“The Government Is Someone Who Would Protect Its Citizens, but They Killed Them”: Refugee Interview #5

 

 

The interviewee is Arakanese female who was interviewed by Burma Link in Mae La refugee camp in January 2015. She fled to Mae La camp after taking part in the 2007 Saffron Revolution protests in Moulmein, the capital of Mon State. Fearing ongoing arbitrary arrests, she and her family members have never been back to Burma. She says refugees are worried about repatriation due to the myriad of issues with Burma’s legal system, lacking a sense of stability and security for safe return. She talks about the increasing restrictions in the camp life and also states that in the camps, lack of accurate information is a real issue and many refugees are unclear as to how to process the information that is given to them. She says that media is currently portraying a falsely positive image of the situation in Burma and wishes nothing more than to simply live a peaceful and independent life in the future, either in a third country or in Thailand.

 

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BL: Why did you come to the camp?

I had no interest in politics before; however, in September 2007 when the Burmese government broke down the demonstration with the citizens and they even killed Buddhist monks… that’s the reason I started to hate them. During that time, I took part in some protests… The government is someone who would protect its country and the citizens, but they killed them… And since our own military government was killing its own citizens, how did I have courage to live any longer, even in my own hometown? I have four children, actually five of them, with inadequate governmental salary for my job to feed them every day. The eldest daughter left abroad since 1988, when students’ revolution began, and we were able to be in touch about 2 years later. That’s why, also not for our own, but for our children’s future, we arrived here.

 

BL: Have you left the camp since arrival? When and where did you go?

We want our mind relaxation from outside the camp

[…] but there has been an arrest by the Thai soldiers on the way, and if there is a refugee from Burma, they like to arrest even more! They deal corruption with Burmese government about these arrests and if we get caught, we are sent under the border friendship bridge and after that, we won’t know where we would be sent to… prison? Or elsewhere? … We never know!

 

BL: Have you been back to Burma?

We have not left the camp ever since arrival to Mae La camp. If we go back, arbitrary arrests is very common there and we’re afraid of that! That’s why, even if we wanted to go back to our own home, we couldn’t.

 

BL: How do you feel about living in a refugee camp?

It is such a depression to live inside the camp for a long time – like a kind of prison or inside the ironed-cage. Of course, we receive ration every month, but since we are not allowed to work outside, we are not that happy – we want independent to go around here and there. When we look back to our own country, Burma, the media is shouting ‘Democracy…Democracy!’ but I mean, look back to what is happening to the citizens. Rich people become richer and poor people continue poorer and since our own government is confiscating the lands of farmers, for us as the ordinary farmers for daily routine, we have no place to live… so we have to live in the camp, whatsoever.

 

BL: Has life in the camp changed in recent years? How?

We reached at a really below point of living standard compared to others, but when compared to the living standard in here and Burma, in Burma, we could have loads of debts at the end of the month by the time we received our income. The money couldn’t last long to feed the whole family for the next month again … it’s very difficult to live on. However, in the refugee camp, we have rations every month and it’s a bit supportive for our family. One thing we worry about is that if neither we are organized for resettlement by UNHCR nor does Thai authority want us, refugees, to be in Thailand, we would have no country to live in. Even if we would be under the bridge in America, we’d likely to have a chance to eat bread and milk. If we would be under the bridge in Myawaddy, we don’t know what will happen to us… Like playing soccer between the two countries, Thai authority will kick us to Burmese government and they also kick us back to Thailand…. We’d be dead by then.

 

BL: Has life in the camp changed since May 2014? How?

It’s getting worse, like we can’t go outside the road to see beautiful scene or when we are bored, we can’t even enjoy the jungle opposite of the camp. Even if we sneak in or out of the fence out of the camp, we can be fined for about THB 1,000. Even if we peek out of the fence, some Thai-Karen people find troubles like people inside the camp throw stones to their cars or something like that! They really look down on us. Before the Thai coup, we were free to walk along the high-way outside. But now, since we are already under their restriction, they even press us under their military restriction and the consequences result like this. We look for independence and freedom, not to live under restriction anymore.

 

BL: Do you feel that refugees in the camp receive adequate aid and support? If not, can you explain?

The population is crowded in the camp so that even if we ask for additional support, they cannot aid. For the people with the past UN registration have a chance to receive adequate support such as house repairing tools at least. For us, we need to buy most of the things. Also there are some corruptions that we cannot know… just like that.

 

BL: How do you feel about the recent developments inside Burma?

Development… development… so that they are saying like that, but in the news I am always hearing a lot of unpleasant and terrifying news about what is happening in Burma. We don’t know for other matters as we never go back inside Burma, but for those who usually go and come back to the camp are talking about more unpleasant things and how difficult a life to live in. I am always hearing about those unpleasant and terrifying things. That’s why, I can definitely say that there is still no development in our home country, Burma.

 

BL: Are you worried about repatriation? Why/ why not?

We are worried about repatriation. Why… it’s because in Burma, there are still no accurate laws concerned with the security and protection for its own citizens. That’s why, we are still afraid of repatriation.

 

BL: Do you feel like you have access to accurate information about the camp or any other developments for refugees?

We have never received to access the accurate information about the camp information or something like it. Last time, when the Thai authorities came and made registration for refugees by taking photographs, we still don’t know, or are still worried about what the main purpose is in order to do like this, for repatriation plan or whatsoever. We did not receive accurate information about it. We have no choice but to do as we are told in the camp.

 

BL: Do you feel that refugees are included in decision making and planning about the camp?

We have a chance to attend their meeting, but we still do not know how to understand or act from the result of their decision or planning after the meeting. They told some of the head-zone leaders or refugees to meet and listen to them at their meetings, but the information is still going this and that… and here and there….they seem to waste time from making their action longer and longer.

 

BL: If you want to voice your concerns about something in the camp, who do you go to?

We are told that we can report our problem with the inadequate rations to a group called CMT, from TBC. However, they set the standard of quantity … how to say… for example, for people with disabilities and widows, they consider their condition whether to give more of the rations or not. The rest of us are still the same we receive every month.

 

BL: How do you feel about your future? What do you want for your future?

For our future, our family does not want the frightening and worrying life. We used to wish for many things such as wealth, health, and so on, but after what Thai coup is dealing with us, the refugees, to send back to Burma, we only want to wish to live our future in a very peaceful and independent life.

 

BL: Is there anything else you would like to say?

The last thing I really want to say we really want to leave this suffocating refugee camp and live a peaceful life.

 

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