khrg- Camps in Tha Song Yang District abandoned as refugees bow to pressure

8/9/2019 khrg- Camps in Tha Song Yang District abandoned as refugees bow to pressure

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In spite of repeated public and private warnings that refugees could not safely be returned totheir home villages, RTA soldiers have continued to harass refugees and pressure them toleave the camps. While many of the families departing since February 2010 were interviewedby UNHCR, which has reportedly recorded departures as voluntary,3 many refugees made the

decision to return only because of this pressure. Regardless of the context surroundingdepartures, the area of return remains dangerous and returned refugees are intenselyvulnerable. The following report includes detailed information about the circumstances of therefugees departure as well as updated information about the human rights situation in the areaof return.

Circumstances surrounding refugee return

Refugees began arriving in Tha Song Yang District in June 2009, fleeing exploitative abuse andconflict after attacks by a joint force of State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Army and

Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) troops on three Karen National Liberation Army(KNLA) camps near the Ler Per Her camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Dta Greh

Township, Pa'an District. Since then, refugees in Tha Song Yang Distrct, Tak Province,Thailand, have primarily been residing in three locations: Nong Bua, Mae U Su and Mae Salit.Nong Bua and Mae U Su are the Thai names for sites referred to in Karen as Noe Boh and OoThu Hta.4 Refugees have been leaving the sites in small groups since the end of January 2010,and on March 31st and April 1st 2010 the last remaining families decided to leave as a large

group: approximately 600 people from 102 families from Mae U Su, and 24 families from NongBua. In January, the two sites were home to 2,409 people; today, they are empty. Many of therefugees that left these camps have returned to Burma, though they have told KHRG and otherorganisations on numerous occasions in the past few months that they did not want to returnand believe their villages are unsafe. Other refugees have gone into hiding elsewhere inThailand, including moving to the Mae Salit site and the surrounding area.

These photos, taken during the last week of March 2010, show dismantled and abandoned huts at the Nong

Bua camp. Though the camp was home to 1,111 people as recently as January 2010, on March 29th

it was

home to just 24 households. On March 31st

they all departed, citing harassment by RTA soldiers. The

camp is now empty, as is the Mae U Su camp. Because they have been abandoned, humanitarian aid

organisations plan to fully dismantle the sites by April 7th

2010.

3What they are telling us is they wanted to go back because they wanted to prepare their field for planting before

the rains, Kitty McKinsey, regional spokeswoman for UNHCR, was quoted in the Irrawaddy as saying on March

31st

2010. From the point of view of the UNHCR, they shouldn't be forced to return. All return to Myanmar should

be on a purely voluntary basic [sic]. See, 600 Karen Refugees Return to Burma, The Irrawaddy, March 2010.4

In previous reports concerning the situation of the refugees in Tha Song Yang District, KHRG has used the Karen

names for the new arrival sites, Noe Boh corresponding to the Thai name Nong Bua and Oo Thu Hta correspondingto the Thai name Mae U Su. This has caused considerable confusion for some foreign readers. To minimise

confusion, this report will primarily use the Thai names.


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These departures mark the end of what has been a slow process that began at the end ofJanuary 2010, when the RTA began making statements indicating that it believed that the areaof return was safe and that refugees were ready to voluntarily return. On February 3rd the RTAannounced that 30 families had volunteered to return and would be repatriated on February 5 th.

Interviews by KHRG and other organisations, however, indicated that these families did not wishto return; rather, they had simply been selected by the RTA in what at the time appeared to bethe beginning of a large forced repatriation process. This prompted a significant internationaloutcry, which culminated in observers from foreign embassies, humanitarian aid groups andUNHCR visiting the sites on February 5th to witness the repatriation.5

In response to this outcry, just three families were repatriated on February 5th. Though the RTA

repeatedly assured media and Thailands civilian government that this repatriation wasvoluntary, the families secretly returned to Thailand within a few days. On February 17th, two

women from the repatriated families told the Karen Womens Organisation (KWO) that they hadnot wanted to return to Burma and were pressured even tricked into doing so by RTAsoldiers:

One of the Thai soldiers told us we just had to go to the riverbank. I replied, Just only tothe river bank, we do not have to go anywhere [further] When we got there, theyasked us to sit down and they took photos of us. After that, they asked us to get into a

boat. I replied that I would not get into the boat The owner of the boat, who couldspeak Karen, told us: You just have to ride the boat to the other side of the river bank,because they have to take your photos when youre riding the boat. Then, you can come

back. I told him if that were true, wed get into the boat. When we reached the other sideof the river bank, they sent us to DKBA soldiers. They [DKBA and Thai soldiers] talked

on the phone to each other They forced us to go further and further Then, peopletold me to meet with the DKBA commander He asked me, Why do you return? I

said, Thai soldiers forced us to return.Naw --- (female), Tha Song Yang District (February 17th 2010)6

[Thai soldiers] told us that the time limit to stay here was already finished and wecouldnt continue to stay On the 5th [of February] we got on the truck and went

back Then they forced us to go back and we took our things and kids and we walkeddown the path. Then he followed us and took pictures til we reached the river bank.When we reached the river bank, he asked us to get on the boat But we told him we

didnt dare to go back. Then he told us, When you reach there, you can come back.When the boat started moving, he asked us to wave goodbye I told them, I didn't want

to go back and I didnt dare to go back, but you forced us and we had to go back. Myrice pot is boiling and no one will look after it for me.

Naw --- (female, 51), Tha Song Yang District (February 17 th 2010)7

Importantly, the three families that were refouled on February 5th appeared to have been part ofa larger repatriation exercise planned for that morning. Foreign observers, who arrived at thesite early in the morning to witness the planned repatriation, were detained at a checkpoint

outside the camp. Just as the first of these observers exited the checkpoint and arrived at thecamp, a truck containing the three families that were eventually repatriated departed the camp,without any of the families being interviewed. No observers were allowed to follow and witnessthe return. A fourth family that could not fit in the truck, meanwhile, was quickly ordered awayfrom the front gate by Thai soldiers. Humanitarian aid workers were later able to interview thisfamily, which confirmed that they did not wish to return. They had been selected for repatriation,

5For details on these events, see Refoulement Deferred: Still no durable solution for hosting refugees in Tha Song

Yang District, KHRG, February 2010.6Full transcripts of these interviews, translated by KHRG, are included at the beginning of Appendix 1.

7Full transcripts of these interviews, translated by KHRG, are included at the end of Appendix 1.


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the family said, but were told by an RTA soldier that their return would be delayed becauseobservers had arrived. The families that were forcibly repatriated later also describedcircumstances that indicated the RTA had intended to repatriate a much larger group ofrefugees:

There were 30 families [selected] to go back. They [refugees] said, what about theothers? If there werent 30 families, thered have been 28 families. They [RTA soldiers]said, We can't carry everyone now. We will do three families first They [refugees]were told that first three families would go back and more people would come later. Itwould work like that. One car can carry three families, and so three families got in thecar first. After the three families left, the UN arrived and the others didnt need to go

back.Naw --- (female, 51), Tha Song Yang District (February 17 th 2010)

At the end of the day on February 5th 2010, the presence of foreign observers as well asinternational outcry about refoulement appeared to have put an end to potential RTA plans torepatriate the refugees en masse. In spite of promises that no refugees would be forced to

return, as well as repeated attempts to negotiate with the RTA, including fact-finding visits fromThailands National Human Rights Commission and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary MyanmarCaucus (AIPMC), the RTA maintained a persistent campaign of harassment, pressuring the

refugees to leave Thailand. Almost exactly two months later, by April 1st 2010 this campaignappears to have been a success: both sites have been all but abandoned. Full details of thesteady decline in camp populations as families left in small groups are presented in the following

table:

Location November2009

January

2010February

2010March 17

th2010,

according to joint

verification by

aid groups and

RTA

Morning of

March 31st

2010

Morning of

April 1st

2010

Nong Bua 1,111people

912 people 640people

302 people, with

25 not present but

reported by

villagers

24 households,

approximately

80 people

0

Mae U Su 1,573people

1,497 people 1,022people

644 people, with

140 not present but

reported by

villagers

102 households,

approximately

600 people

Less than 20

households;

all plan to

leave by end

of April 1st

Mae Salit 346 people 610 people 624people

Not conducted Not available 694 with 380people hiding

in surrounding

area

According to refugees that spoke with KHRG immediately prior to leaving, as well as

humanitarian aid workers at the sites, refugees are not leaving because they believe it is safe toreturn; harassment by RTA soldiers has been a significant factor contributing to their decisionsto leave:

