The People Of Mae Sot Dump

In March 2010, I was invited by Ashin Sopaka, the Burmese monk in this video, to visit the people living on Mae Sot dumpsite.

Currently about 300 people, 68 families live in small bamboo huts on stilts at the rubbish dumpsite of Mae Sot/ Thailand. These refugees who successfully fled the brutal military regime in Burma, with hopes of leading a life free of human rights abuses, are living under dire conditions. They lack working and residency papers, they are illegal immigrants living and working in the middle of stinky dump.

Their spirit of survival is amazing, but their conditions are terribly dismal. They literally live on the garbage and their houses are constructed and built from the recycled material from the garbage dump itself. The basic essentials they need to survive and to live as human beings basically come from the garbage dump and these include food, clothing, toys for their children, pots and utensils for cooking and even the water they drink come from the lake near the dumpsite which is terribly contaminated.

Please help to make a difference and relocate these refugees to a clean and safe area. On a rented property we will build basic infrastructural facilities such as housing, toilets and a water well.

Learn more here about how you can help:http://www.thebestfriend.org/

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Mae Sot
• Poverty
• Dumpsite
• Dump
• Charity
• Migrant Workers
• Burmese
• Burma Issue
• Ashin Sopaka
• The Best Friend
• Relief
• Suffering

[TibetKanagawa]

@davievalberg Hi!

Thank you for your interest. Ashin Sopaka, the main monk featured, is one of the leaders of the Burmese Saffron Revolution movement. Whilst he is involved in the important politics involved in Burma, he is also very passionate and compassionate about the Burmese refugees and migrant workers that live in the horrendous conditions of Mae Sot dump.  They are wonderful people and Ashin Sopaka is doing great work to try and relocate them. Info how to help is above.

[davievalberg]

what a contrast with the south east paradise of Thailand, nothing they have, and still they smile, like the happiest people of the world. If you see these images, i really want to help just because they deserve a better place to stay. You can spend 1 dollar for food in Thailand, and stay a night in a 1500 euro castle with all the luxury you can have, and thats not far from this dump, or you can help people giving a live and give the world a better place and build them a house with clean wather!!