Thai soldiers are forcing refugees to return to Myanmar
The government does not want them to settle in Thailand
IF YOU DO not leave by tomorrow morning, we will burn your encampment to the ground, the Thai soldiers told Htun May (not her real name) and other Burmese refugees in the makeshift camp on the border with Myanmar. There was not much to feed the flames: tarpaulin tents, some clothes, disposable lunch boxes and whatever meagre possessions the refugees could grab before fleeing their country.
About 100 of them had been camped on this stretch of the Moei river, which marks the border with Thailand, since December. Life there was precarious, but it was a lot better than being mowed down by soldiers at home. And even though they were on the Thai side of the river, local authorities had turned a blind eye.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline "Sold down the river"
Asia April 16th 2022
- Shehbaz Sharif is Pakistan’s new prime minister
- Sri Lanka says it will stop servicing its foreign debt
- Thai soldiers are forcing refugees to return to Myanmar
- The fallout from Europe’s war reaches the Himalayas
- An ode to Tokyo’s Nakagin Capsule Tower
- Australian politicians need to think harder about defence
From the April 16th 2022 edition
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