Yesterday [March 31st 2010] many people left the [Mae U Su] camp and went back totheir villages in Karen State. Today [April 1st 2010], just a few people are still left in thecamp, but all of these people will go back today. The people who went back yesterday,

they didn't want to go back but the Thai soldiers always threaten them The soldiersknow that some of the villagers come back and forth from their villages [in Burma], so

they told villagers who do not yet dare to go back, There is no fighting now, so you haveto go back. They [Thai soldiers] asked us, Some people went back to their villages,


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why do you dare not to go back? They said that we are lazy, that we don't want to workwith our own hands and get food for ourselves because we are only waiting to get foodfrom outside [NGOs]. They have been restricting us and threatening us for more thanone month, so the villagers don't feel comfortable to stay here anymore. [That is why]

more villagers decided to go back to their villages.Saw N--- (Male, 35), Mae La Ah Hta village, (Mae U Su temporary camp, April 1st 2010)

Numerous families told us that they are scared to leave, that their villages are not safe.But they told us they feel they have no other option, that they cannot stay in Thailand sothe must go back to Burma. Everyone I spoke with told me this, and it was the same formy colleague at Mae U Su.

Humanitarian aid worker (Nong Bua temporary camp, March 31th 2010)

People are feeling hurt, angry, betrayed, frustrated; they do not wish to stay any more asthe host country does not want them there. They already asked [the] authorities and [theRTA] to send adult men back but allow women and children to stay at site until they areable to prepare villages and rice fields. This was never agreed to. Therefore, theyll

simply go. Some plan to go back straight to their villages, but some are scared so theymay stay hiding in rice fields and the jungle and then decide what to do [return toThailand secretly or go to villages]. All said they were scared to go and they know that it

is not safe to do so, but they have no other choice. Some said that, as they havealready told to UN they will go, and the host country does not want them there, theyhave no other option but to go. Some said that theyve had enough of it, of constant

pressures, threats, reminders that they are unwelcome, limitations of movement andthey no longer want to stay there.

Humanitarian aid worker (Mae U Su temporary camp, March 31st 2010)

This photo, taken on February 12th

2010, shows

families from the Mae U Su refugee camp as theRTA prepared to return them to Burma by sending

them across the Moei River.

This photo, also taken on February 12th

2010, shows

some of the families as they began walking back into

Paan District after crossing the Moei River. Pathslike the one they are shown walking on serve as the

primary travel routes in the area. They are also

home to unmarked landmines that pose a

considerable risk to returned refugees.

The conclusion that refugees left primarily because of harassment and pressure is consistentwith the findings of at least five independent groups that conducted interviews between January31st and February 17th, as well as reports by local and international media. More than 35

interviews conducted by five different groups between January 31st and February 17th indicatethat refugees wanted to return, but did not believe it to be safe. Details on some of theseinterviews are summarised below as well as included in Appendixes 1-4, though some details

on some actors evaluating conditions in the camps have been excluded for security reasons:A. KWO, January 31st and February 17th 2010. KWO interviewed 13 refugees, who all

said they were afraid to return to Burma. Four of these interviews are translated as


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Appendix 1, including interviews with two women from the group that were forced toreturn on February 5th 2010. Video footage of all 13 interviews is on file with KHRG.

B. KHRG, January-February 2010. KHRG monitored the situation and spoke withrefugees on a daily basis, with special focus on the treatment of refugees by the RTA

beginning at end of January. Refugees consistently reported to KHRG that they didnot wish to return. In addition to this monitoring, KHRG conducted 12 formalinterviews, four on each of February 2nd, 5 th and 13th. All interviewees indicated thatthey do not wish to return. Ten interviews are translated and included as Appendix2.

C. Karen Community Based Organisation Emergency Relief Committee(KCBOERC), Jan 31st Feb 5th2010. KCBOERC conducted two interviews on Feb

5th and nine on January 31st. All interviewees indicated that refugees did not wish toreturn to Burma. All interviews are translated and included as Appendix 3.

D. ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), February 3rd 4th2010.AIPMC conducted seven interviews. Based upon these interviews, AIPMC concludedthat refugees are willing to return home when the situation is safe and conducive intheir homeland, but right now would prefer to move to other locations in Thailand or

elsewhere, but not to Burma. A censored version of AIPMCs full report is includedas Appendix 4.

It is not reasonable to assume that refugees concerns regarding safe return were addressedbetween January 31st and April 1st and that refugees subsequently decided that they wanted toreturn. The most credible conclusion, rather, is that frustration with sustained harassment and

pressure by RTA soldiers, as well as fear fostered by RTA threats, took its toll; group by group,refugees departed because RTA harassment and pressure built up to become unbearable. The

interviews included in Appendixes 1-4 all indicate that harassment and pressure by RTAsoldiers have been significant. AIPMCs fact-finding mission, for instance, concluded that:

Refugees are being consciously coerced or forced to return to a dangerous conflict zone.Those voluntarily returning to Burma are doing so under duress and without much choice.

Some refugees are [so] afraid and frustrated that they [have] run away.

The statements of refugees interviewed by KHRG and the KCBOERC, meanwhile, demonstrate

the severity of the harassment, which has included threats, verbal abuse and extraordinaryinsensitivity to refugees fears:

The children havent finished the school yet. If they go back, there might be the landminevictims among them. We really worry about that. Recently, the landmines and the

punjisticks8were not removed from the land yet I asked the Thai soldiers that becausethere are many children, if the children were injured by the landmines and died, what canwe do? They answered, If the children die, you can make more children.

Saw --- (male), (Tha Song Yang new arrival site, January 31st 2010)9

Thai military soldiers told us that, If you go back and stay in your own village, the DKBAand SPDC will not do anything to you. If you do not go back, we will ask big trucks to

come pick you up and throw you all into the sea. The Thai authorities who often comeare soldiers in black uniforms at [Nong Bua] and some times this has included the Thaiborder patrol police. They come three times a day.

Naw K--- (female, 37), K--- village, Lu Pleh Township (Tha Song Yang new arrival site,February 2nd 2010)10

8

Punjisticks are sharpened bamboo stakes that have been placed in the ground as traps.9A full transcript of this interview is included in Appendix 3.

10A full transcript of this interview is included in Appendix 2.


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Given pressure of the sort described in these interviews, it is not surprising that refugees gaveup and decided to abandon the camps. Refugees interviewed over the last two months, forinstance, warned that if the situation did not improve they would feel no other choice but toleave:

As for me I made up my mind to be strong and ignore this pressure. But for our people, they cant stand this daily pressure and it might lead some into stress. Somefamilies are secretly moving out at night There are many problems if we go back to ourvillage. How can we go back among the landmines?

Saw --- (male), (Tha Song Yang new arrival site, January 31st 2010)11

Now I feel that the Thai will make restrictions on us until we cannot live here The Thaiauthorities are always watching us. People who go around in the camp, they always

watch the situation. They check peoples activity. If the villagers gather together to sitand chat, if the Thai soldiers see they come and ask what we are talking about [and]they make a note. That is why we dare not even gather and talk.

Naw C--- (Female, 38), M--- village, Dta Greh Township (Tha Song Yang New Arrival

Site, February 13

th

2010)

12

Now Thai soldiers have ordered me to return to my village. Theyve come to stay

around our refugee camp. They treat us roughly and dont allow us to go out from thecamp. Im not happy to stay here because of their actions. If I have to return to myvillage, I wont have any food to eat and also wont have any security. And then its not

easy to find food in areas with landmines. And now, landmines have been laid in enemyareas including our village. I dont know who planted the landmines. Therefore, I dare

not return to my village.Maung T--- (Male, 40), M--- village, Dta Greh Township (Tha Song Yang new arrival site,

February 5th 2010)13

The only group positioned to interview large numbers of refugee departing the sites has beenUNHCR. UNHCR interviews have reportedly indicated that departing refugees are doing sovoluntarily because they would like to prepare fields for planting when the rainy season begins

in June. That refugees would like to plant their crops is not, however, the same thing asrefugees saying they believe their homes are safe or that they were ready to permanently returnhome; it is vital to understand the context in which refugees made the decision to leave the

sites: refugees left under duress, after months of pressure and harassment by RTA soldiers andafter repeatedly being given conflicting information about whether they could stay in Thailand

and whether they would receive humanitarian support.

