Premjai Vungsiriphisal, Dares Chusri, and Supang Chantavanich, eds. Humanitarian Assistance for Displaced Persons from Myanmar: Royal Thai Government Policy and Donor, INGO, NGO and UN Agency Delivery. Cham: Springer, 2014, xxi+245pp. Benjamin Harkins and Supang Chantavanich, eds. Resettlement of Displaced Persons on the Thai-Myanmar Border. Cham and New York: Springer, 2014, xix+116pp.

Abstract

Humanitarian Assistance for Displaced Persons from Myanmar: Royal Thai Government Policy and Donor, INGO, NGO and UN Agency Delivery Premjai Vungsiriphisal, Dares Chusri, and Supang Chantavanich, eds. Cham: Springer, 2014, xxi+245pp.Resettlement of Displaced Persons on the Thai-Myanmar Border Benjamin Harkins and Supang Chantavanich, eds. Cham and New York: Springer, 2014, xix+116pp.In 1984 displaced people from Myanmar began to flee to the Thai-Myanmar border. To date, Thailand has hosted millions of displaced people in Thai-Myanmar border shelters. These people have insufficient language skills to be integrated into Thai society, while many Thai officers and voluntary guards did speak the displaced persons' languages (Premjai et al., p. 72).Both academics and policy makers need to know more about the dynamics of the Royal Thai Government's policies toward the displaced population on the border, challenges facing the stakeholder involved and policy implications for the stakeholders. These two volumes edited by the Asian Research Center for Migration at Chulalongkorn University can easily find a place on reading lists for academics interested in international security, human insecurity, refugees, and Thai studies. They are also must-reads for anyone seeking a better understanding of the displaced population on the Thai-Myanmar border.Correcting Misunderstandings about the Royal Thai GovernmentA collection of essays by brilliant scholars from multiple disciplines, Humanitarian Assistance for Displaced Persons from Myanmar reviews the dynamics of the Royal Thai Government's policies toward the displaced population on the Thai-Myanmar border and explores the impacts of current interventions by stakeholders (e.g., donor countries, NGOs, international organizations, and the Royal Thai Government).This volume has two parts. Part 1 (Chapters 1-6) highlights the Royal Thai Government's policies toward the displaced population on the Thai-Myanmar border, while Part 2 (Chapters 7-13) analyzes the other stakeholders' funding policies, project implementation strategies, and countermeasures against the Royal Thai Government, as well as the impacts and limitations of stakeholders. From a comparative perspective, this edited volume examines three potential solutions for the displaced population on the Thai-Myanmar border: resettlement, local integration, and repatriation.In the opinion of the reviewer, the most obvious contribution of this edited volume is to correct misunderstandings about the Royal Thai Government, which has been contributing significant funding and human resources for the displaced population on the Thai-Myanmar border.First, it is evident that the Royal Thai Government is a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention on the Rights of Refugees; neither does it have any domestic legislation that directly defines the standards of the treatment for refugees. However, this does mean that the Royal Thai Government does follow international standards on the treatment of refugees. The government's policy toward the displaced population is shaped in various Cabinet resolution, Ministry announcements and regulations (Premjai et al., p. 90).For decades, the government has been providing community-based shelter services and protection to the displaced population, not on the grounds of refugee status, but as displaced persons (Premjai et al., p. 12). It has had to balance the needs of its own citizens with those of the displaced population on the Thai-Myanmar border. According to interviews with some members of the displaced population, they largely feel safe, and believe their education and health care provision are at a certain level satisfactory (Premjai et al., p. 75).Second, stakeholders have been seeking durable solutions to improve the quality of life in the border shelters. For instance, microfinance has been initiated in some settlements in the form of Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLA) for those who are more interested in setting up their own small businesses than looking for waged employment (Premjai et al. …