Memorandum submitted by the Karen Women's
Organisation
THE KAREN WOMEN'S ORGANISATION VIEW ON CROSS
BORDER ASSISTANCE
1. THE PARTICULAR
NEEDS OF
IDPS IN
BURMA AND
REFUGEES IN
THAILAND
a. Life Security: As they are hiding
from the military offensive and moving from place to place to
seek for safety of their lives.
b. Food security: IDPs cannot carry
out their normal work such as farming and plantation because they
have to abandon their villages and also their crops are destroyed.
There is need for food especially at the emergency time, meaning
during the fighting happens in their areas and when their crops
are destroyed.
c. Health: There is a very high rate
of maternal death and neonatal.
d. Education: Particularly for girls
and children- There is a need for middle school, high school and
post secondary school.
2. THE CHALLENGES
FACED IN
DELIVERING AID
AND ASSISTANCE
TO THESE
GROUPS
a. Security: Physical difficulties to
delivery aid but it is possible.
b. Designing flexible implantation of programs
that adaptable to the situation.
c. Human Resource- people can delivery aid
but need more capacity building for local people to satisfy donor
request like, monitoring and reporting.
d. Thai policy can make it difficult to
get people and things to cross border.
3. HOW DIFFERENT
ETHNIC GROUPS
ARE AFFECTED
BY DISPLACEMENT
a. Health: Malnutrition of children
and adult.
Chronic illness (bad health).
b. Education: high illiteracy people
(cannot study).
c. Lost of traditional culture: difficult
to maintain tradition and culture.
d. Increase violence Against Women
4. THE LIKELY
TRENDS IN
THE REGION
IN TERMS
OF DISPLACEMENT,
AND DEVELOPMENT
AND HUMANITARIAN
NEEDS
a. Damming at Salween River.
b. SPDC increase activities in the areas
and persecution of ethnic people.
c. Increase displacement and no hope of
humanitarian aid from Burma to greatly response the need.
5. HOW DONORS
CAN ASSIST
IDPS IN
BURMA AND
REFUGEES IN
THAILAND MOST
EFFECTIVELY
a. Empower CBOs through provide fund to
them.
b. Ensure genuine participation of refugees
and IDPs members groups.
c. Work in partnership with local groups
or CBOs.
d. Work with women groups when deals with
women and children issues.
e. Consult local leadership at every stage
from planning, implementing. Do not sideline the community leadership.
6. THE ADVANTAGES
AND DISADVANTAGES
OF CROSS-BORDER
ASSISTANCE COMPARED
TO OTHER
WAYS OF
ASSISTING IDPS
IN BURMA
Advantage:
a. Work with local people and CBOs. You
do not need to go through the government which means you do not
loose find and give money to them.
b. Building toward good governess and civil
society.
c. Fund and relief items reach needy people
and community.
d. More accountable and transparent (unless
there is fighting, funders could access to the site and could
monitor the project).
e. It is possible to give aid and more reliable
compare to aid going through inside Burma.
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