“In our home in Damascus, I lived with my wife, our children, my parents, siblings and their family,” begins Aamir, a 29-year-old, Stateless Palestinian that arrived in Bangkok nearly two…
Region: Asia
Who We Are
Organizations in Bangkok combine efforts for refugee assistance
While Thailand’s most famous refugees are the 140,000 Myanmar refugees living in camps, a virtually invisible, undocumented, and steadily growing population of urban refugees are living in Bangkok. Since Thailand…
Thivya’s Story
Despite being granted refugee status by the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), many refugees in Bangkok still fear arrest and detention. Thivya and her family were arrested by…
160,000 refugees. Nine camps. 28 years.
Those are the figures associated with Thailand’s Myanmar refugee population living along the Thai-Myanmar border. Myanmar refugees account for the majority of Thailand’s total registered refugee population, with a smaller…
Launching Refugee Women’s Support Groups in Bangkok
“At night I can hear my heart breaking.” This comment came from a single mother in our Iranian Women's Community Support Group, describing the grief she feels over the childhood…
Empowering Refugees to Rebuild Their Lives
Munny, a Cambodian in his late 40s, was a member of an opposition political party when he was arrested for demonstrating against the government. The police tortured him and threatened…
Day in the Life of a VLA: Louise Collewet
Published November 2012 Name: Louise Collewet Office: Thailand Age: 25 Hometown: Bergues, France What made you volunteer as a VLA? I was already practicing refugee law and also immigration law. I…
Asylum Access Thailand: Then and Now
Published May 2012 An interview with former Associate Launch Director Vivienne Chew. Five years after she left Asylum Access Thailand (AAT), Associate Launch Director Vivienne Chew visited our office in…
Working Through the Floods in Thailand
An Interview with Asylum Access Thailand Legal Services Manager Michael Timmins Following months of heavy rain, a third of Thailand has been inundated in what has been called the worst…