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Huay Kaloke Situation Report



Huay Kaloke Situation Report

Huay Kaloke (Wang Kha) refugee camp located a few kilometers north of Mae
Sot used to be the most accessible of the refugee camps.  In the recent
months it has become the strictest of the camps.  New rules and regulations
have been put into place by the Thai authorities which are stricter than any
before. The lack of leadership from the established Karen leaders has made
many of the people lose faith in them.  It is commonly felt that the
leadership is not standing up enough to the Thai authorities.  Objections
raised by the camp residents to their leaders about Thai regulations are
commonly met with the response that as the Karen are guests in Thailand then
they should stay quietly and accept whatever the Thais do.  Although they do
not wish to return to Burma until they feel safe, they are beginning to
question whether Thailand is any safer.  This report details some of the
problems which the refugees in Huay Kaloke have to face.

Fees:

Rent from the camp residents
The Thai owner of the land on which Huay Kaloke refugee camp sits has
required for some time that the residents pay him rent for the land.  This
has had to be covered by the refugees themselves, without any assistance
from NGO's or Karen organizations. Huay Kaloke is the only Karen refugee
camp which has to pay this tax.  Until last year, the rent was 100 Baht for
the year, then it was raised to 25 Baht a month.  Following the DKBA-Burmese
raid on the camp, and while the people were still living under plastic
sheeting in the surrounding rice fields, the landowner raised the rent to 30
Baht a month.  Once the houses had been rebuilt, he raised the rent to 50
Baht per month.  Originally there was an option, that if a household could
not pay the 50 Baht, then they could work in  the landowner's rice fields
one day out of the month (providing their own food, tools, and transport).
So many people chose this option, that he then announced that this was not
an option anymore and that everyone would have to pay the 50 Baht.  For many
people, this tax is too high.  For the elderly, and families where the major
breadwinner has died or is gone, it is almost impossible to pay.  In many
instances, neighbours with a bit more money have been helping those less
fortunate.

Rent from the market residents.
The landowner requires that the residents of the market pay 200 Baht each
month for rent.  The general belief is that those that sell things in the
market are rich.  Until recently, aid agencies did not provide them with any
aid, because that it was felt that they earned enough from selling goods to
cover food and other costs for themselves.  The reality is that while this
may have been true in the past, it no longer is.  Many of these people had
quite a bit of money when they were traders on the Burma side, but after
being burned out by the Burmese army at Old Wang Kha, then New Wang Kha, to
Kaw Moo Rah, then on the Thai side at Wang Kaew, an accidental fire in Huay
Kaloke a year ago, and then most recently in the DKBA/Burmese attack of 28
January, the shopkeepers are deep in debt.  The goods which are sold in
their shops are all on consignment from the Thailand Chinese wholesalers in
Mae Sot.  Every time their shops are burned they must pay the wholesalers
back for the lost merchandise; the way to do this is to sell more.  The
shopkeepers now owe for at least two lost stocks plus their present stock.
The shopkeepers are now no better off than the villagers, with some being
worse off.  At 200 Baht, the size of the rent here is too much for most of
the shopkeepers to bear, however if they don't have their shops, then they
cannot repay their debts.

40 Baht security fees per month from each householder.
Camp residents are required to provide one person from each household in a
section two times each months to provide security in the camp.  This is
supplemental to the Thai soldiers.  If a household cannot provide anybody
(and women are not accepted for this duty) then they must pay 20 Baht each
time.  This money is collected by the section leaders and then given to the
men who do stand security.  If a man falls asleep on this duty, he must pay
a 50 Baht penalty to the Thai soldiers.

Rice fees.
When collecting the donated rice from the rice store, each house has to pay
4 Baht.  Previously this money was given to the KRC, but now it is not known
who receives the money.  While not a lot of money in itself, when combined
with the other fees, it becomes an extra burden.

Water fees
Previous to the DKBA/Burmese attack in January, the landowner collected a
200-300 Baht fee from people who had wells in the market.  These wells were
not MSF wells and most were located in people's private homes.  Neighbours
often came to take water from these wells also for free rather than carry it
from a distant stream.  Following the burning of the market, the landowner
took the opportunity while people were not living at their houses and had
refuse thrown into the wells in order to keep people from using them.  This
was in the hope that the people would then be forced to buy water from him
as the only other alternative is the stream.

In the 1996 dry season, the landowner had attempted this same thing with the
village by filling in all of the wells which the residents had dug along the
edges of the rice fields.  While many of these wells had been dug by the
refugees themselves, a few were MSF wells.  This attempt failed as there
were still other wells within the camp and also the stream, however, it did
make carrying water more difficult for many people.

Travel Pass fees.
Until recently, there had been a 10 Baht pass which was purchased from the
Thai soldiers at the checkpoint in front of the camp.  The soldiers no
longer issue this pass, and now the refugees are required to pay a 10 Baht
fee at the checkpoint on the road going out of the Thai village of Huay
Kaloke on the way to Mae Sot.  This money is shared between the Aq Saw
soldiers manning the checkpoint and the songtaew driver.  This is in
addition to the 15 Baht fare to Mae Sot.  This puts a round trip to Mae Sot
at 40 Baht, making this trip very expensive for many people.

