Decisions for crossing the border : a case study of Myanmar displaced persons

Abstract

Internal displacement issues are gaining heightened importance worldwide. The 2011 global report of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center shows that for 2011 there were approximately 26.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). Myanmar’s continued armed conflicts still cause movements of forced migration, which makes this phenomenon a current issue. The Myanmar government does not support or recognize IDPs by armed conflicts, which make the circumstances for these individuals even more difficult. This is one of the main reasons why many people in Myanmar have migrated to neighboring countries. As most conflicts take place in South-East Myanmar, neighboring Thailand has consequently received many thousands of displaced persons. Today, Thailand hosts approximately 140,000 displaced persons from Myanmar who are living in temporary shelters along the Thai-Myanmar border. This thesis analysis the decision making process of displaced persons for crossing the border and if these decisions were constrained or if displaced persons had the agency and thus the opportunity to choose by themselves whether to stay in Myanmar or to migrate to Thailand. Taking the current changes in Myanmar into account, this thesis also examines how the future of these persons could change and if they would like to return. Key findings in this conducted research show that nearly all the interviewed displaced persons were able to choose by themselves when making the decision to cross the border to Thailand. Of course the decision was to some extent influenced by the armed conflicts and other factors such as the lack of food; however it was not a constraint decision by institutions or by the whole community. When considering returning back to Myanmar in the future, about half of the interviewees want to return, nevertheless only if there are real peace agreements and no more conflicts.