This last year I was able to gain a broader perspective of all seven of the Karen refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. ZOA (Dutch for "South-East Asia"), the major education NGO, invited me to assist them with their in-service teacher training. I helped with English teacher training especially in the areas of pronunciation, phonetics, and learning activities. We visited each of the camps for only one week, but I was able to help the teachers while learning a lot about each unique camp.

I will give a brief summary of my experience focusing on the different aspects of the camps.

First, the ZOA teacher trainers and I visited Mae La camp, the largest by far, housing 40,000 refugees from Burma. This camp is the closest to the small city of Mae Sot, which is the base of operations for most NGO’s and aid workers. As a result there are many projects in the camp. However, due to the dense population, Mae La is considered to have some of the worst living conditions. Situated on the highway, Mae La is also more vulnerable to the effects of the outside world. Drug use, especially amphetamines, AIDS, trafficking, and other problems are more prevalent here than in other camps. It is here that one really feels the desperation of life as a refugee from Burma.

The next camp I visited was Umpiem Mai, which is the second largest at around 20,000. It is also located close to Mae Sot and on the highway. Umpiem is the coldest camp, with cold season (Nov-Feb) temps dropping to near freezing. After being moved there, many refugees died from the cold. Now they make thicker blankets and walls to combat the elements. Umpiem has made the most of its proximity to Mae Sot by organizing its education system well. There are good opportunities for education past high school within the camp.

Nu Po camp is known for the most moderate climate of all the camps: not too hot and not too cold. Unfortunately, the camp is quite far from Mae Sot, and the local Thai authorities are currently making it difficult for NGO’s to visit the camp. My counterpart from ZOA was unable to go, and I had a difficult time with the English teachers. Since not many English speakers visit, the English teachers had a hard time understanding me. The teachers and I are hoping to be reunited to continue improving their work.

The next two camps are actually closer to Bangkok than Mae Sot. The first camp we visited was Tham Hin, infamous for its plastic roofs. In order to enforce the ideology of a temporary refugee camp, the Thai authorities prohibit the refugees from building roofs from the traditional leaves. With very few trees in the camp, the thick dark roofs trap the heat and create sweatboxes. The situation is very bad. The tightly packed houses create more of the “refugee camp” environment that I have been imagining in Africa. On the brighter side, the education system in the camp is well organized and very active and the students are very motivated - for any opportunity to get out of the camp, I think. I was happy to see that they have Physical Education (P.E. classes) for the primary level students, which is nonexistent in other camps.

Tham Hin Refugee Camp

Don Yang camp is closest to Tham Hin, but over 5 hours by truck, and is the smallest camp at 3,000 residents. Although much smaller in population than the other camps, the houses are tightly packed, and the feeling of being imprisoned is more intense because the Thai Authorities have much more control. I visited the 9th and 10th grade classes and was surprised to see six students in each classroom. I was shocked to compare this with the 60 plus students per class in Mae Ra Moe camp up north.

After leaving the southern reaches of the camps, the ZOA trainers and I drove up north. We then gathered the teachers from the two northern Karen camps, Mae La Oon and Mae Ra Moe, into Mae Ra Moe camp for a two-week training. Mae Ra Moe is the camp where Angela and I have spent the majority of our time. I knew the teachers and their classroom situations well, so it was nice to be with them again for more intensive English training. I felt like we made good progress because we were all comfortable around each other.

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