Burma Human Rights Network’s report: “We also have dreams” A 47-year-old woman told BHRN, “In the future, we want to return to our native country. We have many problems with our shelters here. Our shelters are close to one another, and fights are happening among us. Shelters are so crowded. If someone pees, it spurts to another one. Because of this, fights are happening. We are in a very difficult situation here. We would be happy if we could go back to our country. It’s very important for us to provide our children with education. When these things happen, we will be happy.” A 24-year old man told BHRN, “Staying in these refugee camps for five more years would normally be a punishment for us. No matter how much support and services we get here from the government and humanitarians, we can’t be fully satisfied because this is not our native country. We always feel unsafe because we are not in our own country. So, the only change I want is to be repatriated to my own native country. If this can’t happen in the next five years, we have no choice except to stay here. If we have to stay here, we would want more security and opportunities for us with our livelihood. We are also humans, so we can’t just live on the support being provided here. We also have dreams and feelings to live up to and [we want] to make money to support our families as everyone else does.” A 30-year-old woman told BHRN, “We would be happy if we are able to return to Myanmar in the next five years. We request you to provide us with sufficient rations. The rations have decreased very much recently. We want to receive enough rations.” www.bhrn.org.uk 45

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