Thailand-Burma Border: History and Current Issues

The civil war in Burma has been dubbed as the longest running internal conflict in the world, and hundreds of thousands have fled desperation and abuse across the border to Thailand. Today, countless of exiles live on the Thailand-Burma border as undocumented migrants, whilst thousands of others have lived confined to the refugee camps for years, even decades, with no way out. And all the while, hundreds of thousands are still displaced in the jungles of eastern Burma. Although there have recently been changes in Burma’s political landscape, the underlying causes of the conflict remain unaddressed. Recent changes on the border have adversely affected the refugee population and severely hampered not only aid efforts but also the work of the pro-democracy and capacity building movement that has thrived on the Thailand-Burma border for decades. This book provides an insight into the situation on the border and the lives of those who remain trapped in a limbo.