Myanmar refugees face crackdown in Thailand

Published July 21, 2014
A refugee family hold numbered placards as they pose for a photo during a census conducted by the Thai authorities at Mae La refugee camp, near the Thailand-Myanmar border in Mae Sot district, Tak province, north of Bangkok. -Photo by Reuters
A refugee family hold numbered placards as they pose for a photo during a census conducted by the Thai authorities at Mae La refugee camp, near the Thailand-Myanmar border in Mae Sot district, Tak province, north of Bangkok. -Photo by Reuters
Refugees who fled Myanmar wait for the Thai authorities to conduct a census at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters
Refugees who fled Myanmar wait for the Thai authorities to conduct a census at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters
A refugee who fled Myanmar smokes a cigarette while waiting for the Thai authorities to conduct a census at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters
A refugee who fled Myanmar smokes a cigarette while waiting for the Thai authorities to conduct a census at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters
A refugee who fled Myanmar watches from behind a bamboo wall of a stilt house as Thai authorities conduct a census at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters
A refugee who fled Myanmar watches from behind a bamboo wall of a stilt house as Thai authorities conduct a census at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters
A refugee who fled Myanmar holds her child as she walks at Mae La refugee camp, near the Thailand-Myanmar border. -Photo by Reuters
A refugee who fled Myanmar holds her child as she walks at Mae La refugee camp, near the Thailand-Myanmar border. -Photo by Reuters
A refugee who fled Myanmar waits for the Thai authorities to conduct a census at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters
A refugee who fled Myanmar waits for the Thai authorities to conduct a census at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters
Refugees who fled Myanmar walk at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters
Refugees who fled Myanmar walk at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters
Refugees who fled Myanmar are seen at their stilt houses at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters
Refugees who fled Myanmar are seen at their stilt houses at Mae La refugee camp. -Photo by Reuters

Thai authorities have started conducting a census at Mae La on refugees who fled neighbouring Myanmar, in a bid to crackdown on illegal workers, raising fears among the refugees of an imminent repatriation to Myanmar. Thailand's military government said last Monday it would send home 100,000 refugees who have been living in camps for two decades and more along the border with Myanmar, a move rights groups say would create chaos at a tense time for both nations.

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