Morning

Karen refugees in Thailand continue to be the victims of prejudice through discriminatory government policies as well as the centuries-old racial enmity that exists between Thailand and Burma. Once granted refugee status and interned in one of the camps, there they must stay. The refugees are denied the right to leave the camps or to seek work in Thailand. They must subsist almost entirely upon the aid provided by the various relief and development organizations working in the camps. While this aid is essential for the physical survival of the refugees, it is a detriment to their cultural survival as it also has the unfortunate side-effect of demoralising a people who have always been self-sufficient.