'We don't have to wait for others to support us': Myanmar refugees find hope in Thailand's work program

At a glance, Ray Boe doesn't stand out from the tens of thousands of other foreign workers toiling at countless construction sites that push Bangkok's soaring skyline ever higher. Unlike most of them, though, the 31-year-old came to Thailand 's capital from one of the country's nine camps for refugees who have fled Myanmar 's decades of civil strife. The camps, which hug the Thai- Myanmar border, are home to more than 100,000 people — in some cases since the 1980s when the refugees first started arriving. Until a year ago this month, the Thai government had refused to let them leave the camps to find work, forcing most to live hand-to-mouth on foreign donor aid.