The Need for Border-based Aid

Humanitarian agencies in Rangoon cannot supply aid to eastern Burma. Whether they like it or not, cross-border aid from Thailand must continue

While Burma’s eastern border region remains embroiled in civil war, it is the rural villagers, especially those suspected of being sympathetic to ethnic insurgents, who bear the brunt of the conflict.

Over the past 25 years, tens of thousands of Karen, Mon, Karenni and Shan villagers have fled to refugee camps in Thailand. Many more have remained in eastern Burma, but live in the jungle in temporary camps as internally displaced persons. Their numbers continue to grow every year.

Fortunately, there are international agencies, local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based groups in the region that are actively involved in supporting those affected on both sides of the border.

They often face unfair criticism from governments and international NGOs that believe humanitarian aid must be channeled through official lines inside Burma, usually through offices in Rangoon.

Those agencies assert that being legally entitled to work they can help a greater number of people, including those in the Irrawaddy delta who were affected by Cyclone Nargis last year.

Over the past 10 years, we have seen humanitarian aid, emergency relief and resources gradually moving away from the Thai-Burmese border and into Rangoon.

Much debate and tension exists between aid workers “inside” and “outside” Burma. In fact, the two rivals complement each other as their separate operations help a wider variety of targeted population groups.

There are several good reasons why NGOs and relief teams working within the conflict zones must not be marginalized.

First, because the people of eastern Burma are trapped in a never-ending cycle of war and human rights abuses. They need humanitarian assistance.

The second reason is logistical. Many NGOs working from central Burma cannot reach the conflict zones. They are prohibited by the junta, and the areas are often inaccessible and too dangerous.

It is also important to realize that the so-called cross-border operation is not, in fact, wholly managed from Thailand, but mostly by local NGOs within eastern Burma.

These border-based NGOs deliver aid, medicine and food supplies, all of which must be constantly resupplied from neighboring countries, especially Thailand. They do not receive supplies from Rangoon, where regime officials are suspicious of any aid intended for ethnic groups.

In military-ruled Burma, aid activities, like political activism, operate at both an aboveground and an underground level.

Aid agencies and donor governments must recognize this reality and be prepared to support projects both inside Burma and at the borders, and be flexible enough to fund projects that are government authorized and those which are not.

The ongoing crisis requires a holistic approach. More aid is certainly needed—both to those inside Burma and those living in conflict zones.

Of course, we know the military regime doesn’t want aid flowing into border areas into the hands of ethnic and civil society groups. But that should not prevent donor governments from setting their own priorities and ensuring aid gets to those who need it.

Within the exiled Burmese community there are many different players. But whereas the exiled political opposition is mostly ineffective, there are many local (or cross-border) NGOs and civil society groups that have implemented successful projects—such as education, health and agriculture—deep inside Burma. They are playing a key role in shaping Burma’s present and future.

A spirit of cooperation between these NGOs and the communities they work with should be encouraged. Donors should help cement strong ties and communications between the cross-border NGOs and the ethnic communities—without disrupting them.

An NGO based in Mae Sot, Thailand, is not going to solve a humanitarian disaster in the Irrawaddy delta. Likewise, NGOs based in Rangoon cannot expect to support eastern Burma and the Thai-Burmese border area.

Providing assistance to people in eastern Burma is a complicated matter. Many who are in need of health care cross the border to Mae Sot, Thailand, where they can receive treatment at the Mae Tao clinic, established by Dr Cynthia Maung in 1988. But countless others must rely on mobile medical teams that travel into high-risk areas to treat people who are truly desperate for any assistance they can get.

The Australian government recently said “No” to cross-border assistance in favor of direct aid to agencies based in central Burma.