US aid suspension leaves Myanmar refugees in limbo

Ma May Wah is upset the authorities at Ohn Phyan refugee camp near the Thai-Myanmar border abruptly closed the only medical facility for hundreds of people like her last week.

“Pregnant women and children are suffering. We used to have access to hospitals and emergency transport to Mae Sot or other cities, but now there’s nothing,” the 37-year-old mother of three, told UCA News.

The camp is located about 80 kilometers south of Mae Sot, a Thai city that has become a hub for refugees fleeing deadly conflicts in their homeland. The camp is home to about 10,000 refugees.

Ma, an ethnic Karen and Baptist Christian, is originally from Nga Phae Inn, a village in Nyaung Lay Bin township, in Myanmar’s Bago region. She fled her home and moved to the camp with her parents in 2009 following fighting between the military and ethnic rebels.

Her husband used to be a Church worker before he moved to the refugee camp.

Ma said she came to know about the clinic’s closure soon after US President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 ordered the suspension of funding to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which funded it. The move against USAID has come as a major blow to poor and developing nations like Myanmar.

Another shock came when barbed wire fences were erected at the camp to restrict refugee movements recently.

“Our camp is surrounded by fences now, isolating us. This order to cut aid with no explanation has left us stranded. We don’t know whether it’s due to the US leaving the World Health Organization or other political reasons,” she said.

“This camp is the only home my children have known, and yet uncertainty looms over their future,” she said.

Ma’s children, aged six, nine, and 12 get basic education in a makeshift school run by some volunteer teachers.

“The materials for shelter and food used to come from NGOs; they too are now intermittent. My children, learning in IDP schools, may soon face disruption if the situation doesn’t improve. We can only hope for opportunities like education or a better tomorrow,” she said.

The US government’s decision has upended the lives of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in camps after fleeing their homes since the February 2021 military coup plunged the country into a civil war between the military and resistance forces, media reports say.

Many camps have halted healthcare services, including hospitals and clinics, which served as lifelines for people uprooted by the ongoing conflict. The situation is dire in nine refugee camps, including Ohn Phyan, along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Camp officials say the US aid played a vital role in providing basic services to camp residents including food, water, sanitation, health care and socio-economic development, which cannot run without alternative funding.

Impacts beyond healthcare 

Healthcare workers say the impacts of the US aid suspension are being felt not just with medical services but other sectors also.

“We had no choice but to shut down health services immediately. Aid cuts have severe ripple effects,” said Ko Wai La (not real name), 40, a medical worker based at Mae La refugee camp in Tha Song Yang district of Thailand‘s Tak province, told UCA News.

Ko said they heard the aid suspension was effective for three months and what happens next will be decided after a review, but many are not optimistic.

“Fears are mounting that funding and support may not resume anytime soon,” she told UCA News.

Officials with non-government organizations say they are being forced to pause major projects addressing women’s rights and minority issues due to resource shortages.

Refugees, long expecting to move to the US as part of the reintroduced US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), have seen their cases stalled due to Trump’s anti-immigrant policies.

“Twenty individuals from eight families here at Ohn Phyan missed their resettlement window after the policy shifted under President Donald Trump,” Ma said.

Looming crisis 

Many refugees like Naw Thawdar of Mae La refugee camp have spent more than a decade in camps living with limitations and uncertainty.

Naw highlighted the precarious situation for refugees after the US suspended foreign aid which also dashed the hope of asylum seekers.

“We are ready to resettle in a third country, but this order puts our futures on hold. I haven’t seen Myanmar since I left in 2012 and visiting seems impossible. What to expect now?” she said.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 80,000 refugees reside in the nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. Efforts to resettle refugees, including the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), initiated in 2024, have also been suspended. For decades, the US served as a primary destination for refugees.

Under President Joe Biden, plans were announced to welcome over 100,000 refugees worldwide. Yet, under the new suspension order, those dreams are being shattered, including those of dozens of refugees in Thai camps and in Malaysia who had been preparing to leave for a new life in the US.

Meanwhile, resettled refugees like Ko Htet Naung, 32, who recently arrived in the US after years of struggle, acknowledge the immense difficulties others still face back home.

“It was not easy; I waited years before finally reaching safety. Now, refugees in camps face even tougher challenges. Their hopes are fading fast,” he said.

Uncertain future

Young people are also affected by the changes in US policy.

The Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship Program (DISP), launched in 2024, which aimed to provide US$45 million for educational opportunities to Myanmar students impacted by the 2021 coup, has also been terminated.

Students who looked forward to pursuing their education abroad — students like Cohort scholarship recipient Ma Moh Moh — now face uncertainty.

“My second-semester funding has been cut off, and there’s no clarity on what happens next,” she said.

Others awaiting interviews for the scholarships have also had their dreams put on hold.

Daw Zin Mar Aung, Union Minister for Foreign Affairs with Myanmar’s government-in-exile — known as the National Unity Government (NUG) — has urged the US administration to carefully reconsider its aid and immigration policies to avoid worsening the already dire conditions refuges are living in.

source : uca news