Background Shan people

The text below is taken from the site from the SWAN group; Shan Woman Action Network. The organisation has one of their 12 Shan schools nearby some of our schools and we made contact with the headmaster Terry Brown who comes from Myanmar/ Burma himself.
Free Schools is now supporting 6 children with their transport cost so they can go to that school.

http://www.shanwoman.org/ :
The Shan State is over 64,000 square kilometers in size and forms the eastern part of the Union of Burma bordering China, Laos and Thailand. The people of the Shan State, like in other areas of Burma, suffer from abuse inflicted by the Burmese military regime, which according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Asia is amongst the worst in the world. The abuse inflicted on the Shan people by the Burmese military has forced many people to flee for their lives to Thailand.The Thai government, however, does not recognize the Shan people as refugees and unlike the Karen and Karenni refugees, has not allowed them to set up refugees camps along the Thai-Burmese border. Consequently the Shans are forced to enter Thailand illegally, which leaves them extremely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Despite this, Shan people are still coming to take refuge in Thailand. The estimated number of Shans working illegally in Thailand is at least 300,000. Among them are many girls and young women who have been trafficked into Thai brothels, where they face a wide range of abuse including sexual and other physical violence, debt bondage, exposure to HIV/AIDS, forced labor without payment and illegal confinement.

Shan refugees fleeing from civil war and ongoing human rights abuses are not recognised as “refugees” in Thailand. They are thus being denied safe refuge and assistance from international aid agencies. Most vulnerable in this situation are the children. As their parents are forced to find work as migrant labourers, often illegally, many of the children end up receiving no schooling whatsoever. Since they are not recognised as “refugees”, they have not been allowed to set up camps and consequently proper schools. Technically all children in Thailand have the right to attend Thai schools. However, there are many difficulties accessing them. Parents doing the “3Ds” job (Dirty, Difficult and Dangerous), are paid so little that sending children to Thai schools is difficult to afford. Parents are often on the move due to the irregularity of work. Also, having illegal status, and confined to the workplace, parents are afraid to leave their work-sites to arrange schooling, fearing arrest. Even if children manage to attend schools, there is a risk to young girls whilst travelling to and from school of being abducted and trafficked. In addition to all these factors, Thai schools teach in Thai only, which Shan children usually do not speak. With children mixing and learning from Thai people, it is possible that Shan language and identity may be lost. The Shan refugee community has strongly expressed wishes to preserve their language and identity for when all Shan people return home.