Some refugees did need to return now if they hoped to prepare their fields for planting when therainy season begins in June. Planting in June, meanwhile, is vital if villagers are to be able to

harvest paddy in October and produce rice to survive on for the following year. Recognisingthat some refugees would need to be able to return to plant crops as well as assess the securitysituation, humanitarian aid groups had attempted to obtain assurances from the RTA that able

workers would be able to return to their farms to prepare crops while children, elderly and othervulnerable populations remained in Thailand. That entire families decided to leave, however,speaks to the pressures the refugees felt to abandon the sites in Thailand.

I dont want to go back now but the Thai soldiers dont allow me to stay here How canI dare to go back to my village? Landmines often explode [there]. Sometimes, thevillagers are injured by landmines I dont want to go back to the village I abandoned.

11

A full transcript of this interview is included in Appendix 3.12A full transcript of this interview is included in Appendix 2.

13A full transcript of this interview is included as Appendix 2.


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However, during the rainy season if I have to live in a refugee camp [because it is unsafeto live in Karen State] I will cultivate the fields in my village. If we can raise some crops,it will be good to go back and live in my village, in the summer [February-May 2011]. Butif I go back now, I wont have any food to eat.

Naw T--- (female, 50), W--- village, --- Township (Tha Song Yang new arrival site,February 5th 2010)14

Circumstances in the area of return

At least 2,409 people have left the temporary refugee camps in Tha Song Yang District sinceJanuary 2010. This does not mean that the area of return in Paan District is safe, and villagerswill continue to face substantial risk from landmines, exploitative abuse and reprisals as alleged

KNLA supporters. These risks have been explained to the RTA on several occasions by KHRGand other actors, including foreign governments, humanitarian aid agencies, INGOs and localCBOs and will be reiterated here with additional examples in order to illustrate that conditions in

the area of return remain highly insecure for returning refugees.

Landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other unexploded ordinance (UXO)constitute a serious risk to all individuals, and children in particular, in the area of return .Returning refugees are particularly threatened by mines and UXO because they will not knowthe location of new mines planted in the months since they left; there is also the very realpossibility that some returnees will be forced by DKBA soldiers to stay in new villages, as

opposed to their old homes where they might be aware of the locations of mines or of areas thatmight contain mines.

Prior to the attacks in June, KNLA 7th Brigade had used mines to establish a defensiveperimeter around three principal camps as well as around the Ler Per Her IDP site. Thesemines were not removed when the group withdrew from the camps on June 13 th. Since June,the KNLA has continued laying mines in an effort to kill or injure DKBA and SPDC troops, while

SPDC and DKBA troops now in control of the area have extensively mined the area themselves.In August 2009, a KHRG researcher interviewed six deserters from DKBA Brigade #999, the

unit now in control of the area of return, and they indicated that Brigade #999 had significantlyexpanded the area it was mining beginning in August 2009. The SPDC and DKBA uselandmines to protect their camps, but have also placed mines across a much wider swathe ofterritory. Areas mined include abandoned villages, paddy fields and grazing land, forest paths,roads and sections of the Moei Rivers western bank. The DKBA and KNLA also regularly use

IEDs and traps such as sharpened bamboo punjisticks. All three groups also regularly firemortars and rocket propelled grenades; resulting UXOs contaminate the area of return, and

continue to pose a risk to returnees and especially children.

Villagers are aware of this situation and have repeatedly expressed in interviews with KHRGand other groups that the threat of death or maiming from landmines, IEDs and other UXOs is amajor reason that they do not wish to return to Burma. The risks posed by existing mines to

returning civilians is illustrated by the fact that KHRG has confirmed nine incidents in whichrefugees making visits to their home villagers have been killed or injured by landmines. Details

on these nine incidents are included as Appendix 5. If one includes soldiers, moreover, it islikely that this number is just a fraction perhaps one-tenth of the actual number of deathsand injuries from landmines in the area of return. On February 9th 2010, for instance, a DKBA

soldier was killed by a landmine a few hundred meters from a football field inside the Ler PerHer IDP site, an area that is within view for an observer standing on the Thai side of the Moei

River. Because landmines do not distinguish between soldiers and civilians, this indicates thatas the number or civilians returning to the area increases, so too does the risk of civilian injury.

14A full transcript of this interview is included as Appendix 2.


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Eleven months after fighting subsided in the area adjacent to the Moei River, unexplaineddetonations have continued to be audible from the sites in Thailand on a daily basis.

In a potentially ominous omen for the future, on the same day that the last of the refugees

departed from Nong Bua and Mae U Su, Saw Po---, 7, was killed and his brother Saw Saw Pe---, 10, was severely injured when an undetonated round from an M79 grenade launcher explodedas the boys played with it. According to the boys grandfather, Saw S---, 65, their father hadfound the UXO and hidden it because he worried it might injure someone. In spite of hisattempt at caution, the boys found the grenade and accidentally detonated it as they played withit: an M79 shell looks vaguely like a small, heavy oblong childrens toy. Saw Po--- was killed onthe spot, while Saw Pe--- was seriously injured, with wounds to his head and the right side of his

stomach and chest. After being carried to Thailand, he was initially taken to the hospital in ThaSong Yang before being transferred to Mae Sot General Hospital, where he underwent surgery

in the evening and remains in serious condition. As of the evening of April 1st 2010, doctorswere attempting to send him to the provincial hospital in Tak for a CT scan to determine theseverity of his head injury.

The incident happened just outside Mae La Ah Kee village, where the family had returned afterthe 2009 rainy season in. According to Saw S--- the family had attempted to seek refuge in theMae U Su camp but were forced to leave by the RTA. In an interview on April 1st, Saw S---

provided the following answer when asked why the family had returned to Mae La Ah Kee :

The Thai soldiers told [the family], "Your family picture didn't appear clearly when we

developed it, so you will not get rations. Thats why your family must go back. TheThais asked them to go back, so they went back.

Saw S--- was referring to the registration process used by the RTA to determine how many

refugees were residing in the sites, a process that was also employed to prevent villagerswithout a legitimate claim to refuge from staying in the camps. Tragically, Saw S--- describes a

simple technical error as the reason his family was ordered to leave the site and, ultimately, thereason his grandson was killed and the other injured.

This photo, taken on March 31st, shows Saw Pe---

after accidentally detonating a UXO he and his

brother found outside Mae La Ah Kee village.

According to Saw Pe---s grandfather, the boys

family returned to their village after RTA soldiers

forced them to leave the Mae U Su camp.

This photo, also taken on April 1st

2010, shows Saw

Pe---s grandfather Saw S--- and his older brother,

who accompanied the boy when he came to Thailand

for treatment. I was in my field, about a four or

five minute walk from my village [when the accident

happened], Saw S--- told KHRG. When I came

back to the village, I heard someone crying. Then I

saw people carrying my grandson.

DKBA, SPDC and KNLA units responsible for laying mines in the area of return have not takensteps to mark or remove mines to reduce the risk to civilians in the area, nor would it be


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reasonable to claim that they have the ability to safely de-mine such a large and heavily-minedarea. The capacity and/or will of the parties that have laid mines is inadequate to infer that thearea will be sufficiently clear of mines to allow for safe civilian return any time in the near future.When asked to comment on claims made by the RTA that the DKBA had committed to remove

landmines, on February 16th 2010, Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, the International Campaign toBan Landmines (ICBL) research focal point for Burma and an appointed voluntary advisor tothe Royal Thai Army's Mine Action Centre, told KHRG:

Even the Thai military has found it difficult to clear the minor amount of landminepollution Thailand has near some of its border areas. Humanitarian mine clearance is atime-consuming and costly activity. Prior to any clearance, an assessment would have

to be made of the location of dangerous or mined areas by a competent entity which canclear mines. There is no entity with this expertise in Burma/Myanmar. None of the

armed groups known to have used mines someplace near the area under question keepor accurately track where they lay mines. Any statement that they can remove them,and do so quickly, is simply bravado.15

Returning villagers may be forced to work for the DKBA and SPDC. Refugees that fled inJune 2009 and afterwards have repeatedly told KHRG that they fled not only because offighting, but also because of heavy demands for forced labour imposed by the SPDC and DKBA

to support their respective military operations. KHRG has extensively documented the broaduse of forced labour by the DKBA and the SPDC for over 18 years, and has continued toreceive reports of exploitative demands in the area of return as recently as January 2010.

