“Uncertainty – A Visit to Thailand and Malaysia”

We didn’t slide down anyone’s chimney, but late on December 25^th Marcia and I landed in Chiang Mai, Thailand where we had a few days to visit with our son, Sean, who has been teaching there.  Then on January 1, we met up with 7 others from the Mid America Region of the ABC to begin a visit to the refugee camps in Thailand followed by a visit to some of the Chin refugees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Highlights of the trip include participating in the 20^th Anniversary Celebration of the Mae Ra Mo (or Mae La Ma Luang) refugee camp southwest of the town of Mae Sariang.  We spent our first two terms in Mae Sariang in the 1980s and it is gratifying to see children we knew now grown and serving the church in so many ways.

In the refugee camp, it was a privilege to help baptize some of the 250 new church members one morning and it was exciting to participate in the worship services attended by several thousand people.  We were honored to be able to meet and visit with refugee leaders like Dr. Cynthia, Pastor Robert Htwe and Dr. Simon.  The resilience and joy of life of the refugees themselves are always an inspiration and we’re amazed at what God is doing through the work of other missionaries and local Thai and Karen Christians.  The Chin in Malaysia also inspire us with their dedication to worshipping God, helping their people and finding ways to live even while not having legal status in the country.

While there are many memories that will make us smile, the overall atmosphere of the refugee situation in both Thailand and Malaysia could be summed up in the word “uncertainty”.   For months prior to our visit it was uncertain whether our group would be allowed to enter any of the refugee camps in Thailand.  Even with permission arranged in advance, we still had to sit in our vans at one camp entrance for 45 minutes while soldiers and guards checked with their superiors about whether we could proceed or not. 

Leaving the camp, one guard was very nervous.  Several of our group had to walk over the rough dirt road leading to the Bible School area as the van did not have the ground clearance to enter.  The guard was afraid some of his superiors might see several obvious foreigners walking around the camp entrance raising questions as to what we were doing there.  He stressed we had to hurry and enter the van as fast as we could so that no one would see.

The Mae La Camp is situated along a 3 mile stretch of a paved road an hour from the town of Mae Sot.  In prior visits, all along the camp frontage, this road was busy with song taews (pick up truck taxis) picking up and delivering people and goods.  Still more people would gather to talk, buy things at a few shops that opened up to the road  and just enjoy a little open space.  On this trip however, the road was absolutely deserted and all shops closed.  No one could be seen and vehicles, including ours, could only speed by.  No stopping and looking allowed.

In addition to the tension we could feel from our own visits, the staff of some of the NGOs (Non-government organizations – the non-profits that serve the refugees in the camps) we met pointed out how difficult it is now to get funding to help the refugees.  Over the last few years, a new openness in Burma generated excitement and interest among governments and NGOs in working inside Burma.  That could be good, except the result has been a decline in interest and support of refugees.  For example, The Border Consortium that feeds and houses the refugees in all the camps in Thailand has had to cut food rations and building materials several times over the past couple years. 

Some NGO staff we met indicated that due to a lack of funding for refugees combined with talks between military leaders in Burma and Thailand, this could be the last year for the refugee camps.  Returning to Burma is the dream of many of the refugees still in the camps but with land confiscation a continuing long time trend, land mines, lack of jobs, lack of schools, lack of training and education, no progress in peace talks, continuing violence in many ethnic areas and a myriad of other issues, virtually no one in the refugee or NGO communities feels that this is a good time to force refugees to return to Burma.

The Chin in Malaysia face an equally uncertain future.  We were not able to meet directly with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) representatives but some of the Chin told us that the UN is also affected by a lack of funding to help refugees as funding is directed into Burma itself.  The result in Malaysia is that UNHCR does not have sufficient staff to keep up with registering all the refugees in the country.  Meanwhile, Florence Li from ABHMS recently met with UNHCR who indicated that the Chin are no longer seen as a priority for registration.  No registration means they are not eligible for resettlement to another country like the US.  Also, without registration, 10s of thousands of Chin in Malaysia are vulnerable to arrest, detention or other problems.  Further, as illegal residents, their children cannot go to school and medical care is not available. 

The Chin are forming their own organizations in Kuala Lumpur to provide limited medical facilities and schools and they do a remarkable job.  But the entrances to these schools, clinics, offices, etc., cannot be marked in any way since they are not legal organizations.  A sign in one of the schools we visited indicted that even with the schools they have formed, only about half the kids get an elementary education.  As uncertain as life in Malaysia is for the Chin, it is sobering to consider that they judge life in Malaysia to be still better than life back in Burma.  So, they remain where they are and hope for something to change in the future.

We wish we could relieve the uncertainty the people we met face every day.  The best we can do though, is offer encouragement.  We think of Peter and the disciples when they saw Jesus walking on the water.  Peter, was brave enough to respond to Jesus’ call and he left the boat and started to walk on the water.  As a fisherman, Peter most certainly understood storms and boats.  He was afraid in the storm, but it was a fear he understood and he would have understood how to handle the boat to mitigate the effects of the storm.  Yet when Jesus called him, Peter was willing to leave what he knew and understood and venture somewhere new to a place he did not understand.  This is not unlike the refugees that leave their home and live on the run or in another country.

Peter did OK walking on the water, in this place he did not understand, as long as he kept his focus on Jesus.  But when he started to look around he realized he was in danger.  Then he sunk into the water.  Only when he put his focus again on Jesus and held onto Him, could he rise up and regain his footing on top of the water.  It is an example for the Karen, Chin and all of us to keep our focus on Christ.  Holding on to Him, we can live in times of uncertainty and in places and situations we do not fully understand.

As always, we thank you for your support that makes our work possible.  We pray we can all keep our focus on Christ and hold on to Him in this coming year.

Duane & Marcia