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Mapping Daily Life and Biometric Systems in Mae La Camp
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This digital map traces the daily lives of four residents in Mae La refugee camp and their encounters with biometric systems. While biometric identification in countries like the UK is often linked to border control or security, in Mae La it is embedded in ordinary routines used for accessing food and healthcare.
Unlike in the Global North, where biometric data is typically held by the state, refugee biometric records are stored across multiple registers by governmental, non-governmental, and commercial organisations. This layered system raises questions of access, control, and accountability.
Through this map, we see how these systems are normalised in the camp, and how residents navigate and negotiate them as part of daily life.