begin a new life Wednesday, August 30, in the United States, several officials confirmed.
Officials in Thailand said a first group of at least 47 Burmese refugees left a crowded camp on the Thai-Burma border this week, while the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said up to 63 people left the Tham Hin camp on Tuesday, August 29.
Hundreds more are due to go in the coming weeks as part of the resettlement operation, which began August 15, the UN refugee agency added in published remarks.
The United States government has reportedly agreed to allow up to 2,700 of the refugees to resettle in the US by the end of this year. Refugees fled to escape fighting between Karen guerrillas and the Burmese army.
KAREN PERSECUTED
Many Karen people have been persecuted for their faith in Christ and their refusal to recognize the ruling military of Burma, also knowm as Myanmar, as a legitimate government, rights investigators say.
Some have been in overcrowded camps in Thailand for over 20 years, often in prison-like conditions, BosNewsLife established. UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres and US Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey visited the camp on Tuesday, August 28, to highlight the refugees’ plight.
The 2,500 people are just a small number of refugees to be resettled as thousands more fled across the border to temporary camps in Thailand. Over 140,000 Burmese nationals, mostly from Karen or other minority groups, are believed to live in
these camps.
WAITING DECADE
Many of the currently resettled refugees in Tham Hin camp have been there nearly a decade, news reports said.
Stringent new anti-terrorism rules imposed by the Homeland Security Act following the September 11 attacks barred many of them on grounds that at some time in the past they made contact with the armed but outnumbered Karen National Liberation Army, a rebel group fighting to protect Karen villagers and for autonomy within Burma.
Sauerbrey told reporters during her visit on Tuesday, August 29, that the US legislation had "caught people who were not intended to be caught". As well as participating in US resettlement programs, the UNHCR is working with countries including Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom to secure places for the
refugees.
There has been frustration among Christian aid workers in the area about the perceived slow working methods of UNHCR officials. (With BosNewsLife Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife reporting from the region, and BosNewsLife Research).
