Mae Sot area

Mae Sot TBBC Field Office

804 Intarakhiree Road
Mae Sot
Tak 63110
tbbcmst@tbbc.org

A field coordinator, 4 field assistants, community liaison officer (borderwide), food security team (borderwide) and an administrator are all based here.

Mae Sot field office provides support to 3 camps, Mae La, Umpiem Mai and Nu Po, in Tak Province

Mae La

Orientation
Mae La is also known as ‘Beh Klaw’ in Karen, which means ‘cotton field’ due to the agricultural activities for which Karen leaders first negotiated permission for refugees to cross into the area in 1984.

History
The camp was originally established following the fall of the KNU base at the Thai village of Mae La on the border in 1984 with a population of 1,100. Shortly afterwards, due to security concerns, it was moved to the site where Zone C currently lies. After the fall of Manerplaw in January 1995, a number of camps were attacked in cross-border raids and the Thai authorities began to consolidate camps to improve security; Mae La was designated as the main consolidation camp in the area.

In April 1995, Mae La increased in size from 6,969 to 13,195 due to the closure of five camps to the north – Mae Ta Waw, Mae Salit, Mae Plu So, Kler Kho and Kamaw Lay Kho – and the move of Huay Heng later in October of the same year. Over the following year, the camp doubled in size again to 26,629 as those lost in the move came back into the camp.

In March 1997, some people were relocated here following the closure of Huai Bone camp (aka Don Pa Kiang) and again in February 1998 when Shoklo camp was closed.

Mae La is considered as a centre of studies for refugees, so the current population includes several thousand students who come to study in the camp (some from other camps but mostly from Burma). They are registered only as temporary inhabitants.

The camp was attacked in 1997 by DKBA troops with support from Burma Army units. There have been no incursions since then, but a mortar shell landed in Section A5 in March 1998. Every dry season, this area is quite tense with concerns relating to camp security – threats of armed attack and/or attempts to burn the camp.

The area of Karen State lying opposite Mae La camp is very rural with no large settlements or infrastructure. The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) maintains its 7th Brigade Headquarters nearby, and there are several Burma Army and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army outposts in the area (the DKBA is a faction of the KNLA which split off and aligned itself with the Burma Army in 1994).

Demographics
TBBC Feeding Population: 37,315 (August 2008)

Breakdown by Age	<5 Yrs	5-17 Yrs	18-59 Yrs	>59 Yrs
	14%	35%	47%	4%
Breakdown by Gender	Female	Male
	50%	50%
Breakdown by Ethnicity	Karen	Burman	Other
	97%	2%	1%

Resettlement (Source: IOM)
In 2005, RTG gave approval for resettlement opportunities to be offered to camp residents. Statistics for resettlement by camp is available since 2006. As of July 2008, 14,271 people have departed from Mae La since 2006, with a majority resettling in the USA.

Non-Governmental Organisations/UN Agencies

Umpiem Mai

Orientation
Umpiem Mai has the highest elevation of all the camps along the border with an altitude over 1100 metres.

History
The former Wangka and Mawker camps were relocated to Phop Phra district in mid to late 1999. The camps were relocated due to security concerns as Burmese forces had repeatedly attacked both camps (in March 1998, Wangka camp was 80% burnt to the ground and 4 people killed, the camp had also been attacked in 1997 and 1996). The decision to locate the new camp near a Hmong village called Umpiem Mai was made by the Thai authorities; UNHCR was brought in to draw up a camp plan. The relocation took approximately 6 months to complete.

Umpiem Mai was initially a harsh environment with little tree cover, torrential rain and a cold climate. The camp is situated on very hilly terrain and there was a significant danger from soil erosion particularly during the rainy season. It was probably due to these factors that some people preferred not to make the move.

Over the first year, the camp saw some significant programmes initiated to ensure the integrity of the environment and to help promote a more pleasant living area. COERR and UNHCR surveyed the area and developed tree-planting programmes along with soil erosion projects. Water supply provided by ARC is available in all sections of the camp, however as new arrivals build houses higher up the slopes their availability to piped water is compromised. Nonetheless, the water supply for the camp is so far sufficient even during the hot season.

In January 2001, medical services, which were originally provided by MSF, were handed over to two other medical NGOs, ARC and AMI. ARC is responsible for preventative care such as health education and sanitation while AMI took over the curative medical care, which mainly involves the managing of the camp hospital.

Demographics
TBBC Feeding Population: 15,207 (August 2008)

Breakdown by Age	<5 Yrs	5-17 Yrs	18-59 Yrs	>59 Yrs
	13%	33%	51%	3%
Breakdown by Gender	Female	Male
	50%	50%
Breakdown by Ethnicity	Karen	Burman	Mon	Other
	90%	5%	2%	1%

Resettlement (Source: IOM)
In 2005, RTG gave approval for resettlement opportunities to be offered to camp residents. Statistics for resettlement by camp is available since 2006. As of July 2008, 5,306 people have departed from Umpiem Mai since 2006.

Non-Governmental Organisations/UN Agencies

Nu Po

Orientation
Nu Po is also commonly spelt Noh Hpo, and means “small lake” in Karen.

History
This camp was set up in March 1997 after a major offensive during which the Burma Army took control of Duplaya District in Karen State. It was established to consolidate the existing refugee populations of Meteroke and Baw Ner Hta camps (both were set up in 1992 and had populations of 4,595 and 2,078 respectively) and to house new arrivals fleeing from the current offensive.

In late 1997, groups of new arrivals came into two areas outside the camp Ta Per Poo (2,221) and Nong Luang (771), where they received food and medical support from the NGOs before they were allowed to move into the camp.

In March 2005, approximately 800 Persons of Concern (PoC) from the Mae Sot area were transferred to the camp as part of the RTG’s policy to relocate all PoCs in urban areas to the border camps.

Demographics
TBBC Feeding Population: 14,410 (August 2008)

Breakdown by Age	<5 Yrs	5-17 Yrs	18-59 Yrs	>59 Yrs
	14%	32%	50%	4%
Breakdown by Gender	Female	Male
	49%	51%
Breakdown by Ethnicity	Karen	Burman	Mon	Other
	84%	11%	1%	4%

Resettlement (Source: IOM)
In 2005, RTG gave approval for resettlement opportunities to be offered to camp residents. Statistics for resettlement by camp is available since 2006. As of July 2008, 2,261 people have departed from Nu Po since 2006.

Non-Governmental Organisations/UN Agencies