About Burma

Burma is a country of about 50 million people. Situated in Southeast Asia, Burma shares its borders with Thailand, Laos, China, Tibet, India and Bangladesh. A large portion of the country spills into the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.

Burma's modern political history has been tumultuous. Britain began conquering Burma in 1824 and ultimately ruled until the late 1940s when the country gained independence. Before stability was established, however, during World War II the Burmese fought off a Japanese invasion, with some assistance from the United States. After again trying to establish itself as a free democracy, the country was taken by a military coup in 1962. Since then, the country has remained under control of the military, despite wide internal and international pressure for democratic reform.

The current regime is known to have committed egregious human rights violations, ranging from suppression of free speech, to forced relocation (including the loss of farmland and homes) and labor, to mass murder. Though a new party was democratically elected in 1990 in a landslide victory (the National League for Democracy headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace prize recipient), the junta refused to relinquish control. Though sanctions have been brought against it by the United States and others, the junta continues to keep Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest and shows no serious signs of releasing her or bringing about democracy despite its rhetoric. Despite sanctions, the regime continues to amass wealth for itself, largely via trade with India, Thailand and China and illegal drug smuggling, while the majority of people lives in poverty.

Because of the situation in Burma, steady flows of Burmese, mostly minority ethnic groups, have crossed the borders in search of safety and livelihoods. It is estimated that 1.5 to 2 million Burmese are currently living in Thailand, having fled Burma due to safety and economic reasons. Only about 150,000 of them are in refugee camps. * The rest work legally and illegally in Thai fields, factories and homes doing jobs that most Thais will not do.

Funds from the Foundation for the People of Burma are mostly used to help the Burmese in Thailand--those not in the camps, which have benefited greatly from other international aid. Most of our grants are made to organizations run by and for people living outside the camps.

For more information on Burma and Burmese refugees, go to Links .

* There are varying ceasefire agreements between ethnic groups inside Burma and the Burmese junta. Thailand affords refugee status to only about 150,000 of them, mostly the Karen. Thailand does not recognize other groups, such as the Shan, as refugees, although for most their safety is unsure in Burma. Therefore, they have no rights under Thai law.