The Border Consortium

TBC welcomes Thailand’s historic move to grant refugee work rights, but continued support is vital to ensure no refugee is left behind.

On World Refugee Day 2025, TBC urgently calls for increased support, protection, and solidarity for all those displaced by the crisis in Myanmar.

Stay informed with TBC. Our new monthly newsletter delivers essential updates on the situation along the Thai-Myanmar border, including key reports, political context, and highlights from TBC’s humanitarian work.

Due to a funding shortfall, TBC will reduce food card assistance from April to July 2025, impacting over 80% of refugee households. We are prioritizing the most vulnerable while urgently seeking new funding. TBC remains committed to supporting displaced communities.

Emergency Appeal: Refugees Need Your Help Now! Due to funding suspensions, The Border Consortium (TBC) can no longer guarantee food support for refugees. 108,000 refugees in nine border camps are at immediate risk. Please consider supporting refugees.

With recent global shifts—particularly the uncertainty following the U.S. foreign aid review—TBC, alongside refugee leadership and key partners, is advocating for meaningful policy changes to allow refugees to contribute to their own well-being and to Thai society.

This month’s update shows how recent Executive Orders impact our food support for displaced communities, with snapshots of our work and camp population figures. See how we’re responding to evolving challenges at theborderconsortium.org.

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar, The Border Consortium stands in solidarity with civil society, humanitarian workers, and activists who continue to work tirelessly for a peaceful, just, and inclusive future for the people of Myanmar.

TBC's mid-year overview which provides an update on the situation for displaced communities and TBC's responses during the first half of 2024 is now available theborderconsortium.org/wp-content/upl…

Join us for a special panel discussion in BKK on Aug 15th in celebration of TBC's 40th anniversary! The discussion will cover the history of displacement into Thailand, the current humanitarian & political landscape and explore potential future pathways for lives beyond the camps

TBC's 2023 Annual Report, which includes analysis of the political context in southeast MYM and TH, the financial outlook for TBC's work and an overview of strategic and programmatic trends, is now available in both English & Burmese. theborderconsortium.org/news-press/202…

TBC's report is now available to read on our website, physical copies of the report are available on request shorturl.at/dxFl3 7/7

Costs to provide emergency food and shelter are 7 million THB ($190,000USD) per month, approximately 90 million baht ($2,500,000USD) for a six-month period. Please reach out if you are interested in supporting our emergency response. 6/7

The report is also a reminder of how precarious the living situation for many on the border is. TBC has been providing aid to these communities since the coup, however we are increasingly facing shortages in funding. 5/7

This report sheds a light on their experiences and ensures that while underreported, they will not go forgotten. It features an analysis of the humanitarian situation for these arrivals, a thematic overview of their lived experience and a selection of direct testimony. 4/7

Crucially the report also highlights their agency in how they try securing their livelihoods and their resilience in the face of adversity. Their backgrounds and lived experiences may vary , but they all share the same restricted horizons. All their voices need to be heard. 3/7

TBC recently interviewed more than 35 households along a 700+km stretch of the Thai/ Myanmar border and produced a briefing paper, detailing the struggles that thousands of families along the border face. 2/7

Since the coup on 1st Feb 2021, tens of thousands of refugees are now living in remote areas along the Thai Myanmar border. They have no legal status in Thailand and risk arrest and deportation if caught by Thai authorities. 1/7

It shows how local refugee partners have developed systems and programs that are global best practice and show the international community there is a better way to provide humanitarian assistance. Rather than simply working for refugees, work with them.

Drawing on 40 years of annual reports, it also uses TBC’s organisational history as a lens to view not just events in Burma and the border, but to highlight and champion the growing international acceptance of the strengths and legitimacy of refugee led governance structures.

No one would have imagined in 1984 that TBC would still be here, or worse that hundreds of thousands of people would still be displaced in southeast Myanmar and stuck in refugee camps in Thailand. Yet we stand here today, with the need in Myanmar as great as it ever has been.