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For the people of Burma who have been forced to flee their homes, refugee camps are often not a place of refuge. Over 100,000 people currently seek safety in refugee camps in Thailand. What they receive when they arrive is quite different. First, they learn they are not considered refugees because Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention (an international treaty). Instead, they are considered "economic migrants," and are at the mercy of the Thai government. Second, depending upon the camp to which they are assigned, they may or may not be permitted to erect "permanent" shelters made of bamboo, which afford some protection from the rain and sun. For those camps that are deemed temporary, the inhabitants are forced to sleep directly on the ground, and are given only plastic with which to form a roof. Third, they may or may not be allowed to form schools for their children; without the opportunity for schooling, there is little hope for an educated next generation. Fourth, many of these camps' locations are suspiciously favorable to an encroaching Burmese army. The camps are frequently located but a few kilometers away from the border with Burma, making them vulnerable to nighttime attacks by Burmese soldiers. In fact, one camp, Huay Kaloke, has been burned down twice in the past two years. After the first burning, Thai authorities promised its inhabitants a new, safer location, further within Thai territory. That empty promise did nothing to prevent a second burning, in 1998. It is now 1999, and Thai authorities claim there is no way the camp can be moved for at least six to twelve more months.

In some camps, people turn around and return to Burma soon after they arrive; even though their lives are dangerous in their villages, they find the circumstances in a camp not much better. The Thais regularly threaten to repatriate the asylum-seekers as soon as the weather permits. Many villagers would rather return to their homes at their own initiative rather than by force of the Thai army.

For the refugees, there is no safety at home, and there is no safety abroad. The only resolution is to create a climate of democracy and human rights within Burma, so that its people have no reason to leave.