In the remote and apparently idyllic forest area on the border between Myanmar and Thailand are several refugee camps surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by Thai soldiers, who make sure nobody leaves and anyone who wants to come in pays a bribe. 　

The refugees live in cramped bamboo huts. Pigs and chickens roam freely in the camps, which is home to refugees from all over Myanmar. There is no running water and seldom electricity. Thiha Yarzar, who fled his country after being released from jail as part of a general amnesty in 2008, lives in Umpien camp with his sister, her husband and their two children.　

The many scars on Thiha's body are a constant reminder of his time in jail. "They filled a rubber tube with sand and beat me with it. My hands were broken; I have lots of scars on my head. They hit me with a pistol. Then they poured water on my face," he recalls.

"At the time I was like a cradle between two poles, attached on my hands and my ankles. Two people side by side, they kicked me while I was hanging and they poured water on my face."

18 years in jail

Thiha was arrested after participating in the student protests that broke out in August 1988, and became known as the 8888 uprising. He survived the bloody crackdown but was jailed and spent almost 18 years in various prisons. He says the torture got worse as the years passed, adding that he and his fellow students paid a very high price for their fight for democracy.　

As part of recent reforms, the government has released hundreds of political prisoners this year but there are still many behind bars in jails and camps across the country, where torture is common.

Hard to get refugee status

Many former political prisoners find it hard to continue living in Myanmar after their release, which is why they escape to Thailand if they can. However, they live in constant fear of being deported back and often have to bribe the police, which is why they try to get refugee status if they can. But Thiha, who has tried in vain to get refugee status for years, says that the Thai government is not very supportive and does not allow former Burmese prisoners to go elsewhere either.

He also says there is no protection from the United Nations' refugee agency, the UNHCR. Although there is an office in the camp, it is usually closed.

Thailand has never signed the Geneva Refugee Convention, which makes it difficult for the UNHCR and other NGOs to provide support to those living in the camps along the border. The German carpenter Markus Baude has made it his lifetime ambition to fight for Thiha's and other refugees' right to refugee status. He has founded an NGO called Exppact and collected money in Germany for his campaign.

"As long as they don't have refugee status, it's important for us to offer them something that might later be helpful, like English and computer classes and also psychological help. That's where the name comes from: Ex-Political Prisoners Advocacy, Counseling and Training."

Psychological counseling is one of the main things that the 140,000 former prisoners living in Thailand need, as they face insecurity and hardship.

Reportedly, the government is currently in talks with Myanmar to send the refugees back despite the fact that the former prisoners and NGOs are very much against such a move.

Author: Felix Sayid / sb
Author: Anne Thomas