Burmese (in Thailand and Bangladesh)

Prolonged conflict in Myanmar (Burma) has caused one of the most protracted refugee situations in Asia. For over a half a century, the Burmese military has waged war against many of the country’s numerous ethnic nationality parties and minority groups who seek greater autonomy. The protracted conflicts in Myanmar have produced huge numbers of internally displaced persons and at least four separate but related protracted refugee situations in neighbouring Thailand, Bangladesh, India and Malaysia. Despite recent moves to liberalise Burma’s political system, large numbers of refugees continue to flee the country.  

Over 140,000 Burmese, mostly Karen, Karenni, Mon and Shan, among others previously living in the eastern borderlands of Myanmar, are presently confined in camps in Thailand. Many have been displaced since the mid-1980s.  In addition, there are probably at least 300,000 refugees outside camps in Thailand, including 250,000 Shan refugees. 

In the northern Rakhine state near the border with Bangladesh, the Burmese army has pursued a policy of discrimination against the Muslim Rohingya populations during the past several decades.  In two separate refugee exoduses in 1978 and 1991, over 250,000 Rohingyas fled their homes to Bangladesh on each occasion. Currently, some 27,000 Rohingyas remain in refugee camps in Bangladesh, while an estimated 200,000 Rohingyas live outside the camps.

The military has not only rendered the Muslim Rohingyas stateless, but in many instances has systematically crushed the cultural, religious and ethnic aspirations of other minorities, such as the Chin who live in the Chin state near the border of northeast India. These policies have led to repeated waves of refugee flows of Chin people to India in recent decades. Finally, tens of thousands of Burmese refugees of all ethnic groups have also sought asylum in Malaysia. In their desperate attempt to reach Malaysia, thousands of Rohingya have set sail in unsafe wooden trawlers from both Bangladesh and northern Rakhine state. Recently, there has been fighting between ethnic minorities and the Burmese military along the border with China, causing thousands to flee to the People's Republic of China.

Online Resources

• Amnesty International (2004) 'Myanmar: The Rohingya Minority: Fundamental rights denied'.
• Centre for Development and Human Rights (2009) 'Rohingyas of Myanmar: the forsaken people', Rights and Development Bulletin, 1(12).
• Human Rights Watch (1997) 'Burma/Thailand: No Safety in Burma, No Sanctuary in Thailand', Human Rights Watch (Asia), Vol. 9, No. 6.
• Human Rights Watch (1994) 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Thai Policy toward Burmese Refugees', Vol. 16, No. 2.
• Hynes, P. (2003) 'FMO Research Guide: Burma'.
• Lewa, C. (2010) 'Unregistered Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh', The Arakan Project.
• Lewa, C. (2008) 'Asia's New Boat People', Forced Migration Review No. 30.
• Medicins Sans Frontières-Holland (2002) '10 Years for the Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh: Past, Present and Future'.
• Refugees International (2008) 'Rohingya: Burma's forgotten minority'.
• Refugees International &Open Society Institute (2002) 'Pushing Past the Definitions: Migration from Burma to Thailand'.
• Rohingya Times.
• South A. and al. (2010) 'Self-protection and survival in southeast Burma' Humanitarian Exchange Issue 46.
• South A. (2007) 'Burma: the changing nature of displacement crises'  Refugee Studies Centre Working paper No.37.  
• Thailand Burma Border Consortium (2009) 'Protracted Displacement and Militarization in Eastern Burma'.
• Thailand Burma Border Consortium (2010) 'Protracted Displacement & Chronic Poverty in Eastern Burma/Myanmar'.

Offline Resources

• Banki, S. and Lang, H. (2007) 'Protracted Displacement on the Thai-Burmese Border: The Interrelated Search for Durable Solutions' in Adelman, H. (ed.), Protracted Displacement in Asia: No Place to Call Home (Aldershot: Ashgate), pp. 59-82.
• Images Asia and Borderline Video (1998) 'A Question of Security: A Retrospective on Cross-border Attacks on Thailand's Refugee and Civilian Communities along the Burmese Border Since 1995' Chiang Mai.
• Lang, H. (2002) 'Fear and Sanctuary: Burmese Refugees in Thailand' (Ithaca: NY, Cornell University Press).
• Loescher, G. and Milner, J. (2008) 'Burmese Refugees in South and Southest Asia: A Comparative Regional Analysis' in Loescher, et. al, (eds.) Protracted Refugee Situations: Political, Human Rights and Security Implications (Tokyo, UN University Press).
• Rahman, U. (2010) 'The Rohingya Refugee: A Security Dilemma for Bangladesh', Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, 8(2), pp. 233-239.

Relevant Organisations

• Altsean-Burma (Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma)
• Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO)
• Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative
• Irrawaddy Publishing Group (IPG) (was Burma Information Group)