THASONGYANG, TAK : Many came but few were chosen when The Lady made a brief visit to the Mae La refugee camp yesterday.
TAKING A BREAK: A boy sits among refugees waiting for the arrival of Aung San Suu Kyi at the Mae La refugee camp near the Thai-Myanmar border in Tak province yesterday.
Thousands of expectant refugees _ some waving Thai flags and that of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, others holding photos of Aung San Suu Kyi and her father Aung San _ had turned out in the hope of close contact with the democracy icon.
The crowds, including monks and Muslim refugees, crammed onto a soccer field and waited for hours to get a glimpse of Mrs Suu Kyi.
Scores of local and international journalists were barred from entering the camp, with only a few dozen reporters allocated a green badge to get inside. Eventually, many just sneaked in and mingled with the refugees.
Those who had an hour-long session with her included Tak governor Suriya Prasatbuntitya, military, interior and foreign affairs officials, the camp committee and NGOs in charge of health and education in the camp.
"She asked if shortcomings in the camp were due to reduced funding, so she will help explain and communicate with donors when she travels to Europe later this month," the governor said.
Hearing that about 20% of the camp population did not have schooling, Mrs Suu Kyi said she would like to see the refugees being better educated.
"I'm very satisfied with the visit in the sense that I've been able to learn a lot of things, but of course there are many things that have to be done for the refugees and basically to do something about the situation that has resulted in refugees coming over from Burma," she said.
After the talks, Mrs Suu Kyi ventured further into the camp to visit the emergency ward, meeting patients and having a brief lunch inside a sealed area. Before she left the camp, she donated a dozen boxes of snacks and books to the camp representatives.
A 54-year-old security guard positioned near the main gate said he was excited that The Lady came.
"What I want is peace and freedom. If the country is more peaceful, I surely would want to go home because we are depending on the generosity of Thailand," said the man, who crossed the border 13 years ago.
Winber, 18, a Karen born inside the camp, said Mrs Suu Kyi was just another VIP visiting the camp.
Even so, the teenager was hopeful that she could forge democracy more quickly inside Myanmar.
"If I could choose, I would definitely want to go to the US or a third country. But if not, I will try to stay in Thailand," said the girl, wearing a traditional dress.
Kyi Naing Tun, a member of the NLD and a camp resident, said: "We are very emotional in meeting with the NLD people, especially The Lady. We just want them to know that we want to go back but the country needs to quickly develop democracy."