Latest news with #Myanmar-Thai
Daily Tribune
11-03-2025
- Daily Tribune
Nearly 300 Indians repatriated from Myanmar scam centres
Thailand Nearly 300 Indians flew home through Thailand on Monday after being released from scam centres in Myanmar, officials in the kingdom said, as part of efforts to shut down the illegal online fraud operations. Authorities in Myanmar, under pressure from ally China, have cracked down in recent weeks on the scam compounds that have flourished in the country's lawless borderlands. Around 7,000 workers from at least two dozen countries have been freed, the majority of them Chinese, but many have been languishing in squalid conditions in temporary holding camps on the Myanmar-Thai border. A group of Indian officials crossed into Myanmar to accompany seven buses taking the freed Indian nationals -- as well as three more carrying their luggage -- to Mae Sot airport in northwest Thailand. The Indian government sent a C-17 transport plane to carry the 266 men and 17 women back home, with a second batch of 257 due to be flown out on Tuesday. China has repatriated more than 2,000 of its nationals freed from Myanmar scam centres through Thailand since the three countries began their crackdown late last month. Scam centres have sprung up in Myanmar's border areas in recent years as part of a criminal industry worth billions of dollars a year. Thousands of foreign workers staff the centres, trawling social media for victims to fleece, often through romance or investment cons. Many workers say they were lured or tricked into taking the work and suffered beatings and abuse.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Burmese refugee dies after discharge from shut US-funded clinic, says family
By Shoon Naing (Reuters) - A Burmese refugee with lung problems died after she was discharged from a U.S.-funded hospital on the Myanmar-Thai border that was ordered to close as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump's freeze on foreign aid, her family said. Pe Kha Lau, 71, died on Sunday after becoming short of breath four days after she was sent home from a healthcare facility funded by the U.S. through the International Rescue Committee. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The IRC closed and locked hospitals in several refugee camps in late January after receiving a 'stop-work' order from the U.S. State Department, according to residents and aid workers. An IRC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S embassy in Bangkok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On orders from Trump the U.S., the world's largest humanitarian donor, stopped almost all aid work and has began to dismantle its main mechanism for delivery, the United States Agency for International Development. The spending freeze Trump ordered upon taking office January 20 is supposed to last 90 days while his administration reviews all foreign-aid programmes. Trump and Elon Musk, who is heading his drive to shrink the federal government, have said the move is necessary to root out wasteful spending. The IRC facilities served tens of thousands of refugees living in mountainside camps on the Thai border who are unable to go back to Myanmar. The country has been in chaos since 2021, when the military seized power from an elected government, and ensuing conflict has killed thousands of civilians and displaced more than 3.5 million, according to the United Nations. Pe Kha Lau had been hospitalised for three years and dependent on a supply of oxygen, according to her family. When she fell ill at home on Saturday night she asked to go back to the hospital, her daughter Yin Yin Aye, 50, told Reuters through tears. 'I had to tell her that there is no hospital,' she said by phone. An IRC spokesperson previously told Reuters that members of the refugee community had "self-organised" to ensure critical services for their communities while aid support was being "transitioned" to Thai authorities. 'VERY POOR PEOPLE' Before the hospital closed, Pe Kha Lau's son-in-law, Tin Win, said 'whenever she got short of breath, I would carry her right away back to hospital and she would be fine". 'We are very poor people,' he said. 'I work as a day laborer. We can't afford oxygen at home," he said. He said several other refugees had died as a result of the hospitals closing. Reuters was not able to confirm his account. A local Thai health official who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue said that when the hospitals were closed, oxygen tanks were distributed to some patients but there were not enough. The IRC facilities were the primary source of medical care in Umpiem camp, a remote hillside area. With the IRC facilities abruptly shut, midwives moved laboring women to a former school, where an 18-year-old refugee gave birth on February 1 amid insufficient facilities, a relative and a schoolteacher said. The loss of U.S. foreign aid has left Thai officials and refugee groups scrambling to fill the gap, while state-run hospitals provide care for the refugees. Aid efforts across the globe have been crippled by the Trump administration's freeze, including the intricate system that helps prevent and respond to famine, according to humanitarian organisations. (Writing by Poppy McPherson. Additional reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Michael Perry)
Reuters
07-02-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Burmese refugee dies after discharge from shut US-funded clinic, says family
Summary Trump's aid freeze closes US-funded refugee hospitals Patient, 71, died after breathing problems at home Thai officials, refugees struggle to replace health services Feb 7 (Reuters) - A Burmese refugee with lung problems died after she was discharged from a U.S.-funded hospital on the Myanmar-Thai border that was ordered to close as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump's freeze on foreign aid, her family said. Pe Kha Lau, 71, died on Sunday after becoming short of breath four days after she was sent home from a healthcare facility funded by the U.S. through the International Rescue Committee. The IRC closed and locked hospitals in several refugee camps in late January after receiving a 'stop-work' order from the U.S. State Department, according to residents and aid workers. An IRC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S embassy in Bangkok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On orders from Trump the U.S., the world's largest humanitarian donor, stopped almost all aid work and has began to dismantle its main mechanism for delivery, the United States Agency for International Development. The spending freeze Trump ordered upon taking office January 20 is supposed to last 90 days while his administration reviews all foreign-aid programmes. Trump and Elon Musk, who is heading his drive to shrink the federal government, have said the move is necessary to root out wasteful spending. The IRC facilities served tens of thousands of refugees living in mountainside camps on the Thai border who are unable to go back to Myanmar. The country has been in chaos since 2021, when the military seized power from an elected government, and ensuing conflict has killed thousands of civilians and displaced more than 3.5 million, according to the United Nations. Pe Kha Lau had been hospitalised for three years and dependent on a supply of oxygen, according to her family. When she fell ill at home on Saturday night she asked to go back to the hospital, her daughter Yin Yin Aye, 50, told Reuters through tears. 'I had to tell her that there is no hospital,' she said by phone. An IRC spokesperson previously told Reuters that members of the refugee community had "self-organised" to ensure critical services for their communities while aid support was being "transitioned" to Thai authorities. 'VERY POOR PEOPLE' Before the hospital closed, Pe Kha Lau's son-in-law, Tin Win, said 'whenever she got short of breath, I would carry her right away back to hospital and she would be fine". 'We are very poor people,' he said. 'I work as a day laborer. We can't afford oxygen at home," he said. He said several other refugees had died as a result of the hospitals closing. Reuters was not able to confirm his account. A local Thai health official who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue said that when the hospitals were closed, oxygen tanks were distributed to some patients but there were not enough. The IRC facilities were the primary source of medical care in Umpiem camp, a remote hillside area. With the IRC facilities abruptly shut, midwives moved laboring women to a former school, where an 18-year-old refugee gave birth on February 1 amid insufficient facilities, a relative and a schoolteacher said. The loss of U.S. foreign aid has left Thai officials and refugee groups scrambling to fill the gap, while state-run hospitals provide care for the refugees. Aid efforts across the globe have been crippled by the Trump administration's freeze, including the intricate system that helps prevent and respond to famine, according to humanitarian organisations.
