Politics
79: Shan and other ethnic nationalities of Myanmar refugees celebrate a World Refugee Day (June 20, 2008) in Malaysia
http://www.shaninform.org/News/2008/june_08/refugeeday_01.php
Statement on World Refugee Day 2008- by Shan Refugee Orgazation, Malasia
World Refugee Day
20 June 2008, Malaysia
Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen,
Thank you very much indeed for the honour of addressing you on this auspicious day. In the year AD 2000, United Nations marked June 20, as "World Refugee Day" and since then we have had celebrations all corners of the world to commemorate the occasion.
As one of the refugees from the Shan States, who have sought a haven in Malaysian, I would like to present "The Truth behind the Causes of Why People Flee Burma" to all countries all over the world.
The state of human rights abuse are, as you all know well, appalling and are on the rise relentlessly accumulating with no signs of slowing down.
Races indigenous races in Burma include; Karen, Karenni (Kayah), Mon, Shan (Thaiyai) who have been forced by the military dictators to migrate from their native villages to totally different places designated by the junta. These various races are being forced under the threat of weapons and torture. Women are molested and raped as you will see per "License to Rape: The Burmese Military Regime's Sexual Violence in the on going War in the Shan State" presented by the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN) and the Shan Human rights Foundation, in 2001-2002.
For the past twenty years the influx of refugees from Burma to Thailand has amounted to hundreds of thousands. These people are kept in nine refugee camps in four provinces in Thailand. Unfortunately, none if these places include any Shan, who are also victims of torture and other atrocities by the Burmese soldiers.
For example: SHRF reported in 2002 that after March 1990 the Burmese military regime began the forced migration in the middle of the Shan States which effected no less than eight to fifteen thousand people. Just as many people fled to escape death and torture to Thailand. There were 47 percent of the refugees who were in the age range between seventeen and forty-seven years. These included whole families who had fled and were not merely ordinary people in economic plight looking for jobs.
Since 1990 the Burmese military junta forced villagers from 1,400 villages from over an area of 7,000 square miles in the Middle Shan States. This included three hundred thousand Shans who were forced to work in different projects for the Burmese army. Just as many people escaped to the hills and jungles and Thailand. Unfortunately, they have not been recognized as refugees and at last becomes as illegal immigrants and workers.
According to statistics in 2002- 2004, in the border area in Chaiprakarn, Fang and Mae Ai Districts in Chiang Mai province, Thailand the inflow was no less than ten thousand people. In some months the rate was higher than one thousand people who originated from Laikha, Muang Nai, Muang Kueng, Nam Tsang, Kun Hing, Muang Poo Luang, etc. which are towns where the Burmese have robbed them of their possessions.
Please read to article "License to Rape" and you will see how the Burmese soldiers torture and rape the Shan women in addition to their strategy of Four Ways of Destroying: which means cutting off supplies, destroying any means of investment and human resources, and destroying any means of communication. This is applied in their policies against all races since 1975. In this process they have destroyed rice fields, agricultural plantations and vegetable gardens, execution of suspects, caning, raping, forced labour such as porters for their weapons and armoury, building their camps and barracks. Due to these atrocities, the villagers have fled to Thailand and Malaysia, but as I mentioned earlier, these people are not given the refugee status and are subject to arrests by the immigration, or police when they work an illegal workers in Thailand as well as in Malaysia.
I would like to appeal to you delegates from all over to know that we, as displaced persons have been subjected to hardship in Burma already and would like to start a new life, but we still face another round of torture as stateless persons looking for shelter with no one to turn to and nobody listening to us. All we ask for is to live a simple life in our search for a livelihood which includes only four points: Trying to survive, to be administered and protected and hope that one may be given a chance to start a new life.
I hope that this short speech of mine will find the ears and hearts of people in the many nations of the United Nations and look forward that one day we will receive some help and be saved and be allowed to live an ordinary life as human beings, as you people do. I hope that this is not asking too much.
Thank you.