Camp Life

Refugee camp had its distinct social structure. However unlike the real world its citizens pursue the same goal-that was to get screened in. There also existed classes. There were three classes only: the screened-in, the screened-out and the waiting-to-be screened One can guess, the screened-in was the most desired class. The screened-out is also called "the lepers" because most of them had lived in camp for quite a long time and had no hope just like lepers! The last class was the most law-abiding because they were in the process of screening. The degree of desire to be screened in gave the classes different power according to its status. Like caste system, there was very little hope to achieve upward mobility. Often people tried to advance to "upper class" by marrying people who were screened in.

Daily activities

Daily activities were a little bit different from camp to camp. Here I am talking mostly about Panat Nikhom and Sikiew camps. Sikiew camp was used to hold the waiting-to-be screened and the screened-out. Panat Nikhom was a transit center for repatriates and the screened-in who were waiting to be settled in the third country. There were not much to do in camp except for checking mail, doing labor duty and waiting for whatever happened. After morning Thai anthem, refugees started a new day. Most of the time people spent time chitchatting. However many spent their time studying English; others went to work for relief organizations; some worked for Thai shops. some prepared for their turn to be interviewed. As long as their relatives in the third country sent money, they did OK. The most important day of the week is Friday. It was a mail day. The post office opened on Friday and Saturday. Every piece of mail was opened by the Thai Red Cross post office before it reached the refugees. Refugees had to wait for about 1 week to get their money (of course exchanged to Thai currency). To many people, mail day was a happy day. However to others it was a sad day because they never get any letter, any money. Sikiew camp was where you wasted your youth; It taught you not to think, not to hope but to wait. It turned a nice kid into a thief, an innocent girl into a prostitude, a honest person into a manipulative, deceptive individual. However from this place, it also grew a strong tight of family, a family of people with the same desperate circumstance. Camp life was cruel.