Bangkok, 26 August 2010 – For many of the asylum-seekers gathered in a suburban house on the edge of Bangkok it was the first time since arriving in Thailand that they had heard the words “We want you to decide for yourselves.” Within minutes of being informed that the new community centre for Ahmadi asylum-seekers in Bangkok was to be managed and owned by their community, the group quickly began to organize themselves, forming a management committee and delegating key responsibilities to representatives from their community.

Voices on World Refugee Day

The story of Az Bhatti

Az Bhatti fled Pakistan due to religious persecution in September 2008. He is one of an estimated 2,600 urban refugees and asylum seekers living in Bangkok, Thailand. Az is from a religious minority group called the Ahmadiyya who are considered heretical by orthodox Muslims in Pakistan.  A number of laws have been passed that make it a criminal offence for Ahmadis to profess, practice and preach their faith. “We can’t use Muslim verses. We can’t even say salaam alaikum,” says Az sadly.

Bangkok, 23 July 2010 – Nathan and his family are recognised refugees. They fled Sri Lanka after Nathan was kidnapped and held for ransom by a paramilitary group known as the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). Now residing in Thailand, Nathan and his family face a daily struggle for survival in a country that refuses to acknowledge their status as refugees; leaving them exposed to the risks of arrest, indefinite detention and removal to a country where their lives or freedoms would be threatened.

Phnom Penh, 23 July 2010 – Htin and his wife, Myaing, are recognised refugees from Burma. They managed to escape persecution from the Burmese junta for their pro-democratic activities, only to find themselves struggling with day-to-day life in Cambodia.

Phnom Penh, 23 July – Omar came to the JRS office the day he was about to leave for America. He brought with him a piece of paper with ‘St Louis’ written on it. He sat in my office and we looked at a map of America and found St Louis. He asked me if it was very cold there.

Dili, 26 July 2010 – Maria Simao and her husband live with their 40 year-old daughter, Jacinta, in the hamlet of Moris Foun, about an hour’s drive, along a mountainous and pot-holed road, from the capital, Dili.

The majority of Timor-Leste’s population live in rural areas. Many of these communities are isolated and have limited access to government services in Dili.

Helena is a 50-year-old widow living in the Timorese village of Becora. Her day starts early. By 6am she is washing clothes for a local laundrette. The small amount of money she receives is just enough to feed her four children and keep three of them in school. There simply isn’t enough money to pay the fees for her 8-year-old son.