More about refugees..

My worst fears were not confirmed by the bean counters. By the time some allowances had been made our estimate of the cash available for the care of each child rose to the dizzy heights of five pounds and a few pence. This covers food, clothing health, education - everything. Not for a day, not even for a week, but for a whole, entire month.

Today there should be a picture of the camp if the technology works. There is also a picture of a lady from the SAW women's project learning to weave. This project helps women and children with HIV. They live in Thailand illegally, in conditions slightly better than the camps. This house and its people desperately need the help of a team of volunteers with paint, skills and a willingness to work. Money to improve the kitchen and the plumbing would be essential. Ten ladies and ten children would be eternally grateful.

Finally a word about school uniforms. We were told today that recently 22 children were returned to Burma in a group. This is too many to ransome back. We were told quite matter-of-factly that the boys would be impressed into the army as soldiers or porters. The girls would be 'Trafficked'. 'Trafficked' is a euphemism for sold into a brothel. Uniforms help children avoid arrest. Five pounds to buy a uniform seems like a great bargain. Five pounds a month to live on seems like an insult to humanity.