The United States of America has accepted 73,000 Burmese (Myanmar) refugees from Thailand as part of an agreement with the UNHCR, to provide resettlement for these stateless refugees. Based on our research, this is a combination of Burmese Karen (Christian) and Rohingya Muslim refugees, but we do not have an exact count.
Tun Myin and his family confirming their interest in resettlement to the United States in Mae La Oon camp, north-western Thailand. (Source: UNHCR)
The UNHCR states: “One of the world’s largest resettlement programs recently came to an end in Thailand when UNHCR received the final expressions of interest from eligible Myanmar refugees who wish to start a new life in the United States. The group resettlement program was initiated in 2005, with the support of the Thai and US governments, to offer a durable solution to the tens of thousands of refugees from Myanmar who found themselves in a protracted refugee situation and dependent on international assistance in the nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border.”
“Anne C. Richard, assistant secretary at the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, said that her country had welcomed and settled more than 73,000 refugees from Myanmar since 2005. ‘The United States is proud to have given a new start to these refugees. Resettled Burmese refugees have thrived in their new homes, and enriched their new communities. Many have become homeowners, small business owners and American citizens,’ she said.”
“‘We expect several more thousand to arrive in the coming year as the program winds down,” she added. ‘This successful resettlement program has reached its natural conclusion following the January 24, 2014 deadline for Burmese refugees to express their interest in resettlement to UNHCR.'”
“The program’s pending closure was first announced and implemented in January last year in Mae La camp. It was subsequently rolled out to the other camps in different stages. Eligible refugees in each camp were given three months to decide whether or not to apply for resettlement to the US under the simplified procedures.”
“The process ended last Friday as the deadline for applications passed in the last three camps in Mae Hong Son province, namely Mae La Oon, Mae Ra Ma Ruang and Ban Mae Surin.”
“Over the past year, nearly 6,500 Myanmar refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have expressed interest in the US group resettlement program – 2,500 more individuals than in 2012, an indication that many refugees had been waiting for the last chance before making a final decision to resettle or not.”
“In addition to the US departures, some 19,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand have gone to other resettlement countries, including Australia, Canada, Finland and Japan, in the last nine years.”
“‘The end of this chapter does not mean that resettlement is closed completely,’ said Mireille Girard, UNHCR’s representative in Thailand. ‘UNHCR will continue to identify and submit refugees with specific protection needs on an individual basis to various countries. We are also working with the Thai government and resettlement countries to reunite families and make sure family members can be resettled together.'”
“There are an estimated 120,000 Myanmar refugees remaining in the nine camps in Thailand, including more than 40,000 not registered by the Thai authorities.”