Mae Hong Son TBBC Field Office

43/5 Panklawnichom Rd
Amphur Muang
MaeHongSon 58000
tbbcmhs@tbbc.org

A field coordinator, 3 field assistants, the nutrition team (who work borderwide), capacity building coordinator, and an administrator are based here.

MHS field office provides support to 2 camps, Ban Mai Nai Soi and Ban Mae Surin , in Mae Hong Son Province and also Shan refugees at Wieng Heng in Chiangmai province.

Ban Mai Nai Soi

Orientation
Ban Mai Nai Soi is also known as Ban Tractor/ Ban Kwai/ Site 1.

History
Ban Mai Nai Soi is the result of camp consolidations in 1996, during which the original Karenni Camps 1, 2 and 3 were combined into one site, with the addition of Nai Soi being included in 2002.

The original camp was established on the Karenni side of the border in 1989, and it has been moved many times since. It moved into Thailand in August 1993, but was forced back across the border in July 1995, following the breakdown of the Karenni ceasefire with Rangoon. Camp 1 residents joined this camp in January 1996, before it was finally moved to its present location in March of the same year. Nine months later, in December 1996, it was attacked by Burma Army troops. Nai Soi also suffered an attack in September 1998.

The camp still reflects its original geographic make-up, consisting of three main sections – Ban Tractor, Ban Kwai and Nai Soi. During this time, the population has grown from 1,714 (May 1996) to over 18,000 people now.

Major influxes into the population include a few hundred Shan refugees arriving in March 1998, an increase of over 1,100 during January/February 1999, and a single group of over 750 arriving in March 2000. During the end of 2005 and the start of 2006, around 200 new arrivals arrived and were kept in the camp’s holding centre in Section 18.

Due to its proximity to the border, this camp is quite vulnerable. It was shelled by a combined force of Burma Army troops and its allies in January 1997, causing one death and two injuries, and Nai Soi was also shelled in September 1998 resulting in one Thai villager being wounded. During the 2005 dry season, heavy mortar shelling of nearby areas across the border could often be heard in camp. Landmines have been reported on both sides of the border near the camp, and the Burma Army have a base across the border from the Border Patrol Police post past Ban Kwai.

Demographics
Overall Population: 17,644 (July 2007)

Non-Governmental Organisations/UN Agencies

Ban Mae Surin

Orientation
Ban Mae Surin is also known as Site 2 and was previously called Karenni Camp 5.

History
Refugees were first located here along the Mae Surin River in November 1991 and it has been the site of many of the refugee camp consolidations since. In January 1993, most of the residents of Karenni Camp 4 moved to this site. Karenni Camp 6, located further downstream about 2 kms from the border and with a population of about 300, was moved here in July 1994. Again, in March 1998, when many of the smaller Salween camps were consolidated into what is now Mae La Oon camp, 291 Karennis relocated to Site 2 from Klo Pa camp. And in June 1998, 195 residual refugees from the original Karenni Camp 4 arrived and settled in Section 4, the first section you reach as you arrive into camp. Unlike Site 1, this is a very isolated camp and still manages to maintain strong elements of the typical villages that many of the residents originally came from.
This camp has never been attacked.

Demographics
Overall Population: 2,607 (July 2007)

Non-Governmental Organisations/UN Agencies

Wieng Heng

Orientation
Wieng Heng camp is also known as ‘Ban Mai Kung Kyaw’ or ‘Pieng Luang’ in Thai and ‘Peng Long’ in Shan.

History
Following Burma Army and UWSA attacks in 2001, and their subsequent greater control of the area opposite Wieng Haeng in Shan State, a group of 600 Shan refugees from 4 villages in the area - Pang Kum Kaw, Pang Mai Soong, Pang Houk and Pang Yao – sought shelter in Nong Kok temple for an initial three months. Following pressure from local Thai authorities, the refugees had to relocate to the nearby temple of Wat Wan Chong in Pieng Luang for a year. The population was then moved again to Kueng Kyaw camp nearby Pieng Luang.
In 2002, the refugees gained permission from the temple authorities to move onto the current site, as the land is owned by the temple.

Within a week of setting up the camp, local Thai authorities asked the refugees to relocate to Loilam across the border in Shan State but, as there were no clinics or schools there, many of them went either to stay with relatives in the local area or to find work in Chiang Mai. During this time, the population reduced to 200 or more.

Since then, the Thai authorities have wanted the refugees that dispersed at that time to return as they can be more easily controlled and monitored. The population has now increased to around its original number of 600, with new arrivals also arriving every month.

The camp lies opposite an area originally controlled by the Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA) but, following Burma Army successes, is now overlooked by a number of military outposts on the tops of hills that straddle the border. These are controlled by various players: not only the Burma Army, but also the United Wa State Army (UWSA) ceasefire group, the Shan State Army (SSA) resistance group as well as the Thai Army.

Demographics
Overall Population: 604 (July 2007)

Non-Governmental Organisations/UN Agencies