Burmese migrants, around 300 in number, who have been hiding fearing arrest by Thai authorities, are undergoing severe ordeals in order to survive, according to Ko Moe Joe, in charge of the Joint Action Committee on Burmese Affairs (JACBA).

"Currently, there is a problem of getting drinking water. The migrants do not live in houses, they live in shelters. Among 300 people, about 10 people have been diagnosed with diarrhoea. Five others are sick," he said.

The owners prohibited people from meeting the migrants or giving them donations since they were afraid of the authorities discovering the hiding places. Therefore we have illegally sent them aid, said Ko Hteik Thu Aung, a person helping the hiding migrants.

"They did not allow us to visit them as the migrants felt that they were in danger. After negotiations with the owners over the telephone, the owners agreed that three migrants would fetch things at night. No other alternative is available," he said.

Some of the migrants in hiding said that they usually shared the things that they got.

"We get drinking water bottles and cans of fish but it is not enough for us. We manage to share it among ourselves," a migrant said.

"The weather is very cold here. To avoid the cold, they set up a fire all through the night. Some people have donated blankets but more are still needed," Ko Moe Joe said.

"We managed to get medicines to cure patients, who were sick and suffering from diarrhoea, only at night," Ko Hteik Thu Aung said.

On January 14, Thai authorities razed bamboo fields, banana fields, and teakwood plant fields, which are located near the Thai-border township of Phopphra and 44 kms away from Maesot. About 300 migrants from those fields have been hiding in jungles and in nearby villages.