The Thai-Burma border is an intriguing and special area in its own right. On the Burmese side live individuals both from the Burman majority, and from minority ethnic groups such as the Karen, Karenni, Mon and Shan. Directly across the border from Mae Sot is Karen State.

No single book adequately describes life on the Thai-Burma border, and it is doubtful that any one book ever could capture the extreme diversity of the border zone. The most readable entry point is Mac McClelland, For Us Surrender Is Out of the Question: A Story from Burma's Never-ending War. Probabaly the best attempt to document life in "the lands in between" is Richard Humphries, Frontier Mosaic: Voices of Burma from the Lands in Between. This can be quite a tough read at times, but it contains plenty of excellent material and is worth reading from cover to cover. Also very good is Phil Thornton, Restless Souls: Rebels, Refugees, Medics and Misfits on the Thai-Burma Border, which was written in Mae Sot and looks from there at Burma's ethnic problem and the people who have gathered along the Thai side of the border as a result of it. This is also an easy read, and is highly recommended for MOEI participants. Another Mae Sot book, published in 2010, is a history of the first 20 years of Dr Cynthia's outstanding Mae Tao Clinic (which is one of MOEI's partners on the Thai-Burma border). A free download is available here. Finally, Forced Migration Review has an outstanding April 2008 special issue on Burma's displaced people, with about 30 short articles covering many aspects of migrant life. The articles can all be accessed here. Other issues of FMR are also worth checking for Burma material.

Several books on crossing the border and working or fighting with Burma's ethnic minorities are also interesting. Mike Tucker, The Long Patrol: With Karen Guerrillas in Burma, a short account of a brief foray into Karen State, will be of interest to many MOEI participants. Shelby Tucker, Among Insurgents is a decent read. Benedict Rogers, A Land without Evil is useful.

Cast in a totally different context, but actually very evocative of life in a contemporary refugee camp (such as those found along the Thai-Burma border), is Dave Eggers, What is the What. This epic account of the Sudan refugee crisis of a decade or two ago – pre-Darfur, but no less horrific – provides perhaps the best description of the challenges faced by Burmese refugees and migrants.