The urban refugees came with families and stayed as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in communities along the border. They are on the “dead list”, their houses were invaded, and their friends were arrested and killed. By June, some of them started crossing the border to seek refuge in Thailand as the threat from the nearing Myanmar army rose. They have struggled to get money to pay for rent and food each month, and healthy food and hygiene supplies are limited. The children have no opportunity to attend school or any development activities. In some areas, family members rarely leave their houses for fear of being arrested. Access to medical care can only be done via the Legal Aid team.

In May 2022, migrant schools in Mae Sot Tak were allowed to resume regular instruction after being closed for two years due to COVID-19 precautions. FWB met with the schools to inquire about their willingness to accept refugee children while also encouraging the children of refugees in custody to enter the school system and offer financial support for the cost of education and school travel. In all of this, the PCF has allocated a portion of the humanitarian response budget to help.

However, one of the very high education costs is the cost of school uniforms which children in migrant schools are required to wear because, as the Educational Service Area Office states, wearing a uniform protects the students from arrest for illegal immigration. FWB raised as many school uniforms as they could and requested support from PCF.

After the coup in Myanmar in 2021, Friends Without Borders (FWB) Foundation, with primary support from PCF and additional individual donations, continued its emergency humanitarian tasks to respond to displacement and the COVID-19 crisis on the Thailand-Karen State and Thailand-Karenni State borders. As the organisation has long been working with several Karen and Karenni Community-Based Organisations (CBOs), structures and communities, FWB decided to support the roles of these CBOs and local structures in humanitarian aid provision. 

The FWB team has assisted all 20 vulnerable urban refugee families seeking shelter in Mae Sot District, Tak province, via Human Rights and Development Foundation's (HRDF) legal aid team. These urban refugees are civilians who participated in the anti-military coup movement in their township and are therefore targeted by State Administration Council (SAC) authorities. The assistance provided includes room rental expenses, food, nutrition and materials that promote child development. All beneficiaries are vulnerable families from among the urban Myanmar refugees with young children, elders or persons with physical and mental health problems.

Since Thailand has not ratified the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and does not recognise that there are refugees who will be at risk of life-threatening danger of being deported to Myanmar, these urban refugees are considered "illegal migrants" who are subjected to be arrested and deported.   Although United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which has been allowed to work at the border for over a decade, conducts a screening process to identify those in need of international protection, urban refugees are still at risk. Both those waiting for a UNHCR interview or granted a 'person of concern' status live in hiding for fear of being arrested and sent back to the hands of Myanmar military.