Every day since January 2010, for instance, DKBA soldiers based at the Wa Kaw Loo camphave forced seven villagers to come and work repairing, maintaining and building different parts

of the camp. Villagers told KHRG that both men and women are required to perform forcedlabour, and that they have been required to do the following duties: clearing the camp

compound; cutting down trees and bamboo; making barriers; building huts, food storage barns,a clinic and a mess hall; and making pieces for bamboo traps. Because most of the villagers

from the area around the Wa Kaw Loo camp fled to Thailand, DKBA soldiers have forcedpeople to come from as far away as Gklay Poe Glo and Gklay Moh Kee villages, which are a2.5 hour walk away. The Wa Kaw Loo camp is located about a 45 minute walk from the Ler Per

Her IDP site, between Meh Keh and Meh La Ah villages, and opposite Nong Bua village in ThaSong Yang District. Saw K---, age 38, a villager from Gklay Moh Kee, described the times hehas been forced to do forced labour at the DKBA camp at Wa Kaw Loo to a KHRG researcher:

Ive had to work at Wa Kaw Loo two times [since the start of 2010]. All I feel is fear. I

dont dare to go and cut down trees and bamboo so far. Before, when I went the firsttime on January 2nd 2010, I had to cut down trees. I was too afraid. The next time onJanuary 7th 2010, I had to [help] construct a food store and clinic. It was better becauseI didnt need to be afraid of landmines. We couldnt finish the construction in one day.

There were about 20 people working; six people were from Gklay Poe Glo, four peoplewere from Tee Htu Kaw, and four people were from Mae Hke Kee. We worked thewhole day but we just finished one food store and two kitchen rooms. The clinic and

huts arent finish yet. We still have to go [back] for more days. People whose turn hasarrived, theyll have to go and finish it. I will not go even if the village head asks me togo. I want to rest for a month, but I could never do that. There is still so much work, itdepends on you whether you can do it. If we could get payment, maybe people could dothat. How can you make such an effort if you dont get payment?

If refugees return, it is likely that they will be forced to work at this or other army camps. The

immense strain that such forced labour puts on the livelihoods of villagers who primarily engagein subsistence farming will be particularly severe for returning refugees, given that most will not

15Moser-Puangsuwans full statement is included as Appendix 6.


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have adequate food supplies and have not been able to plant, tend, or harvest their fields in thepast nine months.16 Still, returning refugees will find it difficult and dangerous to resist forcedlabour demands made by DKBA soldiers. Villagers from the Gklay Moh Kee area told aKHRGs researcher about an incident on January 7th 2010, in which Saw P---, the village head

of Gklay Moh Kee, reported to battalion commander Major Hlaing Thay for regular forced labourduty. Saw P--- had only gathered six villagers instead of the seven ordered to work on campmaintenance. As soon as the group of villagers arrived at 10:30am, the commander confrontedSaw P--- about not bringing enough workers, and ordered his soldiers to tie Saw P---s handsbehind his back and make him sit under a tree. The village head was left by the tree for oneand a half hours in the hot midday sun. After releasing him, the soldiers warned the villagehead that the next time he failed to bring the right number of labourers, hed be left bound in the

heat for longer.

Some individuals may also be subjected to particularly violent abuse in the form of reprisals asalleged supporters of the KNLA. The DKBA has a history of violently punishing villagerssuspected of supporting the KNLA, and has explicitly warned some refugees in Tha Song Yangthat they will be treated as KNLA supporters if they return from Thailand. Since June, KHRG

has documented the execution of one village head by the DKBA, which had accused him ofcooperating with the KNLA. Given this history, assurances from DKBA officers that no reprisalswill be carried out are not credible or sufficient. KHRG has also recently received information

about an incident that occurred in August 2009, in which a villager returning from a new arrivalsite in Thailand was punished for his alleged connection with the KNLA. Saw Y---, 42, had fledfrom Mae La Ah Hta, Dta Greh Township, after the June 2009 attacks and had been living in

Mae U Su camp. On August 12th 2009, he returned to check on his village. Around noon, fiveDKBA soldiers led by Thara Pa Ataw accused him of cooperating with the KNU and detained

him. Saw Y--- protested, If I was KNU, I wouldnt dare to come back. I cant live [here] anddont dare to stay in my village, so I have to go and live in Thailand. I came back because I want

to visit my village. I dont dare to come back so much. Despite arguing with the soldiers for halfan hour, Saw Y--- was tied up and sent to the DKBA camp at Kyaw Gkate Hta, where he was

interrogated repeatedly by commander Pu BpNeh Wah. The DKBA officers ordered his familyto come and guarantee his identity but, although many people vouched for him, Saw Y--- had tostay in jail and perform hard labour for nearly one month. At this point he was allowed to stay

outside the camp but still prevented from returning to Mae U Su. In the last week of December2009, he was able to escape and return to Mae U Su. This example demonstrates thatreturning refugees accused of links to the KNLA can be arbitrarily deprived of their freedom for

months at a time as well as subjected to forced labour. There is also a serious risk that somewill face physical abuse and torture while in detention, and in such cases as that of the village

head mentioned above, summarily executed.

Finally, the vast majority ofrefugees departing from the Tha Song Yang temporary sites arelikely to face a lack of adequate food resources upon their return to Burma. Most refugees

in Tha Song Yang are subsistence farmers who left their villages at the beginning of the 2009rainy season; they were unable to maintain their paddy crops during the rainy season, and failedto complete the October 2009 harvest. They will therefore not be able to produce another large

store of food until October 2010, and they lack the resources to procure food supplies that theyhave not grown for themselves. Most could not carry large amounts of food or other supplieswhen they fled the Ler Per Her area, and many have reported that their homes were looted ordestroyed by soldiers after they left, so they will not have tools or shelters to return to. Even incases where belongings were not deliberately destroyed, since it has now been well over ninemonths since most refugees arrived in Tha Song Yang, it is also unlikely that any food or othersupplies left behind currently remain at their homes, or remain usable. The returnees efforts to

produce sufficient food for themselves is also likely to be severely hampered by heavy demands

16For analysis of the cumulative effects exploitative abuses have on villagers ability to support themselves, see

Food crisis: The cumulative impact of abuse in rural Burma , KHRG, April 2009.


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for forced labour and arbitrary taxation from the DKBA and SPDC soldiers that currently controlthe area of return, as well as the high concentrations of landmines that have been placed in thearea, which restrict available land when farmers actually know their locations, and threaten theirlives when they do not. While humanitarian aid groups have provided departing refugees with

food supplies, the DKBAs history of arbitrary taxation and exploitative abuse of villagers shouldraise concerns that these supplies will be confiscated or heavily taxed.

It is also important to recognise that, while the fighting has decreased in the area of return sinceJune 2009, there remains a significant chance that fighting could resume. The KNLA and DKBAremain at odds; when asked about the potential for peace in the area of return, on February 15 th2010, Naw Zipporah Sein, General Secretary of the KNU, responded: No, we dare not to say

that [the areas of return will be peaceful]... There is no peace agreement [between the KNLAand the DKBA] and also there is no recognition of those areas as a peace zone. We cannot

guarantee that those areas will be peaceful, because war is still going on. According to KNLArecords, 46 clashes occurred between the KNLA and the DKBA or SPDC Army in Paan Districtbetween October 2009 and January 2010. Some of these occurred inside the area of return.Full details of these clashes are included as Appendix 7.

