the arrival of Mandingo refugees from Liberia increased ethnic tensions with the
forest tribes in Guinea.
9 In the case of Thailand, no evidence was found that the
refugees’ presence has heightened the political demands of the disadvantaged hill
tribe people in Thailand. There is no support for greater Karen autonomy in
Thailand, nor any kind of Pan-Karen nationalism.
In sum, the refugees do have an impact on the health care, criminal, and political
situations in Thailand. However, for the large majority of refugees this is due to
reasons outside of their control. The elements that negatively affect the Thai
population often have the same negative impact on most refugees. only a small
section of the refugees are politically active or engaged in rebel or criminal activities.