Trump’s executive order freezing the USAID program for 90 days is impacting people displaced from Myanmar. The Thai-Myanmar border is home to camps housing around 100,000 refugees. 69% of the camps’ funding comes from the U.S. government, so once the announcement was made, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and other NGOs working at the border had to suspend operations. This has forced the medical clinics in the camps to shut their doors, although the Thai government has announced that the most critical patients will be admitted to Thai hospitals. Many systems in the camps such as garbage disposal and water distribution have also shut down.
According to Reuters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that “life-saving humanitarian assistance,” which Rubio defined as “core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance, supplies and reasonable administrative costs as necessary to deliver such assistance,” would not be impacted by the aid freeze. However, right now it is unclear if the hospitals in Thai refugee camps will be counted in this category.
Thai public health minister Somsak Thepsutin responded to the freeze: “We cannot abandon or chase them away since they have lived here in the camps for a long time… no matter who they are, we have to take care of them.” Yet a Reuters article has also stated that the Thai hospitals are not equipped to deal with the influx of people long-term, and will have to find another solution.
Many people in the camps are part of the Karen ethnic minority who have been looking for more autonomy in Myanmar and have fled political oppression because of this. Many others are Rohingya refugees, who have faced heavy persecution and violence in Myanmar for years.
Americans tend to overestimate the portion of the U.S. federal budget spent on foreign aid: According to AP News, the U.S. government spends less than 1% of its budget on foreign aid, contrary to the average public belief that foreign aid makes up 31% of the budget.
Despite only making up 1% of the U.S. federal budget, U.S. foreign aid has a large impact worldwide. In addition to assisting refugees in Thailand and Myanmar, USAID helps people all around the world: from funding clinics for HIV patients in sub-Saharan Africa to running asylum offices in Latin America, and providing support for LGBTQ+ youth fleeing violence.
Trump’s order to disband USAID poses a major threat to global human rights and the American people. Not only does USAID save lives such as refugees fleeing conflict, it provides about 10,000 jobs for Americans. Additionally, rather than just giving money to countries, foreign aid helps develop kinship among nations and preserves U.S. national security interests in the long run, a fact that Marco Rubio himself acknowledged in the past. Therefore, disbanding foreign aid is unnecessary and even detrimental to the “America First” platform, especially since a very small portion of the government budget is spent on it.
Congress and the courts need to protect this vital organization. If the government decides to reduce the organization’s scope, they should do it in increments, and provide suggestions for alternative ways for various NGOs to get funding, instead of abruptly stopping aid. Overall, this is just the latest in a series of executive orders showing Trump and his administration’s apparent blatant disregard for human rights and international cooperation.
In the meantime, Thailand might have to look for alternative solutions to protect the Myanmar refugees. An article from Global Voices suggests that the country integrate the refugees into Thai society; since resettlement is ultimately something refugees want rather than living in camps indefinitely. Hopefully, other organizations or countries will work with Thailand to come up with a solution to protect the refugees and the clinics they depend on.
