THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Living on borrowed land

Living on borrowed land

UNHCR Thailand launches a campaign to encourage Thais to help those who have sought shelter within its borders

EIGHT OF THAILAND’S leading celebrities have joined the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in launching “Namjai for Refugees”, the first campaign here to create art works and raise funds for refugees in Thailand.
UNHCR has divided the celebrities into four teams, charging each with an important mission. Actress Praya “Pu” Lundberg Suandokmai and eminent designer Jirat “Sanchai” Subpisankul are busy designing a limited edition T-shirt to highlight the situation of refugee women. 
Musician and singer Saharat “Kong” Sangkapricha is working with best-selling songwriter Jakrawut “Van” Sawangpol to compose a special song for refugees. Actor Sunny Suwanmethanon has joined with renowned sit-com director Piyakarn “Mook” Budprasert to produce a short video on how to pay namjai forward, while editor and writer Wongthanong “Nong” Chainarongsingha is collaborating with talented illustrator Pattarida “Pang” Prasarnthong to create a special book about refugees.
 “I will use my talent as a singer to work with Van to compose a song for refugees. I hope that this song will inspire Thai people to extend their namjai to fellow human beings. And most importantly, I’d like UNHCR to play this special song to the refugees to let them know that there are people who care about them and are encouraging them to stay strong with the hope of a new life,” said Kong, during the recent launch at Mega Bangna.
Pu, Kong, Van and Mook Piyakarn recently travelled to Tak Province to visit the refugees in Mae La camp in Tha Song Yang district to help them understand the conditions under which the mainly Karen population lives and learn about the work done by UNHCR and its partners.
“The global refugee crisis is dominating news headlines,” says Pu Praya. “As Thai people, we can be part of the global response by starting to lend our support to refugees in Thailand. My team aims to give voices to refugee women, including single mothers who have experienced great loss in their lives and need support to stand on their own for their children and family.
“There are many children in the camp who suffer from cerebral palsy. Fortunately there is a special classroom where their parents can learn basic physical therapy for them so that they can help themselves later. For example, Nong Johnity’s parents have worked with volunteers in giving him physical therapy for the last nine years. Today, he can stand by himself and talk with others. So, I think the most important help we can give refugees is to provide them the training and self-confidence they need to rely on themselves,” she says.
“Nobody wants to be separated from their family” adds Mook Piyakarn. “Yet there are many elderly people staying alone. UNHCR is trying to reunite them with their families and settle into a new life.”
More than 120,000 refugees from Myanmar currently live in nine camps located in Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Tak and Mae Hong Son provinces. Mae La is the largest refugee camp for Burmese in Thailand, and more than 90 per cent of its residents are ethnic Karen.
Refugees and migrants are dominating the headlines of global media, with the ongoing refugee crisis in Syria and Europe. What happens in other parts of the world may seem distant, |but refugee issues affect us all, even in Thailand, which has been home to refugee and displaced persons camps for more than 30 years.
UNHCR Thailand screened the video “Life of Pathu” during the campaign launch to help viewers understand the plight of a refugee boy. 
The images were drawn by Pang and in the setting of a kindergarten classroom, when a teacher tells her students about the boy Pathu who is separated from his father and forced to flee his home. The video uses animation to show the emotional situations the family faces, and galvanises the audience to lend a hand. It acknowledges that Thai people extend namjai to their fellow human beings regardless of race or nationality.
Refugees are struggling to rebuild their lives while coping with the trauma of the past and the hardship of the present. The generosity of the public can help change hardship into hope. Check out campaign updates and make a donation at www.unhcr.or.th.
 
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