Burma gained independence in 1948. Since then, it has seen communist insurgency, a series of ethnic rebellions, a coup d’etat, years of authoritarian military rule, numerous cease-fires and continuing armed conflict in its eastern border zones. More than two million Burmese people are now displaced and living outside the country. Another 500,000 are internally displaced.

Research from the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford, in the UK, focuses on crucial and overlooked aspects of forced migration in Burma, including the problem of serial displacement. Most literature on forced migration within the country has a human rights orientation. It focuses on the impact of armed conflicts in the eastern border zones accessible to aid agencies on the Thai border. This research attempts to redress the balance, concentrating on areas of Burma that are not affected by armed conflict and that are less accessible by international agencies.

Drawing from interviews, the researcher describes how people try to rehabilitate their lives and communities against the odds. The paper also identifies new forms of forced migration that have emerged hand in hand with the ceasefires of the 1990s. It points out that forced migration rarely happens just once. In-depth interviews with 36 internally displaced Karen people reveal that they have experienced more than 1,000 migration episodes between them: a result of fighting, forced labour, and the devastation of agricultural land by conflict.

The research draws on case studies from the Karen State, Kachin and Mon States and Kokang (in Shan State), to illustrate three distinct types of forced migration:

• Displacement by armed conflict: guerrilla tactics of Karen nationalists have led to brutal state counter-insurgency strategies which include forced relocation of civilian groups.
• Post-conflict displacement, generally due to military or development activities: for example, confiscation of land for logging, mining or infrastructure development; predatory taxation; or forced labour.
• Livelihoods and vulnerability induced displacement: natural disaster, population pressure, lack of access to health and education services, and loss of livelihoods due to inappropriate government policies and opium eradication programs all push people to migrate in order to survive.

Serial displacement does result from decades of armed conflict in Burma, especially in the insurgent-prone eastern borderlands. But forced migration also results from decades of bad governance by a militarised state. This research identifies three ‘ideal types’ of displacement but recognises that many individuals and families move for a combination of reasons. For humanitarian agencies wishing to address the needs of the internally displaced, it concludes with the following advice:

• Respect and respond to the voices of forced migrants, and encourage their participation in program planning and implementation.
• Design coherent protection strategies (incorporating behind-the-scenes advocacy with national and local authorities, discussions on governance and reform, enhanced standards of land and property rights).
• Treat local integration as a durable solution for migrants who wish to remain where they are, rather than assuming they will eventually want to return home.

Source(s):
‘Burma: The Changing Nature of Displacement Crises’, Refugee Studies Centre Working Paper No. 39, by Ashley South, February 2007 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: Thailand Burma Border Consortium, International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch, UN Myanmar, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

id21 Research Highlight: 16 August 2007

Further Information:
Ashley South

Contact the contributor: lerdoh@yahoo.co.uk

University of Oxford, UK

Refugee Studies Centre
Department of International Development (QEH)
University of Oxford
3 Mansfield Road
Oxford OX1 3BT
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1865 270722
Contact the contributor: rsc@qeh.ox.ac.uk