It is even more important to recognise, however, that refugees that fled to Tha Song Yang wereescaping not merely an upsurge in armed hostilities in June 2009, but the rise in abuses related

to increased militarization in the area of their homes and villages over a much longer period.The apparent end or temporary pause in armed conflict in the area of return does not thereforesignal that the area is safe or stable. The major livelihoods and security threats that Tha Song

Yang refugees were attempting to flee, including forced labour, landmines, forced conscriptioninto the military, and arbitrary taxation, persist to this day, and have in many ways been

compounded by the additional threat of acute food insecurity. The following testimony from avillager who fled to Thailand several months after major hostilities in the Ler Per Her area had

come to an end illustrates the numerous abuses that refugees returned to Burma may face:

My name is K---. Im 37 years old. I have three children and a wife. My family and Idecided that we wouldnt flee to a refugee camp when 7th Brigade [KNLA 7th BrigadeHeadquarters] fell. I thought Id still live in my village. We sent all our things to a secret

place. I lived there about 3 or 4 months. Unexpectedly, on October 7th 2009, at dawntime around 7:00 am, DKBA Company Commander Nel Nel came with 20 soldiers. Theyarrived and called us down to the ground and they said, Were going to burn your huts.

We said to them, They are full of our things, dont burn our houses. They went berserk,they fired their guns: one mortar and other guns, too. [We were] nervous and afraid, my

family and I went down to the ground. After that they went up to the house and threwdown our things and poured our rice on the ground, but we didnt dare to tell themanything or stop them. Then they set our house on fire. They didnt let us live thereanymore.

They ordered us to go and live at Wah Me Klar village. They gathered us and jostled ourbacks with their guns. They asked us to go in front of them. We couldnt see anything

because it was so dark but we went because we were afraid of them. After we left ourhuts, they planted landmines behind us along the way we walked. They kept us at WahMe Klar village and asked us to sleep there. In the morning, they told us to go back andlook for our things. We told them, We dont dare to go back, you planted landmines onthe path that we have to use to go back. They said, Dont go back the way that youhave come. Go back to another way. They told us the way that we had to follow. Wewent back and saw our materials and things but they were all damaged. We couldnt do

anything; we were so disappointed. I said to my wife, We cant stay here anymore. If westay here, DKBA soldiers will come and [abuse]us again. So we have to find a way to goto the refugee camp at Mae U Su. At the end of October, my family and I came and


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showed our family members to the village head [in Mae U Su] to get rations. Now welived in a refugee site.

Saw K--- (male, 37), Pnwet Pu village, Dta Greh Township (Mae U Su new arrival site,

December 20th, 2009)

Conclusion

It is now too late to prevent what has ultimately functioned to be refoulement of 2,409 refugeesfrom Nong Bua and Mae U Su. The sites are empty; thousands of villagers that had legitimateclaims to refuge in Thailand are now intensely vulnerable and at risk of human rights abuses

and an unstable security situation. Research by KHRG and other organisations indicates thatthis is the direct result of the sustained harassment and pressure directed towards refugeefamilies by the RTA. Refugees may have chosen to return over the last two months, but

because they have done so in the context of pressure and harassment this return should not beunderstood as voluntary. Pressure on the refugees to return likely has not resolved the issue

for Thailand: given the risks to the returned refugees outlined above, it is highly likely that thesefamilies will be displaced again; some may return to Thailand in the near future. While villagersin the area of return have shown remarkable resilience and ability to resist violations of theirhuman rights, they are returning to areas where political and military situations that were onceintelligible, and consequently manageable, are now as dangerous as they are in flux. It is

crucial that the risks to these refugees are clearly understood, so appropriate methods can bedeveloped for supporting whatever strategies they deem most appropriate for surviving in theface of abuse.

Eastern Burma, meanwhile, is home to tens of thousands of displaced people as well as non-state armed groups in states of open conflict, or uneasy peace, with one another as well as theSPDC Army. It is vital to learn from events surrounding the hosting and eventual return of the

refugees in Tha Song Yang, for they will not be the last group of villagers to use flight toThailand as a method for resisting abuse in Burma. The fundamental lesson is that refugees

should be included in any discussions or negotiations regarding repatriation or relocation. Theyare best placed to assess the safety of such changes, and ignoring their perspectives risksviolations of human rights as well as future displacement. Refugees security and human rightsconcerns, as well their wishes regarding return, must be recognised as legitimate; thesatisfactory resolution of refugees concerns, and respect for their wishes, will be key elements

of any safe, sustainable and truly voluntary repatriation. Refugees should not face pressure toignore credible security and human rights concerns and return to areas that are not safe.

Clearly-defined mechanisms for monitoring treatment of refugees are thus vital to ensure thatharassment that undermines the voluntary nature of return does not go un-recognised. Anysuch monitoring mechanism, moreover, should be supported by equally well-definedmechanisms that enable harassment to be reported and officials held accountable if harassmentoccurs or if agreements with humanitarian aid agencies are not kept.

For more information on refugees in Tha Song Yang District as well as the impact of the SPDC

and DKBA on villagers in Paan District, see the following previously published KHRG reports:

Refoulement Deferred: Still no durable solution for hosting refugees in Tha Song Yang District(February 2010) Threatening refoulement: harassment and pressure on refugees in Tha Song Yang District

(February 2010)

Unsafe return: Threats to human rights and security for refugees leaving Tha Song YangDistrict(January 2010)


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Security concerns for new refugees in Tha Song Yang: Update on increased landmine risks (September 2009) Abuse in Paan District, Insecurity in Thailand: The dilemma for new refugees in Tha SongYang(August 2009)

Exploitation and recruitment under the DKBA in Pa'an District(June 2009) Update on SPDC/DKBA attacks at Ler Per Her and new refugees in Thailand(June 2009) Joint SPDC/DKBA attacks, recruitment and the impact on villagers in Dooplaya and Paandistricts (May 2009)


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Appendix 1: KWO interviews with refugees in Tha Song Yang

Interview | Naw --- (female, 51), Tha Song Yang District (February 17th 2010)

How old are you?

51 years old.

What is your occupation?

We can't do anything. We just stay like this.

How many family members do you have?

Altogether there are four.

You have three kids?

Yes.

How many girls?

One little girl.

Do you still have your husband?

No.

How many years has it been since he passed away?

Its already been seven years.

What is your religion?

Baptist Christian.

When did you come up here?

[Other people answering]July last year.

When did you return this month or last month?

[Other people answering]This month on the 5th.

When you returned to your village, did you reach your village?

Yes, I went back to Ler Per Her.

Is that on the other side of the river?

Yes.

Do you live in Ler Per Her?


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Yes.

Are there any other villagers?

No, theres no one. Only K--- stays there.

Why did you return to the other side of the river?

The Thais asked us and asked us to go back.

How did they tell you?

They told us that the time limit to stay here was already finished and we couldnt continue tostay. On the 5th [of February] we started to return and there will be more people leaving on 15th.Then just our three households went back.

How many people did the three families include?

There were 10 people.

[Other people answering]One went back the next day. Then there were eleven people.

How many men did the group include?

[other people answering]There was one man and two little boys.

After that did the Thais tell you anything else?

On that day how did you go back after they talked you?

Then we got on the truck and went back. They sent us to his [person unspecified] house and westayed there for a while. Then he called another [Thai] friend we don't know the name of, and

then he gathered us and told us to go to the other side of the river. We told them we didnt dareto go back and we made ourselves lazy. Then they forced us to look for our bags and loads.Then each of us took just a few things. Then he told us to go back. Then he said [something or

someone] was missing and he asked us to look for the missing but we didn't look. Then theyforced us to go back and we took our things and kids and we walked down the path. Then he

followed us and took pictures along the way until the end.

Which path?

The path to the river bank. He went down and he went ahead of us and took photos till wereached the river bank. When we reached the river bank, he asked us to get on the boat.

Was the boat ready and waiting there?

Yes, the boat was there but I don't know who owned it. He asked us to get on the boat and hetold us to go back. But we told him we didnt dare to go back. Then he told us, When you reachthere, you can come back. When the boat started moving, he asked us to wave goodbye. ThenI waved my hand once and stayed like that. Then he asked my doh17[something], but what heasked I couldn't remember.

17This term is used to describe the relationship between the two sets of parents of a married couple.


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[Her doh speaking]He asked When you go back did you go back by your own will, or did youwant to go back?I told them, I didn't want to go back and I didnt dare to go back, but you forced us and we hadto go back. My rice pot is boiling and no one will look after it for me.

What happed when you got to the other side of the river?

When got there we just stayed like that and

Did they follow you to the other side of the river?

No, they just stayed on the river bank and took video of our leaving till we reached the otherside of the river. When we reached there, we got on the bank of the river and one boy went to

the side of the road. They told the boy, "Nephew, don't go off the road, and we looked at theside of the road and we saw the stakes. Then they told us to follow the road. I took my childrenshands and told them walk on the road, and I told you don't come back.

