Outreach to the Shan, Northern Border

The programme seeks to improve the livelihoods of Shan and Lahu refugees by providing a combination of assistance. We provide material and financial support to community-based schools and Thai schools operating in the border areas of Chiang Mai Province and Mae Hong Son Province. Scholarships and teacher trainings are given out on a regular basis to encourage students to stay in schools longer and to improve the quality of education in schools respectively.

JRS actively supports the material needs of Shan self-run orphanages by providing food, healthcare, a safe shelter and other materials. We encourage income generating activities by communities through the provision of materials and capital, the development of markets for their products and the provision of occupational training opportunities.

JRS also supports some 600 Shan people who are currently residing in Ban Kung Jor Temporary Camp in Wieng Heng District. Shan are generally not recognized as refugees by the Thai government; therefore the UNHCR has no access to the refugees in Wieng Heng camp.

We seek to reduce statelessness within the Shan and Lahu people by advocating for their children to be registered at birth and to receive personal identification cards.

Did you know?
- Some 2.5 million people live in Thailand without citizenship. The majority of them are hill tribe people of Akna, Lanu, Lisu, Hmong and Karen ethnicity. Despite being born in Thailand, almost half of the country’s hill tribe people lack Thai citizenship and are unable to vote, buy land, seek legal employment, or travel freely.

- In December 2004, the Thai government acknowledged the problem of statelessness in Thailand and created an inter-ministerial taskforce to propose solutions to facilitate the acquisition of Thai nationality including systematic birth registration.

- Children of Burmese refugees and migrant workers may also lack nationality. Stateless children are at risk of being subject to hazardous or exploitative labour conditions, sexual and other abuse, denial of education and healthcare, and other violations of their basic human rights.

Source: Lynch, M. (2005) Lives on Hold: The Human Cost of Statelessness. Washington DC: Refugees International.

Jesuit Refugee Service

Outreach to the Shan, Northern Border