Why Scattering Burma’s Ethnic Refugees Isn’t the Answer — It’s the Dictators’ Dream

For more than three decades, tens of thousands of Karen, Karenni, Shan, Chin, Mon, Kachin, and other ethnic people from Burma (Myanmar) have lived in refugee camps along the Thai border. Fleeing genocide, land grabs, and forced military violence, they found temporary safety—but not a future.

Today, over 90,000 people remain trapped in limbo, generations growing up behind barbed wire, dependent on aid, with no clear path forward.

The world is asking: What can we do?

Let’s start with what we must not do: we must stop scattering these communities across the globe—and instead work to rebuild their rightful homes with freedom and dignity.

The Hidden Cost of Third-Country Resettlement

Over the years, countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia have resettled tens of thousands of refugees from Burma’s ethnic groups. While this has helped individuals escape trauma, it has also had a devastating long-term effect:

It empties the land of its people—the very goal of the military dictators who caused the crisis.

Let’s be clear: this is not just a humanitarian program, it’s become a tool of quiet ethnic erasure. The more people that leave, the fewer return. The fewer that return, the easier it is for dictators to claim the land, rewrite history, and erase cultures.

That is exactly what they want. And we are helping them do it.

The False Hope of Federalism

Many international leaders talk about “federalism” as the answer for Burma’s future. But federalism has failed.

It’s failed because it assumes that ethnic nations must remain under a single central government—one that has never served them, and more often, has tried to destroy them.

Ethnic people in Burma have suffered not just from bad governance, but from a complete lack of self-determination.

We must stop settling for systems that require ethnic minorities to compromise their existence.

The Real Answer: Full Statehood and Self-Governance

The only just and sustainable solution is this:

Every ethnic nation in Burma must have full statehood, self-governance, and the right to repatriate its people to their ancestral homelands.

That means:

• Karen people living freely in Karen State

• Chin people governing Chin State

• Shan, Kachin, Karenni, Mon, and others each having full control over their land, governance, and future

• Burmans having their own designated area as well, so no group dominates another

No more asking for permission. No more shared power that never comes. This is about equal standing. Sovereign dignity. Real peace.

The future government of Burma must not be a central ruler—it must be a neutral arbitrator, there to support cooperation among states, help refugees return home, and protect the peace, not control it.

The Conditions for Return

Repatriation is only possible under one condition: safety.

That means the Burmese military must be drastically weakened, especially its air power, which has terrorized civilian populations for years. Without this, any return will only lead to more bloodshed.

Once security is restored, refugees in camps can begin to return home—not to some new version of domination, but to free, autonomous states that they control, where they can rebuild what was taken.

What Needs to Happen Now

Here’s what we need to focus on:

1. Stop Scattering Refugees Across the World

International resettlement should be a last resort, not the default. It weakens indigenous nations, breaks family lines, and completes the work of the dictators.

2. Demand Statehood for Ethnic Nations

Not federalism. Not autonomy under central rule. Full statehood with equal standing.

3. Reduce the Power of the Burmese Military

Especially air strikes. Refugees cannot return while jet fighters and drones hover over their villages.

4. Support Refugee-Led Planning

Those in the camps are ready. They have experience, organization, and vision. Empower them to lead the return and rebuild.

5. Ensure Dignified, Voluntary Repatriation

Not forced. Not rushed. But real. Safe. Supported. Back to ancestral lands, not foreign cities.

This Isn’t Radical. It’s Just.

This vision doesn’t demand war. It demands equality.

A future where every people—Karen, Chin, Shan, Kachin, Mon, Karenni, Rohingya, and Burman—live on equal ground, in peace, and with control over their future.

The refugee camps must close. But not by shipping people off across the world.

They must close because families are returning home, finally free to raise their children on the soil their ancestors walked.

References

• UNHCR Thailand. (2023). Refugee and Asylum Seeker Situation

• Karen Human Rights Group. (2023). Reports on Village Destruction and Airstrikes

• Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN). (2023). Policy Recommendations for Thai Refugee Protection Framework

• International Rescue Committee. (2022). The Long Road Home for Burmese Refugees

• Human Rights Watch. (2023). “We Are Like the Dead” – Karen Displacement and Human Rights