia or the European Union. Refugees who were not displaced by conflict are unqualified to register with UNHCR and face no choice but to return home.

Recognizing the new democratic reforms in Burma, the Thai government appears unwilling to keep hosting the 120,000 refugees on its soil.

However, critics argue that unless there is a guarantee that war refugees can opt to live safely in their origin areas, the return is more of a forced repatriation than a voluntary one.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: A_FactivaBorderRefugees
Saw Yan Naing

Saw Yan Naing

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar Youth Exodus Feared in Wake of Junta’s Conscription Law
Burma

Myanmar Youth Exodus Feared in Wake of Junta’s Conscription Law

by The Irrawaddy
February 15, 2024
15.7k

Activists warn of increased labor rights violations in Thailand and human trafficking as young people flee to avoid mandatory military...

Read moreDetails
By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes
Analysis

By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes

by Khin Nadi
February 2, 2024
10.8k

The Irrawaddy unpacks the regime’s three-year track record of violence and rights abuses, as assessed by leading global organizations and...

Read moreDetails
Karen Ethnic Army Launches Final Push to Capture Myawaddy on Thai Border
Burma

Karen Ethnic Army Launches Final Push to Capture Myawaddy on Thai Border

by The Irrawaddy
April 9, 2024
10.3k

The KNLA and PDF groups launched an attack on the last junta battalion defending Myawaddy on Tuesday afternoon and were...

Read moreDetails
Illegal Entry Arrests Surge in Thailand Amid Forced Military Conscription in Myanmar
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Illegal Entry Arrests Surge in Thailand Amid Forced Military Conscription in Myanmar

by Brian Wei
May 30, 2024
9.5k

More than half of the soaring number of people being detained at the border said they were fleeing conscription, a...

Read moreDetails
Clashes Resume on Thai-Myanmar Border
Burma

Clashes Resume on Thai-Myanmar Border

by AFP
April 20, 2024
7k

Myanmar junta troops near the Second Friendship Bridge to Thailand are holding out against anti-regime forces.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Causes Thailand Problems
Guest Column

Myanmar Junta Causes Thailand Problems

by Paul Greening
March 7, 2024
6.8k

The multiple crises on Thailand’s border sparked by the Myanmar junta’s failed coup could present opportunities for Bangkok, but so...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Activists Demand Justice for Child Rape Victims

Activists Demand Justice for Child Rape Victims

Police in Rangoon’s Dala Township Seize 2-Ton Jade Slab

Police in Rangoon’s Dala Township Seize 2-Ton Jade Slab

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

5 days ago
1.6k
Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

1 week ago
3.6k

Most Read

  • More Than 20,000 Displaced As Myanmar Junta Burns Homes Around World Heritage Site

    More Than 20,000 Displaced As Myanmar Junta Burns Homes Around World Heritage Site

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Nation Where Brave Hearts—and Martyrs—Dwell

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Top Brass Visit Myanmar After Cross-Border Drone Attack

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.