In Cambodia Lionel Rosenblatt will be examining RI’s on-going work in Mondulkiri, where RI has been assisting minority peoples that returned in 1999 and 2000 after several decades in Thailand. Lionel will also look into the situation for recently returned Cambodian Americans who, lacking formal citizenship status, were deported from the United States after committing felonies. Recent press reports have highlighted the plight of these deportees, who find themselves stranded in a society that is no longer their own after living for many years in the U.S.

In Thailand Lionel will focus on the situation of refugees from Laos and Burma. He will link up with RI Field Representatives Veronika Martin and Betsy Apple, who are already in Thailand looking into gender-based violence by the Burmese military as a cause of flight for Burmese refugees. Lionel will lead the RI team in approaching the Thai government and the UN High Commission for Refugees with findings and recommendations from this mission.