The Muslim Quarter, Mae Sot: A Photo Essay

Mae Sot is a city in western Thailand that shares a border with Myanmar.

It is a place with a large Muslim population where many escaping persecution – including ethnic Rohingya fleeing the genocide in Myanmar – seek refuge and try to rebuild their shattered lives.

Sydney Criminal Lawyers was on the ground in the city and provides this photo essay of everyday life:

At the western most point of Thailand, Mae Sot has a distinctly different feel from other regions. This is because of its diverse makeup, which, due to the centre’s proximity to the main border crossing with Myanmar, makes it the most multicultural part of the country.

In terms of its large Muslim population, it’s estimated that there are ten times more Muslims originating from the bordering nation, compared to the number of Thai Muslims residing in the Islamic district just south of the city centre.

According to Mae Sot Municipal Administration, in 2013, over 3,000 Thai Muslims, or about 5 percent of the town’s entire population, were living there, while a local nongovernment organisation estimated over 8,000 Burmese Muslims resided there at the time.

But there are further estimates putting the number of Muslims from Myanmar living in Mae Sot illegally at up to 30,000.

Recent years have seen the official flow of people coming from Myanmar into Thailand come to a halt, as the border was closed with the onset of COVID. However, since the military junta in Myanmar retook control in February 2021, refugees have been crossing over via alternate routes.