at the end of the day

Update at the end of 9 Nov:

A large portion of the refugees (whose actual number was never confirmed, but best estimated around 12K) have returned to Myawaddy. The SPDC currently controls the town, and while fighting continues outside of town, Myawaddy itself, at least for the moment, is stable. The Thai military was taking truck loads of refugees back down to the border in the mid/late afternoon. AMI and UNHCR went to make sure the repatriation was voluntary (we haven't heard back from them yet), but it seems that many people were interested in checking on their property, especially after several fires started in Myawaddy.

Several local volunteers, CBOs, and NGOs were on hand all day at the refugee sites (a monastery near the border, the Thai military training field, and the football field at the airport) distributing food, water, and blankets, while the larger INGO players seemed hung up in meetings and plans for a needs assessment. Thai military medics set up makeshift health stations, and treated the few injuries, and assorted other unremarkable ailments. I tried to attend the 'health sector' meeting this afternoon, but arrived there in time to see the staff of the host organization leaving to go back to the site. I and the others who showed up for the meeting were told by the befuddled office staff that the team was going to figure out what was going on with the returns.

A well informed local partner asked me to return to their office in the morning to get a reassessment of the situation. He seemed to have more information, but reluctant to share it in front of the various persons hovering around the office. I'm hoping to have a more candid conversation with him in the morning.

So, in short, the day began with more fighting, and more people crossing to Thailand, but ended with an abatement of conflict and people crossing back over. No telling re: tomorrow.