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Journal of Refugee Studies Advance Access originally published online on June 20, 2008
Journal of Refugee Studies 2008 21(3):380-397; doi:10.1093/jrs/fen022
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© The Author [2008]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Refugee Business: Strategies of Work on the Thai–Burma Border

Inge Brees

Conflict Research Group, Ghent University, Universiteitsstraat 8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium

Inge.Brees{at}ugent.be

Burmese refugees have been living in Thailand for over 20 years. Warehousing has not prevented them from seeking better livelihood opportunities, but the options are limited and illegal. Thai policy forbids refugee labour, and the last regularization of migrant workers dates from 2004. This formal legal framework is circumvented by inventive strategies of the refugees themselves, but also by Thai stakeholders such as the employers and local governments. There is an urgent need for advocacy on the benefits of refugee self-reliance and legal access to work. The Thai Government needs to review its stance regarding refugee labour to the benefit of both the refugees and the Thai host population. The political will to achieve this, combined with the current international aid flows and resettlement programmes, can make the refugees’ presence even less of a ‘burden’ for Thailand than is the case today.

Key Words: livelihoods • Burmese refugees • Thailand • refugee labour • refugee self-reliance

MS received April 1, 2007 ; revised MS received March 1, 2008
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