Paper Title
The Political Problem of Karen Refugees: Thai and International Perspectives

Abstract
The plight of Karen refugees on the Thai-Burmese border became a major focus of international attention starting in 1984. However, while Karen refugee movements predated 1984, these movements were largely ignored at the time, and remain a scholarly blind spot. Analysis of documentary evidence and data collected from oral interviews demonstrates that Karen refugee movements into Thailand began as early as the 1950s, and that conditions for them to occur existed throughout the period of Burmese independence. These refugee movements were ignored by the international community, at first due to the remoteness of the Thai-Burmese border region, and later due to the outbreak of a larger and more politically sensitive refugee crisis on the Thai-Cambodian border. This slow-motion refugee crisis gradually increased in magnitude until, in 1984, the international community could no longer ignore it. This serves to illustrate the politically charged nature of international responses to refugee movements, and demonstrates the importance of looking beyond the official sources of host countries and the international community. Keywords� Burma, Thailand, Karen (Ethnic Group), Refugees.