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Press Availability by Mrs. Laura Bush After a Visit to Mae la Refugee Camp
Residents of the Mae La Refugee Camp at Mae Sot, Thailand, perform traditional dance for Mrs. Laura Bush during her visit to the camp on the Burma border on Aug. 7, 2008. It has been almost 20 years since the August 8, 1988 crackdown in Burma which began forcing residents from the country. Many of the people in the Mae La Refugee Camp and the other eight camps along the border have been born in the camps or lived most of their lives in the camps, waiting for conditions to improve in Burma or to move to the United States and other countries. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
Residents of the Mae La Refugee Camp at Mae Sot, Thailand, perform traditional dance for Mrs. Laura Bush during her visit to the camp on the Burma border on Aug. 7, 2008. It has been almost 20 years since the August 8, 1988 crackdown in Burma which began forcing residents from the country. Many of the people in the Mae La Refugee Camp and the other eight camps along the border have been born in the camps or lived most of their lives in the camps, waiting for conditions to improve in Burma or to move to the United States and other countries. White House photo by Shealah Craighead Full Story
Mrs. Laura Bush and daughter Barbara Bush talk with a nurse Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008 at Mae Tao Clinic at the Mea La Refugee Camp which provides free treatment for the sick and wounded Burmese migrant workers in Mae Sot, Thailand. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
Ms. Barbara Bush, daughter of President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush, spends a playful moment with a small child during her visit to the Mae Tao Clinic at the Mae La Refugee Camp in Mae Sot, Thailand Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
Mrs. Laura Bush sits in on a grammar class during her visit on Aug. 7, 2008 to the Mae La Refugee Camp at Mae Sot, Thailand. The camp, the largest of nine in Thailand, houses at least 39,000 Burmese refugees, many of whom home to resettle in the United States if conditions do not permit them to return to their home country. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
Mrs. Laura Bush and daughter Ms. Barbara Bush try on shawls created by weavers carrying on the traditional Karen ethnic craft at the Mae La Refugee Camp at Mae Sot, Thailand. In her August 7, 2008 comments, Mrs. Bush pointed out that the weavings are done to help generate money for the refugees and can be purchased via the Internet through consortiums that work with women at the camp. The camp houses at least 39,000 refugees waiting for a safe time to return to their home country. Many have decided the wait of 20 years has been too long and have immigrated to the United States and other countries. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
Residents of the Mae La Refugee Camp at Mae Sot, Thailand, perform traditional dance for Mrs. Laura Bush during her visit to the camp on the Burma border on Aug. 7, 2008. It has been almost 20 years since the August 8, 1988 crackdown in Burma which began forcing residents from the country. Many of the people in the Mae La Refugee Camp and the other eight camps along the border have been born in the camps or lived most of their lives in the camps, waiting for conditions to improve in Burma or to move to the United States and other countries. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
Mrs. Laura Bush and daughter Ms. Barbara Bush examine local wares after a dance ceremony and viewing traditional Karen weaving at the Mae La Refugee Camp at Mae Sot, Thailand, on Aug. 7, 2008. Mrs. Bush's visit to one of the largest refugee camps on the border was at the top of a mountain on the border with Burma. In her comments, Mrs. Bush noted the generosity of the Thai government and the people of Thailand in allowing the nine camps to exist there. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
Mrs. Laura Bush and daughter Ms. Barbara Bush look over the weaving done by refugee women at the Mae La Refugee Camp at Mae Sot, Thailand, on Aug. 7, 2008. This traditional Karen craft helps the refugees make money and can be bought via the Internet through consortiums that work with the women in the camp which houses at least 39,000 Burmese. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
The English lesson on the chalkboard in a grammar class visited by Mrs. Laura Bush in Mae La Refugee Camp tells the story of the Burmese refugees and uses three lines to discuss compound sentence construction. It says " My life in refugee is better than Burma but I don't have opportunity to go outside of my camp. I like to speak English so I am now trying hard.” The Aug. 7, 2008 visit to the camp in Mae Sot, Thailand, highlighted the fact that it has been 20 years since the crackdown in Burma that sent many people fleeing the dire conditions. Many residents have been born in one of the nine camps along the border or have lived most of their lives there. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
Mrs. Laura Bush and daughter Ms. Barbara Bush, right, visit a grammar class at the Mae La Refugee Camp at Mae Sot, Thailand, on August 7, 2008. At least 39,000 Burmese have gathered at this camp to escape oppression in their country. The camp is the largest of nine refugee camps in Thailand. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
Mrs. Laura Bush and Ms. Barbara Bush visit a grammar class at the Mae La Refugee Camp Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008, in Mae Sot, Thailand. The camp, the largest of nine on the Burma-Thailand border, houses nearly 40,000 refugees feeling oppression in Burma. White House photo by Shealah Craighead
 
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