Mae Sot is going through an unprecedented boom. In the border town with Myanmar, twenty new hotels have opened in the past two years, cinemas are showing the latest films, department stores sell international brands, Tesco Lotus has settled there and Big C is under construction.
But the guest workers from Myanmar do not benefit from it. Most of them struggle for a starvation wage of 60 baht a day. And don't you dare say anything, because 'for you ten others'.
Ma Tway (24) earns 1000 baht a month
Take 24-year-old Ma Tway, who works in a sewing workshop. She came in 2007 and then earned 60 baht a day. After 2 years she got a pay rise of 10 baht, after 3 years she earned 80 baht and now she receives 100 baht. She is illegal and still trying to get a work permit and passport. When she succeeds, she goes to work somewhere else, where she earns more. Now she makes 1.000 baht a month, most of which goes on food.
She and the other workers in the studio are forced to live in cramped housing with small bunk beds. Their boss charges 50 baht per night for water and electricity. 'We have to live there. It is dirty and there is not enough water. And it is also bad for your health. Last year I contracted TB because of the bad conditions.'
The city is growing explosively, but can the government handle it?
That's one side of the Mae Sot story. The other side is full of pretensions and high expectations. Last month, Mae Sot's cabinet decided to create a so-called special economic zone, starting with the Mae Pa and Tha Sai Luad tambons. There will be an industrial area, sheds, warehouses, distribution centers and customs posts will be built. But that's not all, as Mae Sot also receives funding for the construction of a tunnel, railway tracks, a Tak-Mae Sot dual carriageway and the government plans to build a second Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge over the Moei River.
Within 2 years, the population of Mae Sot is expected to grow from 130.000 to 200.000 and that number does not include guest workers from Myanmar. Prasert Chungkitrungroj, secretary general of the Branch Chamber of Commerce, doubts whether the government can handle this huge increase.
Air pollution will increase, the road network needs urgent improvement and crime will also become a problem. The growing population also puts a heavy burden on public facilities. The city has one hospital that can barely handle the influx of patients. There is a great need for skilled workers such as teachers, nurses and doctors.
One third of migrants live in unsafe or unhealthy housing
All this goes unnoticed by the 150.000 to 200.000 guest workers from Myanmar. They form a cheap labor army that does not benefit from the minimum daily wage that has been raised to 1 baht on 300 January. The numbers are also not very encouraging. Last year, a study by the International Rescue Committee and Tufts University of 800 migrants found one in five had been deported, one in ten had been assaulted and one in six had been robbed. More than one third lived in unsafe or unhealthy housing.
(Source: Spectrum, Bangkok Post, February 17, 2013)
A message about Mae Sot. That's welcome, next week I'm going there for a border crossing. Doesn't seem to be about a holiday destination. But about the plight of the (illegal) migrant workers.
This social problem is very noticeable in Mae Sot and the surrounding area. The Thailand connoisseur Sjon Hauser, who has been mentioned here before, has also written about it.
But he also writes that this is one of the few places where he likes to spend a few days because of the atmosphere and the special attractions.
I'm going to look for some of those attractions and visit a Thai acquaintance of ours who lived in the Netherlands a few years ago. Obviously I hope to return home with a new 30 day visa in my passport.
I assume you mean 15 days. You don't get more by land. Unless you fly abroad…
@ Tjamuk. I don't talk about anything, as you write. Look at the bottom of the article to see what the source is. The source article in Spectrum does not address the legal status of the Burmese. However, there is a box about the so-called verification process. I left that out because I've reported on it countless times in my News from Thailand. About 1 million Burmese still have to be legalized. Incidentally, not all of them pay 15.000 baht. Only those who (have to) hire a broker because their employer refuses to cooperate or simply does not feel like it. The cost is normally 3.500 baht. See Spectrum, page 5. You can also find the article on the website under the title Border boomtown: A tale of winners and losers.
@ Dear Tjamuk. That seems to me at first a task of the Thai press. Whether Spectrum's use of sources meets the journalistic standard of a fair hearing is difficult to judge from this distance. But I don't see why I should place more credence on your information than on the information in Spectrum. I think that's a pretty bold claim. We'll have to make do with Spectrum's reporting. There isn't anything better. Read it, believe it or don't believe it.
I don't know why you can't cross the border into Burma in Mae Sot. Across the river is Myawaddy. On the bridge you get a permit for a short visit and on your return you pass the Thai border post again.
As a result of attention: there is in any case no question of confusion.
Last year I crossed the border at Mae Sai to Tachileik for my 90 day extension. This year I want to do that with Mae Sot. I know which way to go.
A few years ago this was apparently not possible there. But from all the information I've looked up it appears that you can now cross the border there. I think the person behind pay attention is relying on outdated information.
I mistakenly mentioned a 30-day visa in my first response, which has now been rectified.
Thamuk,
Your information is not in any magazine. You don't think that the Thai people from abroad to pay the Thai minimum wage.
Those people bought a piece of land for 300.000 Bht.
Do people from Burma actually exist legally?
Dick talks about the abuses that exist on a large scale.
Are you going to justify that with your story that cannot be checked.
My story is also unverifiable. I heard 5% from Burma is legal here.
They have lived here for over 25 years.
J. Jordan.