Since 1984, Thailand has provided refuge to people fleeing violence in Myanmar, and more recently to economic migrants. The population in the Thai refugee camps, located along the Myanmar-Thailand border, is now estimated at 111,000 people. Many were born in the camps and have never set foot outside.
How many refugee camps are in Thailand?
Thailand has hosted refugees from Burma/Myanmar for more than three decades. The current nine main camps that are home to around 86,000 people are a result of consolidations over the years of many smaller settlements along the 2,400-kilometre border line.
How many refugees does Thailand have?
Today around 104,000 people live in camps on the Thai side of the border. In all, some 3 million refugees, displaced people and migrants live in limbo in Thailand with limited access to basic rights, education and health care.
Why does Thailand have so many refugees?
For the past few decades, Thailand has been a major destination country for asylum seekers and refugees from Myanmar. Since the 1940’s, ongoing violent conflicts between Karen separatists and the Burmese army have forced many families to move. …
Can I seek asylum in Thailand?
Refugees in Thailand
Thailand has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention and has no laws in place to provide refugees with any legal status. In effect, this means the thousands of refugees living in urban areas are undocumented.
What are the dangers of living in a refugee camp?
A study of Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon found frequent instances of flooding, poor ventilation, and humidity, in addition to structural problems like cracks in walls and seepage in ceilings: all environmental risk factors associated with tuberculosis. The health effects are not exclusive to infectious disease.
Which country has the largest refugee camp?
As more than 800,000 refugees arrived in the Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh, Kutupalong became the world’s largest refugee camp.
Where is Thailand refugee camp?
Mae La, Beh klaw (alternatively spelled Maela),(S’gaw Karen: မဲၣ်လးဒဲကဝီၤ, ဘဲကျီး) is a refugee camp in Thailand. It was established in 1984 in Tha Song Yang District, Tak Province in the Dawna Range area and houses 50,000 Karen refugees; the number continues to rise as of June 2019.
How many Burmese refugees are there in Thailand?
Nearly 130,000 people reside as refugees in Thailand, of whom approximately 90 percent are from the bordering country of Myanmar, also known as Burma. More than 80 percent of Burmese refugees in Thailand are ethnic Karen.