The garbage dump outside the town of Mae Sot in Thailand, is filled with the smell of rotting fish and other waste. But it has become a haven for some Burmese migrants who cross the border illegally to look for a better life.

The town is located about three miles from the border between Thailand and Burma. About 100 migrants have taken refuge in makeshift tarpaulin huts next to mounds of garbage.

The migrants comb through the stinking mass in search of goods that can be recycled--mainly plastic bags and glass bottles.

Being a garbage picker in Thailand is not an easy job, but the migrants say it beats what they had back home.

[Ma Mia Chin, Burmese Migrant]:
"Life is a bit better here although, actually, it's not that much better. It's easier to eat here. In the village [in Burma], we get to live in our own houses, but on one hand, there were no jobs and on the other, we only got to eat if we work."

Many of them have been working at the dump site for more than ten years and are not looking to return home.

[Maw Ta Ma, Burmese Migrant]:
"Of course, it is good to live in your own country and your own area. Here, we have to worry about the police, living in the garbage dump is also hard but we want to earn money so we have to endure the hardship."

The migrants earn the equivalent of $3 a day. They keep a low profile in Thailand for fear of being arrested and sent back to Burma.

There are about two to three million Burmese migrants living scattered across Thailand, many working illegally in low-paid jobs.