Geographies of Displacement: The Karenni and The Shan Across The Myanmar‐Thailand Border

Abstract

First, central to our analysis is the argument that human movement within and across borders fundamentally challenges the view of geopolitics based upon fixed territorial states, inter-state relations, national identities and citizenship; indeed the whole idea of "national geographic".Using the examples of the Karen and Shan peoples, we explore the processes and patterns of forced relocation, displacement and migration in the border regions of Myanmar and Thailand. Our main concern is with forced displacement as a result of political and ethnic conflict; specifically, how the Burmese military regime's desire for "national unity" within Myanmar's "national space" has influenced the militarily inspired displacements of hundreds of thousands of villagers and civilians within the border zones inhabited mostly by so-called "national minorities". We examine the particular problems of the so-called "internally displaced persons" within "national" boundaries compared with the "refugees" and "undocumented migrants" who make it across "international" space into Thailand. We illustrate the ways displaced people are represented by state agencies and the media as "threats" and "transgressors". We consider some of the "long term" aspects of the displacement problem along the Myanmar-Thai border and the vital contribution geographers can make to the study of displacement.

Country reports: Social and cultural geographies of South-East Asia

“…One expanding area of research which builds upon such interests concerns displacement and marginalization of stateless minority groups (e.g. Dean 2002;Grundy-Warr and Wong 2002).…”

Negotiating identities and emotional belonging: Shan in northern Thailand

“…Resultantly, most Shan survive as vulnerable and oppressed illegal migrant workers in Thailand, stereotyped as 'troublemakers' and drug traffickers in popular and political discourse and subject to police harassment and restrictions on mobility and employment (Grundy-Warr and Yin, 2002;Latt, 2011;Sell, 1999) whilst simultaneously being valued as hardworking labourers .…”

Lost in Sovereign Space: Forced Migrants in the Territorial Trap

“…The UNHCR has undertaken monitoring operations in different parts of the world. In Burma's border areas it is essential to appreciate the complex political geographies that have arisen after decades of conflict, and particularly after the last decade of great change to the human landscape in Mon, Karen, Karenni and Shan areas along the Burma-Thailand border (Grundy-Warr, 1993;Grundy-Warr and Wong, 2002). Sensitivity to political and ethnic rivalries and to the often complicated local patterns of power between rival factions is something that requires detailed research, patience and local knowledge, all of which are vital if relevant international agencies and NGOs are to assist in the process of facilitating safe return for tens of thousands of displaced persons.…”