Photo Essays | Society | Southeast Asia

In Photos: Life along Myanmar’s Border

Refugees scrounge out a life on both sides of the Moei River bordering Thailand.

A peak across the border. Razor wire separates Myanmar from Thailand at Mae Sot along the Moei River. Civil war has blighted the country for five years and left about 93,000 people dead. Aerial bombardments are also continuing. Recent strikes killed at least 27 people, including a one-month-old infant and injured 10 civilians.

The eyes have it. All sides in Myanmar’s civil war are waiting on a verdict in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where senior generals are being prosecuted for the alleged 2017 genocide of the ethnic Rohingya. The military denies the allegations. The trial in the United Nations’ top court concluded on January 29 but a verdict could still be months away.

Burmese backyards. Huts line the border with Thailand, where hundreds of people from Myanmar have found sanctuary and make a living primarily by selling alcohol and cigarettes – much of it counterfeit – along with precious stones, teak, dried fish, rice, and bottled water.

As the dry season nears an end, and the Moei River falls to its lowest levels, fishermen dig into the riverbank hoping for a catch. Others scavenge for a livelihood, collecting plastics and anything else that can be recycled.

Caught in Myanmar, sold in Thailand. Fishermen deliver their daily catch to the market. Giant River Catfish – also known as the Bagarius catfish – Snakehead fish and species of Loaches and Barbs are a chief source of protein from the Moei River.

Children play hide and seek in the bushes. Not far from here an NGO, which remains nameless, runs a home for rescued child soldiers, some as young as 12. The children study English, Thai, and Burmese and learn life skills while undergoing psychiatric evaluations.

An evening kick. Each day, dozens of children meet on a dirt paddock where a game of........

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