I stayed with an unhappy face. They told us, Don't worry, take a rest here. Then we took arest. Then they asked us to go down ahead close to the school at the church. When we reachedthe church, they asked us questions.

They said, People said many people would come back, but only three households of you haveback, and I said, Yes only three families came back.

Only three families came back and why did you come back?

And I told them, I don't know, people said we had to gather ourselves at the river bank, but they

forced us to come back.

When you got there where did you go and sleep?

We slept at a nursery school. The DKBA asked us to stay there.

How many days did you stay there?

We stayed for four days.

You went back and stayed for four days, and what do you do to survive?

They asked us to cook rice.

Did they give you uncooked rice?

Yes,

What other things?

Fish paste, chili and MSG, and we ate that.

Did all three families cook together?

We cooked together.

Do you stay together?


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Yes.

How do you feel when you haven't gone back to your own village?

[Other people answering]They went back to their own village but they didnt dare to go back totheir houses. We didnt dare to go back to our house. We still have a house.

Do they still have houses on the other side of the river?

We still have houses. The DKBA asked us, Do you still have houses?

We told them, We did have houses, but people burned down all of our houses. We showedthem a burned site. We werent happy to go back and stay as only three families, so we had to

lie.

How many people stay there?

I don't know. We didnt dare to go anywhere. They stayed one here and one there; some stayedon the hillside. We didn't go there.

Could you guess how many of them stay there?

I don't know how many.

What did you do day to day within that four days that you went back and stayed there?

After we ate rice, we went back and stayed in the nursery school and slept, and in the late

afternoon, when it was time to cook, we got up and cooked. We didn't let our kids go around.They told us, Dont worry, you can walk around. When you stay like that youll get sick. They

told my kids but I told my kids not to walk around.

When you went back did the DKBA welcome you well?

They welcomed and provided us with food.

Did you have to look for firewood?

They used peoples old house posts but us, we wouldnt do that.

So you didnt dare to walk around?

They told us to walk around, but we didnt dare do that.

What about them [the DKBA]?

Theyd come and stayed there for a long time already, and they were only going around closeplaces. I didn't see them go to far-away places.

When you went back and stayed for four days, how did you see their [the DKBAs]situation, or the situation there?

I don't know what to say.


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When you went back, what did you see? There were some houses that were burneddown and there are still some houses [standing]; what other things did you see?[Another person asking]When you saw your own country, did you feel good or bad?

We saw houses that were burned down, and there were still some houses that weren't burned.

The houses that weren't burned were more or less [than the houses that were]?

No, few were left unburned.

So after four days you came back?

Yes, they told us, If you want to go back, you can go back. Only three families of you came

back, [it] doesnt make any difference.

How did you come back on that day?

They sent us to the river bank and [we came] to this side of the river bank.

From the river bank to here, how did you come back?

Her husband went and took us from there.

When you went back there [to Ler Per Her], werent you happy there?

No, I wasnt happy there.

Why?

Because they are Karen, but we didnt see them often like this, and we werent happy to goback and stay there.

During the time when you went back and stayed there, how was the relationship betweenyou and them [the DKBA]? How did they treat you?

I don't know what to say.

Did they speak with you with nice words?

When we stayed for one or two days they spoke with us well, and I don't know [what wouldvehappened] if wed stayed longer. For those few days, they spoke with us well.

There were no other villagers, right?

Yes, no other villagers.

When you went back to the other side of the river bank and to the nursery school, howmany minutes did you have to walk?

I don't know. We just walked and stopped, walked and stopped.

So when you were on the way, you only walked on the road?

Yes,


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You didnt dare to walk beside the road?

No, we didnt dare to go beside the road.

Were there landmines?

I don't know. There couldve been some, but we didn't ask them. We just walked straight on theroad as they asked us.

Did you follow them?

Yes, we followed them.

What did you see when you first arrived back?

What we saw was that when we got off the boat at the river, they told one boy, "Nephew, don'twalk beside the road, and we looked and we saw the stakes.

You don't know how many of them [DKBA] there were?

Yes, I don't know how many of them there were. They stay two soldiers in one location.

Do they have their own huts?

They stay in peoples houses.

Which part of the camp did they burn?

They burned houses on the clinic side.

Did they burn houses at the place where the church was built?

No, they didn't burn on that side.[Another person answering]And they stay in those houses.

You went back and stayed for four days, and did you all come back together?

Yes, all three of our families came back together to the river bank.[Another woman answering] Only two families came here and one family was sent to anotherplace.

Where did they send them?

I don't know, they went back to their own village.

[Another woman speaking at the same time] They went back to Gkyaw Gkay Hta village.

From the camp and to the river bank, did all three families come back?

Yes.

[Another interviewer]- How did you contact with her husband to take you here?

[Another woman answering] Her husband was going up and down. There was one old man andwoman there.


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Were they Karen?

[Another woman answering]Yes, they were Karen and they phoned to contact him.

When you went back, did you bring a lot of things with you?

No,

What did you bring?

I brought one pot and one or two plates and blankets.

What other things?

We just went back with the clothes on us.

How did you take baths when you went back and stayed?

We went and took baths twice in the Moei River.

Did you go and walk by yourselves or did they follow you?

They came and waited for us where people cross the river at Mae Plu gate. There were two

soldiers sitting at the gate.

After you showered did they follow you back?

No, they have to sit and wait at the gate. They are on sentry duty and even at night time theyhave to sleep there.

When did you go and get cooking water?

They got it with water plumbing as in the past.[Another woman answering]For water they used the same water as refugees used before. Theyfill the water in a big water container, and if they need water they just go and open the water

gate. They use water which refugees used in the past.

When you stayed there, did you go and look for vegetables?

Me, I did go.

Did other people go?

Only K---s mother went. She went and picked old papaya leaves just close to the house.

Did you dare to walk around in that area?

Yes, we could walk around the nursery school. She went to pick one or two salty eggplants.

Did you dare to go to far-away places?

No, we didnt dare. When people brought [vegetables] back, we ate them, but we didnt dare togo and look for ourselves.

When the Thais forced you to go, how many of them followed you to the river bank?


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There were five of them, including one lady.

Now do they stay in the new arrival site?

[Another woman answering]No, those people dont stay here. I hadn't seen them before. One ofthem has yellow hair and she often comes.

Had they visited the camp before?

I am not sure.

[Another woman speaking] Yes theyve come. Ive seen the fat man and the lady with yellowhair, Ive seen them visit before. The man who looks like T---s father, him I don't know. I didn't

know that theyd force people to leave. If Id known that, I couldve run away when they camedown.

There are still a lot of other people staying back here. Why were only the three groups of

your families forced to go back?

First, they told us that thered be one or two other families that would go back on the 5th. So for

us, they forced three families to get in the car for.

When you left the house, where did you go to get on the truck?

We got on the truck at the front bamboo gate [of the camp in Thailand].

Did they ask people to gather in that place?

Yes.

Were there any other villagers there apart from your group?

There were many people there.[Another woman answering] There were 30 families to go back. They said, what about theothers? If there werent 30 families, thered have been 28 families. They said, We can't carry

everyone now. We will do three families first.

What kind of car was it?

A small car like in the villages. They just went and hired car in the village. The military trucksdidnt dare to carry us.

Among the many families, they only let three of your families go back?

It was because the car could carry only three families.[Another woman explaining] They were told that first three families would go back and morepeople would come later. It would work like that. One car can carry three families, and so threefamilies got in the car first. After the three families left, the UN arrived and the others didnt needto go back.

The UN didn't know that the three families had gone back?

When the UN found out, the UN followed the three families and they [the Thai authorities] sentthe three families to the other side of the river in a hurry. If not, these groups couldve run away.First they [the families sent back] were told to go back and gather again at my house [the


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woman speaking] and when the second group arrived, then theyd move to another place on theother side of the river. At first, they werent told about [going to] the other side of the river. Theywere only told to gather at my house. After they left, the UN arrived in the camp when the othersprepared themselves to leave, but the UN didn't let them leave. The groups which had gathered

at my house, when the Thais knew that the UN had arrived, they quickly sent them to the otherside of the river.

So had they already contacted with the DKBA?

