The doubling of the price of rice since the beginning of the year has added millions to their costs. And if they can't get additional support from their backers overseas, rations to the refugees - more than 140,000 of them in nine camps from Kanchanaburi up to Mae Hong Son - will be cut back.

"The whole spiral of food prices is a crisis for populations who are totally dependent on aid," Thompson said in an interview at the Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) office in Silom yesterday.

"Refugees are confined to camp and they're not allowed to work outside of camp, so their opportunities for income generation in the camps are very limited. Thus, they are totally dependent on aid for food, shelter, health and education.

Shortfall

"It has led to a US$6 million (about Bt200 million) shortfall in our budget for 2008. Therefore, we're appealing to our donors to lend extra support to find solutions for a situation beyond our control."

Thompson, who has been Dunford's number two at the Border Consortium for the past 16 years, said the TBBC had already cut the refugees' rations in January.

"Any further cut would take us below the minimum nutritional requirements. They get rice, yellow beans, cooking oil, 45 flour, salt, fish paste and a small amount of chillies."

Half goes to food

Food accounts for half of the TBBC's annual costs - put at $33 million. The organisation gets funding from 14 governments and 20 nongovernment groups. The top two donors are Echo, the European Community Humanitarian Office, and the US government.

"I think donors are very sympathetic but at the end of the day if they can't come through with additional funding we'll have no option but to cut rations," Thompson said.

Meanwhile, 10 countries are taking refugees for resettlement. Last year 15,000 went to live abroad, and this year a further 17,000 will go - mainly to the US. But the situation in eastern Burma is still bad - new arrivals are still coming because of ongoing conflict and forced relocations, she said.

"What's important is, for those who remain, we have to find ways to give their lives meaning. They don't want to be dependent.

"We'd like for the refugees to be able to leave the camps to work outside and become less aid dependent. They're a resource - 40,000 people of working age - and many of them semiidle."

Resettlement has caused a "brain drain" at the camps because the best and brightest refugees - most of the teachers, health workers and community leaders - have grabbed the opportunity to start a new life abroad. So, TBBC has had to accelerate training and mentoring programmes to try to replace key people.

By Jim Pollard

Daily Xpress