MAE HONG SON - A solemn and simple Christian funeral ceremony was held on Monday as the victims of the Ban Mae Surin refugee camp fire were laid to rest.
Karen refugees from Myanmar attend a Christian funeral ceremony held as the victims of the Ban Mae Surin refugee camp fire were laid to rest on Monday in Khun Yuam district, Mae Hong Son. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
Thirty-six bodies were buried near the camp in Khun Yuam district, which was devastated by a fire on Friday, leaving more than 2,000 Karen people homeless and left to live in temporary shelters. More than 100 of the refugees who survived the fire had burns and related injuries.
The blaze killed 37 Karen refugees. The 37th victim died at a hospital in Chiang Mai on Sunday.
The inferno that swept the camp has devastated many families, all of whom fled Myanmar to escape abuse and war.
Grieving Sa Mu, 29, lost his 20-year-old brother and his nephew in the fire.
"He was about to graduate in the next few months," he said of this brother.
"He planned to play in a soccer match with a team in Mae Hong Song," he said. "Now he doesn't have that chance. It's too cruel for a young man to die this way."
Investigators say they are still trying to ascertain the cause of the fire - whether it was caused by cinders from a forest fire, a cooking fire accident, or even deliberate arson to clear the camp that was set up more than two decades ago.
Deputy director-general of the Royal Forest Department Rerngchai Prayoonwet on Sunday said the blaze could not have been started by a nearby forest fire as there were no reports of a fire near the refugee camp when the blaze broke out.
Human Rights Watch representative in Thailand Sunai Phasuk said the government must quickly and clearly conclude the investigation to end speculation as to the cause of the tragedy. The incident and the high number of deaths were being closely watched by human rights organisations and were a matter of concern.
"The government cannot sit on this issue and let it go in the hope that the public will soon forget," he said. "The government has to come up with the answer."
Refugees in other camps along the Thai-Myanmar border had been alerted to remain vigilant around the clock to prevent a similar tragedy.
Thailand is entering the dry season and forest fires could be a threat to refugee camps, Manager Online quoted Robert Htwe, the chairman of the Karen Refugees Committee, as saying.
Refugees should be careful while cooking. A small mistake could cause a tragedy, he said. Leaders at all camps had been advised to keep the camps safe, he added.
Nine camps for refugees from Myanmar have been set up along the border, four of them are in Mae Hong Son - including Ban Mae Surin - three in Tak and one each in Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi.
Mae Hong Son officials and the Interior Ministry have said Ban Mae Surin will be rebuilt at the same location.
The camp sheltered about 3,000 refugees from Myanmar.
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