Yes, they always had contact from when we started get into the car.

What time was it when you left?

It started at 9 am.

How long did you stay at her house?

[Another woman answering]We stayed at her house for half an hour. It wasnt so long.

What time did you arrive at the other side of the river?

It was about 11am. It was very hot.

Among the eleven people who went back, there was one man and how many children?

There were five children and five women.

When you went back and stayed there, did the DKBA soldiers come and chat with you?

They came but I didn't listen to them. I stayed to the side and lay down. I didn't chat with them.

Was the nursery school big?

Yes, it is big.

Do they give you clothes and blankets?

No, they didn't, we brought our own blankets.

Did they give food?

Yes, we ate their food. They also stayed there. They ate together with us.[Another woman speaking] They stayed there and ate with us too.

[Some video missing]

He followed his father and brother. His father ran away, and when he got to Mae Plu, The Thaissaw him and called him to follow [them]. He couldn't run or escape. Even when we come here,we have to run. When we stay there, we run and [when we] stay here, we have to run too.

When you came back here, where did you stay?

I stayed with my parents-in-law.

Do your parents-in-law stay here?


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They have been here for a long time.

How many people stay together with your parents-in-law?

There were seven people staying together, and one family sometimes visits their parents-in-lawin Mae La Camp.

When you first fled here, did you stay with your parents-in-law?

No.

So only this time, you came back and stayed with your parents-in-law?

Yes.

Where did the other woman live?

In the past, she stayed in Gklay Moe Kee. Now weve built a house and asked her to stay. Shecouldnt go and stay at another place. She has no people to rely on and she is a widow.

What is the situation in the new arrival site? What do you do for day to day [survival] asyou cant work?

We can't work. We think, we have no other work and we think we [want to] look for paid labour,

but they lie in wait around us and dont like us to go outside. We can't go to look for vegetables.People have tried to go out secretly and when they [the authorities] found out the way, they

blocked it. After every way is blocked, we have to stay in the site.

When they saw [people going out], did they arrest people?

Yes, last time, they arrested people three times.

What did they do to those people who they arrested?

They tied [them up] but I don't know what they did, because we didn't see. We just heard theyarrested people. Last time, they arrested seven people.

Where did those people go?

They just went to the village to look for vegetables.

They even arrest people who go to the village?

Yes, because people go the secret way. They arrest people at the side of the Church.

How did you see the situation when you went back and stayed there?

When we arrived there, they liked us to go around there but they told us, Dont go across theriver. They didn't like it. I don't know why. They just told us, Dont go to the other side of theriver. For me, I used to smoke a pipe and chew betel nut a lot, and we didn't bring anything

with us. We have no tobacco left and no lighter. I told them, I will go, but they said, Do notgo. They also didn't let their people [DKBA] cross the river, either.

Is that the other side of the river?


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Yes, we went back and stayed for four days in Ler Per Her, and they didn't let us come backhere. They blocked everybody.

Are there any houses just on the river bank?

[There are] no houses just on the river bank. Only from Mae Pluh.

Interview | Naw --- (female), Tha Song Yang District (February 17th 2010)

How many family members do you have?

We have seven family members including one daughter-in-law.

How many children do you have?

We have three children.

How old is he?

My husband is 46 years old.

What is his occupation?

He does not have any job to do, yet.

How many people were included in your group when you returned?

There were four people: my husband and I, my daughter-in-law and one of my children.

Why did you return?

Some people came to my house and talked to me and asked me to go back. They were wearinghats like you. They did not wear any army uniforms. At first, I didnt listen to them and I went tostay inside my bedroom. Then, they asked me to get into a car. I told them, Why do we have toget into the car? I am afraid to get into the car.

They told me to get into the car; if I got into the car first, the other people would go later. When

we reached to our destination, they asked us to get down from the truck. We could carry only asmall bag and a pot. I thought about running away secretly but if I ran away, my daughter-in-law wouldve had to look after two children. If there were no children, we couldve escaped; but

we didnt run away and stayed in the area where the truck stopped.

At first, there were four people that went down and only a fat man came to pick us up. When wearrived, this man asked us to take our loads and I told him that I did not want to go. He said that

theyd asked people to come and wait there, and he complained in Thai. We did not understandhis complaint. One of the Thai soldiers told us we just had to go to the river bank. I replied,"Just only to the river bank, we do not have to go anywhere [further]."


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Then, we followed them there [to the riverbank]. When we got there, they asked us to sit downand they took photos of us. After that, they asked us to get into a boat. I replied that I would notget into the boat, saying, "You tell me to go from place to place."

The owner of the boat, who could speak Karen, told us: "You just have to ride the boat to theother side of the river bank, because they have to take your photos when youre riding the boat.Then, you can come back."

I told him if that were true, wed get into the boat. When we reached the other side of the riverbank, they sent us to DKBA soldiers. They talked on the phone to each other. They asked us togo further and I refused to go, and told them that I wanted to come back. Then, they forced us

to go further and further. When we arrived to the first houses, I turned back to the Moei riverbank and my daughter-in-law followed me. I thought about swimming back, but I was carrying

my child. If I was alone, I wouldve swum back to the other side of the river bank. I alsothought that if I swam back, people [not specified, but probably those forcing them to return]wouldve likely restricted us. So, I came back.

Then, people told me to meet with the column commander. When I went to see him, he was inthe church. He asked me, "Where did you live before?"

I told him where we lived before, and he continued asking me, "Why did you flee?"

I replied, "We fled because you came and shot us. Were afraid of guns. We also knew that

wed die if we were shot by guns. So, we fled. If youd come without shooting us, we wouldnthave fled.

Again, he asked me, "Why do you return?"

I told him, "People forced us to return."

He asked, "Who forced you to return?"

I said, "Thai soldiers forced us to return."

Then, he told me, "People said you were coming back with many people."

I replied, "I dont know if there are many people or not. We didnt even have time to prepare

ourselves, they rushed us away. Since the day we were forced to go back and until the nextday, we couldnt eat. If we think back, we couldnt sleep and eat. We sat down on the groundfor the whole day. DKBA soldiers asked us to walk around, but we didnt dare to go and walkaround the road because we couldnt see if there were landmines beside the road or in the bush

or not. Even they themselves [DKBA soldiers] dont walk around carelessly. They just walkstraight and follow only along the road. And, they operate in the areas where theyre tradingwood. If they plant landmines they will know where the landmines are, and they can avoid going

to those areas. For us, we dont know so we dont dare to go anywhere. They asked us to buildhouses but I told them I dont want to build any houses or stay here. I just want to go back.

Two days later, one of the commanders came and told us "You dont have to sleep [here] manydays. Youll be allowed go back soon. You just came back with a few people and its hard for usto provide security for you, and now we cannot take anymore.

I became a little bit happy while hearing this. However, if we arent allowed to come back, wewill continue to stay like this. We had to sleep [there] three days more. In the evening at 8:00PM, a sergeant came and asked us, "Will you go back to your homes or go back to Thailand?


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I told him, "If you send us to our homes, well go back. We dont dare to go back to Thailand.were afraid that Thai soldiers will arrest us again when we get inside Thailand. If they arrest us,we cant do anything.

They said that Thai soldiers wouldnt arrest us. I replied, "They wont arrest us? If they arrestus

Then, he said, "What are you afraid of if you stay here?"

I told him, "Were afraid of you, but were afraid of everything else, like underground[landmines]."

When we first arrived, they said nice words to us. If we really had stayed there, we dont know

how theyd have treated us later, because we can not read their minds. They called the childrento watch movies. They fed us snacks and asked us to go and watch movies on the hill side. Wedidnt dare to go.

What is the column commander's name?

I don't know.

Did you have to stay in a terrible situation?

Yes.

When did you come back?

They wouldve sent us in the early morning, but one of the boats had no gas so they had to goand buy it. Therefore, we started to leave about 9:00 AM.

Did they [the people who took you to the boats] send you back?

Yes.

Did any of your children come back with you when you returned?

No, they didnt come back with me. One is staying with his teacher, another went to teach and

the last one is studying in Mae La camp.

Were there any small children with you when you returned?

No, I dont have any, but my daughter-in-law has her child with us.

So, you didnt have any children with you when you returned?

Yes, but my son, the oldest one, followed us when we arrived at the other side of the river bankbecause he thought that we were going back without men, and people would make trouble tous.

