Negotiating the Regime of Identification: A Case Study on Displaced Persons in Mae La Refugee Camp and Mae Sot Township

Abstract

The refugee situation in Thailand has lasted for 30 years in a protracted situation. An encampment policy has been employed by the Thai state to deal with this protracted issue. In refugee camps in Thailand, special regulations related to security policies, such as restriction of movement and employment, have been enforced for displaced persons from Myanmar living in the camps. Under these conditions, displaced persons have turned into passive actors waiting for humanitarian assistance. Based on qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews and in-depth interviews with key informants, and non-participant observation for data collection in Mae La refugee camp and in Mae Sot District, located in Tak province, this thesis examines how displaced persons from Myanmar in refugee camp can be considered strategic agents through studying identification documents used in refugee camps and border towns. The thesis aims to see how displaced persons engage themselves with the regime of identification in the context of refugee camps and border towns in Thailand in order to access to assistances, better rights, and protection. The three concepts of “State of Exception”, “Governmentality” and “Technology of power” have been used to describe the regime of identification in refugee camps and border towns. State of exception is used to explain how refugee camps and border towns are exceptional spaces. The terms “Governmentality” and “Technology of power” are used to explain how the Thai state and humanitarian agencies used identification documents to identify and verify displaced persons for the purposes of management and regulation. This thesis illustrates that displaced persons in Mae La refugee camp have learnt how to live and use identification documents to access humanitarian assistance and protection. In addition, this study finds that characteristics of Mae Sot District lead displaced persons to use various kinds of identification documents to negotiate rights to work, education and citizenship. Identification documents are thus not a technology of power to control displaced persons. Rather, they are reversed by displaced persons to seek better opportunities. Displaced persons should not be seen as passive actors, but rather strategic actors who have learnt how to negotiate with controlled power for better assistance, rights, and protection.