EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "In September 2002 the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), formerly the Burmese Border Consortium, compiled a report ?Internally Displaced People and Relocation Sites in Eastern Burma”. The report was written because although the Royal Thai Government was reluctant to accept more refugees and believed repatriation should occur as soon as conditions were judged suitable, new refugees were still arriving in Thailand. Since most of the new arrivals reported that they had formerly been living as internally displaced persons, TBBC considered that it was important to understand what was happening in the border areas before any planning for repatriation could begin. Since that time, the nature and scale of internal displacement in eastern Burma has been generally acknowledged, and humanitarian agencies based in Burma have been increasingly requesting and gaining access to some border areas. In particular, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Myanmar has negotiated roving access to a number of townships of ‘potential refugee return?. UNHCR Thailand has also been engaging the Royal Thai Government, donors and non governmental organisations (NGOs) in a conceptual planning exercise for the eventual repatriation of the refugees. Much of Eastern Burma is, however, still inaccessible to international observers from inside the country and the initial steps being taken towards planning for repatriation make it even more important to understand what is happening in these areas. This report draws together the results of new surveys carried out by local community organisations who collectively have broad access to the border areas. Community organizations conducted field surveys across eastern Burma between April and July 2004.1 Population estimates have been gathered from key informants in 36 significant townships and cross-checked with estimates from other local humanitarian and human rights agencies wherever possible. Vulnerability indicators were also developed from a multi-stage cluster survey of 6,070 people and 1,071 households in 60 areas spread over six states and divisions. The sample population for this quantitative survey was distributed between internally displaced persons in free-fire areas, government relocation sites, ethnic ceasefire areas and mixed administration areas. Estimates recorded during this survey in 2004 indicate at least another 157,000 civilians have been displaced by war or human rights abuses since the end of 2002. This includes people from at least 240 villages which have been documented as completely destroyed, relocated or abandoned during the past two years. The current status of villages forcibly relocated prior to 2002 has not been comprehensively assessed, but attempts to return and re-establish more than 100 such villages in Tenasserim Division have been documented as thwarted by further displacement. Civilian displacement has continued at a high rate even though there has been a significant decrease in the number of villages forcibly relocated since the mid-late 1990s. This trend is indicative of the extent to which government troops had been deployed and villages forcibly evicted prior to 2002. Since then, the military government has been consolidating, rather than expanding, areas of control. High rates of civilian displacement in areas where forced village relocations have decreased are attributed to the harassment of people who had already deserted SPDC relocation sites to attempt returning to their village or resettlement nearby. The total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have been forced or obliged to leave their homes and have not been able to return or resettle and reintegrate into society as of late 2004 is estimated to be at least 526,000 people. The population consists of 365,000 people in the temporary settlements of ceasefire areas administered by ethnic nationalities, while 84,000 civilians are estimated to be hiding from the military-government in free-fire areas and approximately 77,000 villagers still remain in designated relocation sites after having been forcibly evicted from their homes. This represents a decrease since 2002 when 633,000 people were estimated to be internally displaced in hiding sites, temporary shelters and relocation sites. This decrease can be attributed to a mix of sustainable return or resettlement, forced migration into the fringes of urban and rural communities, flight into refugee and migrant populations in Thailand and methodological differences in data collection. Speculation remains as to how many people on the fringes of rural and urban communities have been obliged to leave their homes and are unable to resettle and reintegrate, but whose status as internally displaced persons can not be verified. Indicators of vulnerability for the internally displaced population reflect a critical situation. The survey found that more than half of internally displaced households have been forced to work without compensation and have been extorted of cash or property during the past year. While these and other human rights abuses were widespread and a lack of protection was common in all areas, people in relocation sites have reportedly been affected the most. Livelihoods in free-fire areas are demonstrated as largely dependent on subsistenceoriented slash and burn agriculture, yet still they are undermined by government patrols searching for and destroying crops. Conversely, less households were documented in relocation sites than elsewhere as being involved in any type of rice farming, indicating a lack of access to land and greater restrictions on movement. Yet the survey also found the highest rates of hunting and gathering were in densely populated ceasefire areas, which is indicative of the livelihood constraints of resettlement into these areas. This report presents indicators which suggest there is a public health emergency amongst internally displaced persons in eastern Burma. A third of households surveyed had not been able to access any health services during the past year, contributing to high mortality rates from infectious diseases which can be prevented and treated, such as malaria. Child mortality and malnutrition rates are double Burma?s national baseline rate and comparable to those recorded amongst internally displaced populations in the Horn of Africa. The population structure shows significantly more children dependent on a smaller proportion of working age adults compared to official data sources for Burma. This working age adult population consists of a high proportion of women representing greater rates of mortality, economic migration, flight from abuse and military conscription amongst young adult men. Low levels of access to durable shelter are recorded and associated not only with limited protection from the climate but also adverse impacts on health and human dignity. Similarly, low levels of educational attainment are likely to restrict the capacity of internally displaced persons to cope and recover from all of these aspects of vulnerability. The surveys demonstrate that the problem of forced migration in Eastern Burma remains large and complex and that internally displaced populations are extremely vulnerable. As in 2002, TBBC presents this compilation of data without making any recommendations. The intention is that policy makers and humanitarian organisations might be better informed in terms of preparing for refugee repatriation and addressing the situation of internal displacement itself."