Elvis' father loved The King, so he named his son “Elvis.” He's from a Karen village near Rangoon. The Tatmadaw (Burmese state army) burned his village down in 2008, driving Elvis and his wife into the jungle. They walked through the forests for a month with a group of 55, aiming for the Thai border.
The Karen National Union (KNU) army provided what help they could to get the group to Mae La refugee camp, several miles from Mae Sot and the Friendship Bridge that funnels tourists into Burma. Mae La is the largest refugee camp in Thailand—40,000 people live here. It's also the oldest at 24 years. It's built along the highway so it's not difficult for tourists to see this spectacle. Go, see it.
Some problems are easy to guess – there is never enough food. Water can be tight, housing is very crowded and there's only a rudimentary economy. Of the nearly 2,000 homes in Elvis' section of the camp, 10 have electricity.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the umbrella administrator for the refugee camp, however it's presence is barely palpable. Instead, it is the KNU that involves itself in the daily life of Karen refugees. Elvis explains “they help. If they do not help all refugees then all have no hope. All die I think...Now many people are running in the jungle...so we pray for them.”
With a year's experience teaching in Burma, he was hired on to teach at one of Mae La's many schools (the camp has eight high schools, 18 primaries, three colleges and “many” kindergartens. None of these are sophisticated education centres. Rather, they are bamboo long houses. If they're lucky they have concrete floors and tin roofs, otherwise they have dirt floors and thatched roofs).
With a year's experience teaching in Burma, he was hired on to teach at one of Mae La's many schools (the camp has eight high schools, 18 primaries, three colleges and “many” kindergartens. None of these are sophisticated education centres. Rather, they are bamboo long houses. If they're lucky they have concrete floors and tin roofs, otherwise they have dirt floors and thatched roofs).
The KNU organizes a curriculum close to that in Burma. As in many other Burmese refugee and IDP camps, half of the curriculum is devoted to learning languages. The subjects taught are English, Thai, Karen, Burmese, Math, Science and History. This seems to apply around the entire border, with only the ethno-specific language changing. Despite the difficulties of life in a refugee camp, many Burmese send their children their for education, a type of war zone boarding school where children are relatively safe and the standard of education is slightly better. Many return to Burma for the holidays.
Some problems are easy to guess – there is never enough food. Water can be tight, housing is very crowded and there's only a rudimentary economy. Of the nearly 2,000 homes in Elvis' section of the camp, 10 have electricity.
The reason there isn't enough food is partially due to the fact that the UNHCR office is not permanently open to register refugees. Instead, registration only occurs every four to five years. The Thai border authority (TBBC) registers newcomers immediately, but it's the UNHCR that administers food rations, and it sets a limit on how many will be registered for rations and an ID card that allows them in and out of camp. Elvis says between 13,000 and 14,000 of Mae La's 40,000 residents are registered with the UNHCR. To make up for the shortage the KNU and smaller NGOs bring in extra supplies, and registered residents share what they have. In general, everyone gets two basic meals a day.
To Elvis, the biggest problem is resignation, especially among those growing up in the camp. Some have spent their entire life here. They can't understand life in Burma, Thailand or the magical “third country” on which everyone pins their hopes.
New arrivals know what life is in Burma, so they decide to work as hard as they can to make a new life. Elvis' new students work harder in school, believing if they do it will improve their chances at being accepted into Thailand or for emigration to a third country. Students native to the camp know the third countries, usually the US and Australia, only take a few dozen out of 40,000 every year. They know a life of boredom and free food.
“Some students have a high value of learning,” says Elvis. “Some are not interested because if you're born in camp you get your rations and no working. It's not a lot but... if you're used to eat that much, so, it's OK.” He says he tries to coax them into hope. “Don't prefer your life for your rations. You should try hard.”
The CIA World Factbook states there were 132,000 refugees in Thailand as of 2007. That doesn't count legal and illegal migrants, which are estimated to be two million Burmese in Thailand.
To Elvis, the biggest problem is resignation, especially among those growing up in the camp. Some have spent their entire life here. They can't understand life in Burma, Thailand or the magical “third country” on which everyone pins their hopes.
New arrivals know what life is in Burma, so they decide to work as hard as they can to make a new life. Elvis' new students work harder in school, believing if they do it will improve their chances at being accepted into Thailand or for emigration to a third country. Students native to the camp know the third countries, usually the US and Australia, only take a few dozen out of 40,000 every year. They know a life of boredom and free food.
“Some students have a high value of learning,” says Elvis. “Some are not interested because if you're born in camp you get your rations and no working. It's not a lot but... if you're used to eat that much, so, it's OK.” He says he tries to coax them into hope. “Don't prefer your life for your rations. You should try hard.”
The CIA World Factbook states there were 132,000 refugees in Thailand as of 2007. That doesn't count legal and illegal migrants, which are estimated to be two million Burmese in Thailand.
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