The IRC in Thailand
Photo: Peter Biro/IRC
The IRC started working in Thailand in 1976 in response to the influx of refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Today, we serve people uprooted from Myanmar, also known as Burma, who began crossing into Thailand in 1984. The IRC is aiding nearly 140,000 refugees in nine camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border, providing drinking water and food as well as services like health care, sanitation, legal assistance and resettlement processing, and protection for children and abused women.
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Inside our work in Thailand
When refugees enter Thailand from neighboring countries, the IRC works with local partners to provide them with a safe environment to recover from illness and injuries, give birth to healthy babies, find jobs and start over.
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How We Help
- The IRC responds to emergencies by providing urgent health care and supplies.
- The IRC provides ongoing medical care, focusing on pregnant women, babies and children and preventing and treating malaria.
- The IRC provides legal counseling, emotional support and referral services to refugees who are victims of crime or abuse, focusing on women.
- The IRC helps land-mine victims and others with special needs with medical care, prostheses and emotional support.
- The IRC assists people seeking admission to the United States as refugees by processing their asylum claims with the U.S. government.
- The IRC collaborates with local authorities and partners to protect the rights of children, migrant workers and displaced people and ensures they have access to services.
When fire swept through the Ban Mae Surin camp on March 22, thirteen-year old Sha Nay Htoo’s immediate reaction was not to flee the flames, but to help rescue other refugees. Today, Sha Nay is lying in a hospital bed with third degree burns over most of his body.
Research
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In The Media
January 22, 2013 | New York Times (Editorial)
December 14, 2012 | The Guardian
April 25, 2012 | Celebrity Baby Scoop
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