A HAMPSHIRE church leader has spoken of the desperation of people fleeing from Burma for a new life in Thailand. The Bishop of Winchester the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt was speaking exclusively to the Daily Echo after 54 Burmese migrants suffocated to death in a lorry smuggling them into southern Thailand.

More than 100 people were packed in a container. Many of the survivors are seriously ill from dehydration and oxygen starvation.

Thousands of Burmese risk the trip to Thailand in the hope of better wages which they can send back to their loved ones.

The bishop spoke of the tragedy of people trafficking which takes place in many parts of the world, including the UK.

He spent ten days in Burma - the Winchester diocese's oldest overseas partnership link, going back to 1877.

The bishop said he could not make a political comment on a country which last year hit the global headlines when the military dictatorship faced large street protests led by Buddhist monks.

Bishop Michael said his first priority was to maintain the diocese's links with Burma and those who were representing the church in one of the most challenging corners of the world.

The bishop said: "The situation is just as we have read it to be in our newspapers. Burma is a place where the regime is very much in control.

"There are a lot of people who are very poor and for whom it is a real struggle to get the necessities of life. It is really not a place where any opposition to the regime can flourish."

The bishop's previous visit to Burma was about six years ago. He was back in the country to represent the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams at the enthronement of a new archbishop in Burma.

Bishop Michael said: "A visitor is not allowed to stay in the house of a native person. You have to stay in a hotel, but I was able to talk and listen to a lot of people on their own territory."

He was able to talk to people who are serving with the church in bringing help to refugees on the Thai border.

The bishop said: "There are many people who have been expelled or have fled from their villages. They have taken refuge in the camps on the Thai border. All the churches are active in the camps, helping them with every aspect of their lives.

"I have talked to some clergy and it is a very demanding place for everybody and quite a frightening place."

The bishop said the people-trafficking from Burma into Thailand was a sign of people's desperation. He said: "It is an utter tragedy for those people and their families, who probably would have hoped to receive money back if these people had got jobs in Thailand."

About five per cent of Burma's population is Christian. "It is not a place where it is easy to be Christian," said Bishop Michael. "They are doing their best in a challenging, demanding and quite hostile environment. But it really was a great privilege to be alongside them."