Seeking refuge across the border

YUNNAN, China — Myanmar’s government broke a 20-year peace treaty with ethnic minority rebel fighters in the country’s Shan state this August. As a result, an estimated 30,000 Myanmar citizens in the region sought refuge across the border, in the southern reaches of Yunnan, China. To cope with the large number of displaced people, seven temporary refugee camps were established (some were organized by the United Nations, others by the Chinese government). As of Sept. 1, most of the refugees had returned to their homes across the border.

This selection of photographs depicts scenes from one Chinese government-organized refugee camp. Located in an abandoned building that offers very basic relief from the elements, hundreds of refugees old and young wait there while tension simmers in their homeland, a brief 15-minute drive away.

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