Along the Burma (aka Myanmar) border of Thailand, there is a small, quiet town called Umphang. Tourism is relatively new to the area, even though it is home to the 6th biggest waterfall in the world. Adventurous Thai travelers have been vacationing here for years, but outsiders have just recently started to visit the area, and visiting there was easy to tell. We probably only saw ten other non-Thai tourists during 4 days there.
The only way to get to Umphang is by songthaew, a pickup truck with the bed repurposed to be a two-bench clown-car taxi. Rain poured on us both to and from the village as we rode shoulder to shoulder with locals, feet shoved into small pockets between stacks of egg cartons and our own bags. The scenery on the ride was the only thing that kept us from jumping off and hitching back. On the way, we saw rolling hills covered in vibrant greens and bright yellows, giant rocky boulders floating in a soy field sea, and lots and small, hut villages, many of them strangely flying American flags.
Arriving, it did not take long for us to realize that these micro-villages were actually Burmese refugee camps. You see, Burma is in a really bad situation right now, and families are fleeing the country in search of safety and stability every day.
Our first night in Umphang, we went out to get some Pad Thai at a tiny kitchen in the middle of town. We got to talking with an Indian guy at the table next to us, who explained that he works for a children’s education nonprofit that goes to high need areas and implements and evaluates education programs. He told us all about his company and their mission, and I sat there in awe, imagining myself doing that sort of work one day. He was in Umphang to evaluate an education program at one of the Burmese camps, and he told us that there system was quite effective, and that teaching English was a strong suit for the camps. Before leaving, he told us that because the refugees speak English so well, they are often hired to work for tour guide companies in Thailand. As an added bonus, with them being refugees, the companies get away with paying them a fraction of the wages that Thais make and know that they will not complain because they do not want to be sent back to Burma. It is a sad situation, but with tourism being Thailand’s biggest market by far, it probably won’t end any time soon.
After paying for our Pad Thai (about $1 for a big plate of deliciousness), we headed to a trekking agency to try to organize a trip to the famous tee lor su waterfall. We were greeted by a young guy probably no older than 20 that had great English and a very friendly demeanor. After talking about the treks for a while, he proudly told us that he was Burmese and that he learned English in one of the refugee camps down the road. He was easily the nicest and most helpful travel guide we have talked to on the whole trip, and even though we decided not to go with his company, he happily gave us the address of a cheaper company that we wound up going with for the trek.
Meeting someone who is dedicated to improving the education and opportunities for these refugees, and then seeing the result in the same night was really moving. And even though this Burmese refugee was surely underpaid, he was one of the happiest, friendliest people we have yet to meet here in Thailand.
One our way back out of Umphang, we drove past another Burmese refugee camp with U.S. flags flying out front. There are a whole lot of things that the U.S. military does that I am not proud of, but seeing U.S. soldiers standing in front of the refugee camp acting as teachers and doctors for the refugees sure as hell didn’t give me another one. If we put more focus on programs like that, the world would undoubtedly be a better place.
One response to “Burmese Refugee Story- Umphang, Thailand”
Nice post Nate! A pic of the falls would have been nice to see. The Burmese travel guide must have really enjoyed his job!