A handful of edible plants and a small bowl of noodles, is nearly all Ababa Moe can provide for her 17-year-old son.

She fled Myanmar after soldiers attacked her village and now lives with her son in the Mae La refugee camp just over the border in Thailand.

More than 107,000 Myanmar refugees live in these camps along the Thai border. Inside Myanmar, millions have been displaced by years of conflict, including members of the Rohingya minority who are trapped in internment camps.

For years, foreign aid from the United States helped keep people on both sides of the border alive.

But earlier this year, President Donald Trump ordered steep cuts to the U.S. foreign aid program. In the Thai camps, that has meant 85% of residents stopped receiving food rations.

SOUNDBITE Ababa Moe: “After they cut the ration, our lives have been difficult. We can still eat, but instead of two meals a day, I only eat one time.”

She is unable to explain what is happening to her son, who is cognitively closer to a toddler.

So far, the family is able to get by thanks to donations from their Christian church.

But others, like Mahmud Karmar, are having to forage for their survival.

SOUNDBITE Mahmud Karmar: “When I'm in mountains, I will forage anything I can find. I can share with the people who will eat. In return, they will share rice with me. And other things too. Some will give me chilies.We have to rely on each other and continue living.”

Karmar has lost 35 pounds in the past few months, his frame now so slight that even his closest friends don’t recognize him.

SOUNDBITE Mahmud Karmar: “There is nothing to live on. I don't know anything anymore.I don't see any pathway ahead. I cannot fathom anymore.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently reiterated the same response he gave to a House hearing in May after gutting the foreign aid program:

SOUNDBITE (English) Marco Rubio, U.S. Sec. of State: “No children are dying on my watch.”

But that is a lie, says Mohammed Taher who blames the funding cuts for the death of his 2-year-old son who he says died from malnutrition after food rations to their Myanmar camp stopped in April.

In a statement to the Associated Press, the State Department said the U.S. continues to stand with the people of Myanmar. Late last month, it agreed to resume its funding for food rations in the Thai camps through the end of the year. After that, refugees like Karmar, will once again be on their own.