How many people are there in the family which went back [destination not specified]?

Other people say four people.

Did Thai soldiers force you to go back?


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I don't know because they didnt wear any army uniforms. They looked like civilians.

Have you seen them before?

I have seen the girl only once. For this man, he is a Karen Thai soldier. This man didnt go to theriver bank. We dont know if the other four people who came to the river bank are soldiers ornot.

When did people start forcing you to return?

Other people say it started on February 4th 2010.

How did they force you to return?

They went to tell [everyone] house by house. People became afraid and a group went back.Some people didnt dare to go to the river bank, but they said they sent them to Mae Tao orsomewhere. They went to tell house by house, and a group by a group went back.

Did they go back on their own?

No, Thai soldiers came to pick them up from their houses.

What did they tell you when they came to your house?

They told me, "You didnt leave, yet?"

I asked them, "Why do I have to leave? If I have to leave, where do I have to go?

They responded that we could stay only six months in that place. We were not allowed to stay

there more than (6) months. After (6) months, theyd force all refugees to go back.

Then, I complained to them, "Where do we have to go and stay if you force us to go back?

Where will you keep us? We dont have any places to go and stay.

Some people told them [the soldiers] that if they had to leave, give them 10000 [interviewee did

not specify whether this was Baht or Kyat]. They told these people, "Leave, well give youcooking oil and a big tin of rice.

Only a big tin of rice isnt enough for us to eat. If they wanted to give us rice, they shouldvegiven [us] 10 or 20 sacks of rice so that we could eat for one or two days.

Who told you this?

Karen Thai soldiers told us. As for real Thai soldiers, they came and talked to us but we didnt

understand them.

How many people were there when you came on that morning?

There were many people sitting and waiting for the truck there. Before we left, I dont knowwhen it started, but since 1:00 AM, many Thai black rangers and Border Patrol Police went backand stayed in Noh Poe. In the morning, there were four Karen Thai soldiers that came to the

camp and asked us to go back. Id never seen them before. Ive seen only the girl once ortwice. We looked at them and they came straight to my house. I thought theyd just come andmeet with me. Then, people came and told me to take our loads [belongings].


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How many times do they come to the camp per day?

They came twice or three times to four times per day. Other people didnt come. There wereonly these four people who came to the camp. They asked us to go back and stay in Ler Per

Her. Villagers told them that they didnt dare to go back and that theyd have difficulties to goback.

Where did these four people stay?

They stayed in the camp and waited.

Why did you come back after you arrived to the other side of the river bank?

We came back because we werent happy and didnt dare to stay there.

Did you negotiate with the DKBA to come back?

We told them that we didnt dare to stay there anymore and we didnt dare to cultivate our hillfields, either. Even though they told us to stay and cultivate hill fields there, we didnt dare to.We also didnt dare to go anywhere. I think there are only a few people who have returned and

everyone complained that they didnt dare to cultivate hill fields there. Then, it seemed theycouldnt feed us and they let us come back.

Did DKBA soldiers often visit you when you returned?

They didnt come and talk to us. When I went to stay in the primary school, I saw their wivescame and visited them. We just met their wives there. The afternoon that we were coming

back, many of them, including their wives and children, came and watched movies in the armycamp. They asked us to go and watch the movies but we didnt dare to go and watch. Then,

they carried a television to our places and watched together with us.

How many DKBA wives did you see?

I saw ten of their wives.


What is your name?

My name is M--- .

What village do you come from?

Wah Mee Hta.

What did you do when you lived there?

We did Hillside cultivation.

How many months has it been since you fled from there?


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Six months.

Six months?

Yes, six months.

Now if people tell you that you have to go back, what will you do?

I cant do anything. If we go back we dont have food.

Is there anything else?

We dont dare to go back.

Why dont you dare to go back?

Were afraid of landmines.

There is no food, youre afraid of land mines; anything else?

Other things, I cant say. We cant go back because we havent done anything, people planted

mines when we left and there are many problems in the site we used to live.

Can you tell what other problems there are? You dont need to worry to tell it, aunt.

What are the other problems? Another problem is that people have to pay and give something.

Those are the problems that we have. We dont have anything else, just that.


Three children, but just two now.

Why?

One is dead.

How long?

Over a year.

How about your husband?

Yes, there he is.

Where is he going now?

Hes going to find vegetables.


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Where does he go and find vegetables?

He goes and finds vegetables in Thoo Mwe Nee.

Does he dare to go across?

Yes, he dares to go across sometimes, but sometimes he doesn't dare to go across. He can go

to the places where people live, but not the places where no people are.

What are you weaving?

Cloth.

What are you doing that for?

To wear it.

For your children to wear?

Yes, for my children to wear.

Where do you get thread from?

From Mae Taw.

How do you go there?

We go on this side; we go on Tee Nu Koh road.

Did you go on foot?

We went half on foot and half by car.

How much will you earn if you sell it, for one cloth?

I dont know. Ive never sold it.

For example if you sell it?

It can get 100 or 150 baht.


What is your name?


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My name is Naw S---.

Which village did you come from?

Bap Nweh Bu.

Have you come during the fighting?

Yes,

How long have you lived here?

In the rainy season, we call it Dayh Hnya La.

How many months have you lived here?

I think nine months.

What did you do before you came here?

Farming.

Was that enough for you [to live]?

Yes, it was.

How about the food that they give you here?

They give food once a month. Its enough.

Now, let say for example can you go, and do you dare to go back, if you have to go?

No, [I] cant and dont dare to go back. There are still many landmines.

Mines, and what other problems if you have to go back?

Yes, there are problems because they are fighting under the ground. I have no idea.

If you go back now, can you do farming?

No.

Why?

Because there are landmines under the ground, we cant see them.

Have you ever gone back?


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No, I have never gone back since I fled. Not only me, but also my children have never goneback.

So if people asked you to go back, you still wouldnt dare to go back?

No, I still wouldnt dare to go back.

What are the other things that would make you worry if you go back?

I worry that we will have to be afraid if they fight.

If there is fighting again?

Yes.

How about food, can you find any if you have to go back?

No, [I] cant find any.

Because there are still landmines?

Yes, there are still landmines.


I have 7 children.

Are they studying?

Yes, they are all studying.

What grades are they in?

Grades three, four, and five.

Are they still studying now?

Yes, here. People have set up a school.

So lets say, if you really had to go, you wouldnt dare to go?

No,

You cant go back?

No, I cant.

You cant dare to go back?

No, I cant dare to go back.

How about your other friends, what do they say about if they have to go back? Can theydare to go back?

I think, since there is still a problem they dont dare to go back now.


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You said there are land mines in your village?

Yes, there are.

In Bap Nweh Bu?

Yes, in Bap Nweh Bu.

What is the village close to?

Its close to Mae La Ha and Mae Hkel.

Have there been any people who have gone back?

Yes, a few people went back to see their houses, whether they were burned or not. Theyfollowed just one road to see their houses. Even though they went back and saw their houses,

they couldnt do anything. They had to come back.

Did they go back one by one?

Yes, they went and came back. They went back and saw if their houses were burned, and if thelogs were stolen or destroyed. Some people lost their logs. They set up [their houses] with big

logs. They couldnt do anything and they came back.

Who is still living in your village?

For me I cant guess, remember or know because I have never gone back.

How about people who went back? Did any of them stay living in their villages?

No, no one stayed. They just followed the path with closed eyes. Some people cant avoid land

and have been injured by land mines.

How many people have you heard of who were injured by land mines?

There have been four or five people, including two of my nephews.

[Another interviewee]There have been about 6 or 7 people who have been injured bylandmines. Two people have died.

Do you know their names?

Yes, I know. Hes my cousin and his name is [asking another villager]what is the name of theperson who was injured?

[Unidentified speaker]Pa Y---[main speaker]We called him M---. He died here, and his funeral was done here. His daughter-in-law lives beside here.[Unidentified speaker]He is a cousin of mine. He was injured yesterday.

So, how about if people force you to go back? What will you do?

We dont dare to go back and [we] cant do anything.

Even if people force you to go, you dont dare to go back?


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No, [I] dont dare to go back. The problems will happen.

For example if the authorities come

Documents

khrg- Camps in Tha Song Yang District abandoned as refugees bow to pressure