Rice Distribution
For most villagers, the rice distribution has continued as usual.  It is
given two times every month.  For new arrivals, on the other hand, the
situation is different.  They are not allowed to collect rice for the first
two months that they are in the camp.  This is perhaps an attempt by the
Thais to discourage the new arrivals from staying and any new refugees from
coming.  In order to compensate for this, some rice is taken out of the
rations that are given to the people who are on the rice lists and given to
the new arrivals.  The result is that everyone's rations are cut.  The
residents of the market do now receive rice.  The Thai soldiers are also
given a rice ration from the rice which is donated to the camp.  They take
at least one big bag of rice at every rice delivery.

Access to the Camp.
Access to the camp has become very difficult.  Huay Kaloke came used to be
visited quite often by foreigners and the residents were able to come and go
as they liked.  The camp was even mentioned as a destination in a guide book
to Thailand.  This has all changed now.  Foreigners are required to be on a
registration list to enter the camp.

Refugees who do not have Huay Kaloke refugee registration cards are turned
away.  In some respect this is good as it keeps down the number of people
who don't believe in the camp and provides more security, however many
people lost their cards when the camp was burned and as no new registration
has been held, it is sometimes difficult for residents to gain entry.

The Thai security are nervous of foreigners who may be journalists as they
received some bad press in one of the English language newspapers recently.

Access to the camp is no longer in the hands of the district officials and
now lies with the military.  Foreigners who wish to enter the camp are asked
by the soldiers at the checkpoint to go to the Border Patrol Police base in
Mae Sot to ask permission.

The 19th of July is an important Buddhist holiday when many men ordain as
monks for the rainy season.  This year Karen were not allowed to exit the
camp to worship in the monasteries around Huay Kaloke, nor were people
allowed in to worship at the monastery in the camp.

As of the 15th of July, the Thai traders who usually come into the camp in
the morning to sell vegetables, meats, and other products are no longer
allowed to enter.  The shopkeepers in the market are also not allowed to
leave the camp to replenish their stock.  The result is that it is going to
become increasingly difficult for people to buy essential items such as
charcoal, candles, cooking oil, etc. and to supplement their diets with
vegetables and meats which are not given by aid agencies.  The refugees are
only given rice, salt, and fish paste, and the occasional one-off donation
of beans or oil.  Some of the refugees have small vegetables plots, but they
haven't born fruit yet and probably will not do so for some time yet.

Motorized vehicles are no longer allowed into the camp, except for those of
the Thai military and civil service, and the MSF team.  The vehicles of the
KRC are also not allowed to enter the camp.

A barbed wire fence is being built around the camp which will cut access
down to one entry and exit point when it is completed.  

Thai Soldiers:
The Thai security at Huay Kaloke camp consists of three checkpoints/military
posts.  One of them is on the road at the village gate of the Thai village
of Huay Kaloke.  It is manned by Aw Saw.  The second post is in the rice
fields near the new Huay Bone section of the camp.  This one is manned by
Border Patrol Police.  The third and main checkpoint is at the front of the
camp where the line cars stop and the road goes into the camp.  This is a
joint Border Patrol Police and Aw Saw checkpoint.  The Aw Saw used to have a
fourth checkpoint at a side entrance near the camps monastery, but this was
recently closed by barbed wire and the soldiers moved to the front
checkpoint.  The BPP and the Aw Saw have separate accommodations. Their
defensive works consisted of two unmanned wooden observation points and a
one food deep by half a foot wide trench which surrounds their position on
three sides.  Their positions are not sandbagged, and their weapons and
equipment are not in easily accessible places.  Their posture is not one of
readiness for an attack.  The soldiers do patrol through the camp and it is
then that they feel the need to carry their weapon.

Although it is necessary to have security, the refugees do not trust the
soldiers.  When the camp was burned, the Thai army had left the checkpoint
unmanned and the Aw Saw on the road would not come out of their houses.  The
Thai soldiers arrived after the fire department.  Most of the refugees feel
that if the DKBA/Burmese come again that the Thais soldiers will run away.

There have some abuses of their authority, especially by the Aw Saw
troopers.  Residents have been asked at gunpoint to pay for entrance into
the camp.  One man was beaten and the tire on his cart slashed after he
refused to give water to the soldiers when they had already stopped him and
taken his water on two previous trips that day.

A recent letter in one of the English newspapers related that the soldiers
had raped some of the women in the camp.  While this is untrue, on at least
one occasion, a group of drunken soldiers requested that a Karen woman be
provided for them by the Karen camp security.  When they were told no, they
fired a rifle at the security man's feet.  They did later apologize for this
incident.

Other Thai Regulations:
+  There are no longer any videos allowed into the camp, and all of the
video movie houses must close.

+  Telephones are no longer allowed into the camp.

+   A new pass arrangement will eventually replace the present one.

+  A new camp resident registration will take place and new cards will be
issue.  This has not yet happened.

+  All shops within the village portion of the camp will be required to
close.  The shops in the market are allowed to stay open as long as their
stocks last.  The shopkeepers are not allowed to leave the camp, so once
their stocks run out then they will have to close.

+  Thai soldiers will continue to patrol the camp day and night and will
enforce all of the rules.

+  If the soldiers see anyone or anything which they think is suspicious in
or around a house, then they will have the right to search throughout all of
the contents of the house.

+  The curfew will remain with all people inside from 8 PM until 6 am.
Lights must be out by 9 PM.  Entrance and exit from the camp is only from 6
am until 6 PM.

+  Any distribution of aid items will be done by the Thai authorities.
NGO's Christian organizations and the KRC will not be able to distribute
things as they used to.

+  A fully itemized list of all donated items must be given to the Thai
authorities before any distribution of aid.




 
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