The new arrivals and their food in Mae La Camp

.

Naw Ree Kah, 37 years old, is a new arrival. She has six children.

She has already lived in the camp four months, staying with her relatives.

She cooks dinner for her family but to this day she hasn’t received any ration from the authorities

She just shares with her relatives and tries to buy rice and food for her own family.

‘My husband works outside the camp in a Thai farm

to get some money in order to survive,’ she said.

‘If we received a ration, it would alleviate our burden.’

Naw Ree Kah used to live in Tar Krah village. She explained about her life in Burma.

“I had to pay many kinds of taxes such as the porter fee.

And we were also required to go to do forced labour.

I was fed up with having to pay taxes and I could not bear to go and do forced labour.

So I escaped and came to the refugee camp”.

This is another family of new arrivals. Naw Ma Cho,

46 years old and a widow, has already lived in the camp

one year and five months. But she too hasn’t received any ration.

She is now cooking breakfast for her family.

They collected this water to last the whole day.

They use it for cooking and washing the plates and all other purposes.

Naw Ma Cho has five children.

The other three are trying to find any kind of jobs outside the camp while the family don’t receive any food yet.

In Mae La camp there are nine thousand four hundred and forty four new arrivals who don’t receive any ration yet.

They are finding it difficult and hoping to receive the ration soon.

This little girl is having lunch with fish paste and a cup of tea.

“My lunch is simple, almost everyday the same. My mum could not provide a special meal for us.

I rarely eat fish or meat. Sometimes I wish to have that too”.