Along the Thai-Burma border, thousands of refugees live in fence-in communities. Some of these refugee camps are so large that they hold over 50 000 people each. According to UNHCR’s 2007 Refugee statistics, there are an estimated 150 000 refugees from Burma living in Thailand. The camps have existed for so long that it is common to find 20 year old who were born in the camps.

Refugees rely on supplies from NGOs such as the UNHCR or the Red Cross. They live in cramped conditions and have little to do other than to wait for an opportunity to be relocated to a third country. A common thought is to provide training and economic opportunities for the refugees while they are waiting. Some NGOs manage to do some of these on a small scale. For example, an organization called WEAVE has several projects that teach people have to make handicrafts.

The question that some may ask is why not offer microfinance programs inside the refugee camps? In many places in the world, this does indeed happen. It’s quite common to see microfinance organizations working with refugees throughout the African continent despite the difficulties. For example, refugees are not permanent residents. It’s challenging to select people who want to run businesses when it’s not exactly clear how long they will be around. Due to the financial constraints of their market, businesses in refugee camps are somewhat limited in what they can sell.

While these factors also exist in the Thai refugee camps, another more challenging obstacle must be overcome. The Thai government allows the refugee camp under the condition that no permanent structures or services be organized. If you visit, or see, a refugee camp in Thailand, you’d quickly realize that it could likely be dismantled within a week.

Microfinance programs try to help establish or expand small businesses. Businesses are seen as a permanent structure. As a result, the Thai authorities will not allow microfinance services inside the camps.