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Refugees from Burma in Thailand and Repatriation Preparedness: Issues of Dialogue, Representation and Trust

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Refugees from Burma in Thailand and Repatriation Preparedness: Issues of Dialogue, Representation and Trust Refugees from Burma in Thailand and Repatriation Preparedness: Issues of Dialogue, Representation and Trust Sophie Zupper MSc Thesis 15 January 2016 International Development Studies 10898255 [email protected] Supervisor: Dr. Lidewyde H. Berckmoes Second Reader: Dr. Enrique Gómez-Llata Cázares MSc International Development Studies Graduate School of Social Sciences Sophie Zupper 10898255 [email protected] 15 January 2016 Supervisor Dr. Lidewyde H. Berckmoes Programme group: Anthropology of Health, Care and the Body Graduate School of Social Sciences University of Amsterdam [email protected] Second Reader Dr. Enrique Gómez-Llata Cázares Programme group: Governance and Inclusive Development Graduate School of Social Sciences University of Amsterdam [email protected] Local Supervisor Ariana Zarleen Co-founder and Programme Director Burma Link [email protected] Word Count: 26,894 Cover Photo: Mae La Refugee Camp in Tak Province, Thailand, July 2015, by S. Zupper ii Acknowledgements This thesis would not be lying in in front of you as it is right now if it was not for a number of people who supported me throughout the process of preparing for the research, navigating the field in Thailand, and analysing and writing after my return to the Netherlands. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the refugees who made this research possible. Despite the terrible events they experienced and the conditions they live in I was met with outstanding hospitality and eagerness to help wherever I went. I thank them for taking the time to participate in sometimes lengthy interviews and answering all questions I had, often beyond expectations, sharing meals and inviting me to their homes. I am especially grateful to my interpreters – without you I would have been lost – and my local assistants who helped me transcribing due to my lack of skills in the diverse local languages. Secondly, this research would have been significantly more difficult without the invaluable help of Ariana Zarleen and Patrick Kearns. Ariana filled the role of my local supervisor and facilitated contacts, interviews, travels and accommodation and always took the time to share her extensive local knowledge and to provide feedback. Thank you for your guidance and the confidence you gave me. Without Patrick it would have been impossible to access the refugee camps in the first place – thank you, for your time and perspective and for the opportunity to visit the camps. Furthermore I would like to extend my gratitude to Lidewyde Berckmoes, who provided the necessary academic guidance, theoretical stimuli and highly appreciated feedback. Thank you very much for your supervision and support throughout the whole research and writing process. On the less academic, but not any less important side I would like to thank my friends for their genuine interest, (hopefully mutual) motivation and support as well as the necessary distractions. Wendy, Jonathan and Lucy – without you, studying here in Amsterdam and writing the thesis would have been significantly less enjoyable and I am grateful for being able to call you my friends. Thank you to Jack Barber, who probably had to deal more than anyone else with my concerns and several rounds of proof-reading until the final product. Thank you for your support and comfort. Lastly I would like to acknowledge my grandparents Reinhard and Johanna Zupper – without your unwavering support, selflessness and love I would not be where I am today. Thank you. iii Abstract Scholars in recent years have emphasised the necessity of including disaster-affected communities in decision-making processes regarding their lives and futures, underscoring the agency of refugees and benefits of participation such as increased resilience and empowerment. Especially in protracted refugee situations, refugees face several limitations and uncertainty. The Communication with Disaster Affected Communities Network calls for a prioritisation of communication within such settings. This study explores both enabling and constraining factors regarding refugees’ meaningful participation in decision-making processes, particularly in repatriation planning. Drawing on qualitative field research in 2015 in three refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border, this study builds upon the accounts of the 20 interviewed refugees. The first refugees arrived in Thailand three decades ago, making it one of the most protracted refugee scenarios worldwide. Due to apparent reforms in Burma, UNHCR and other agencies initiated the ‘repatriation preparedness’ phase, leading to fears of premature and involuntary repatriation among the refugees, accompanied by a critique of a lack of refugee participation. The research shows a prevalent lack of effective dialogue and information. As informed decision-making is at the core of voluntary repatriation, this lack of refugee-informedness is highly concerning, rendering the aspect of voluntariness questionable. Inadequate representation further complicates the issue, as CBOs and the refugees themselves are excluded from the majority of decision-making processes. In addition, the research unearthed a widespread lack of trust between the general refugee population and camp leaders, UNHCR, NGOs and the Thai and Burmese governments. This corresponds to recent research by Hargrave (2014) who suggested a trust-based approach towards such planning. While she focused on how distrust in the country of origin results in refugees’ resistance against repatriation initiatives, this study emphasises the importance of dialogue and trust as pre-requisites for effective communication and participation in the preparedness phase. It is argued that a prioritisation of two-way communication and trust-building among all actors and placing the refugees at the centre of decision-making processes should be a pre-requisite to any further planning activities. Truly participatory and dialogical processes need to be implemented now, reflecting the refugees’ conceptions of their future. Keywords: Refugees, Participation, Communication with Disaster Affected Communities, Durable Solutions, Protracted Refugee Situations, Burma, Myanmar, Thai-Burmese Border, Repatriation iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. iii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................... vii List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... vii 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Theoretical Framework .................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 The Strategic-Relational Approach and Refugee Agency ............................................................ 3 2.3 Citizenship Participation, Refugees and Communication with Disaster-affected Communities .. 5 2.4 Options for the Future – Repatriation, Local Integration, Resettlement ....................................... 9 2.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 11 3. Research Context ............................................................................................................................ 13 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 13 3.2 The Conflict in Burma ................................................................................................................ 13 3.3 The Situation along the Thai-Burmese Border ........................................................................... 14 3.4 Recent Developments ................................................................................................................. 16 3.5 Research Location ....................................................................................................................... 19 3.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 20 4. Research Design .............................................................................................................................. 21 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 21 4.2 Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 21 4.3 Conceptual Scheme ..................................................................................................................... 22 4.4 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 23 4.5 Sampling ....................................................................................................................................
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