Thailand puts migrants in front of the block

More than a million Burmese migrants in Thailand have until 28 February to register in their country of origin for 'national verification'. Those who don't participate threaten Thailand to be deported, but many Burmese fear that they will get into trouble in their own country or Thailand will no longer be allowed in.

Dao, a Burmese woman who works in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, is still undecided. “I don't know what happened to my parents Burma will happen when I offer myself at home. They could get in trouble if the government decides to search our house. And I myself do not know if I will be able to return.” Many Burmese migrants have left without the necessary permits, and the regime is concerned about the massive presence of migrants in Thailand. Many dissidents also live there who criticize the dictatorship in Burma.

Nearly 1,4 million migrants in Thailand who only have a temporary work permit must submit to the process of national verification. Among other things, the authorities in their country of origin must provide data on the life course of the migrants under investigation. Laos and Cambodia have agreed that the entire investigation will take place in Thailand. But the military government in Burma insists that the estimated 1,1 million Burmese eligible migrants present themselves at home.

Delicate questions
Many migrants still have doubts. Reportedly, only 400.000 migrants in Thailand have registered for verification. Half of them come from Burma. Thai officials admit that some migrants in Burma are being asked delicate questions such as "do you support the Burmese government" or "are you a Rohingya?". Many members of that ethnic minority have fled abroad because they suffered greatly under the military regime.” Nevertheless, almost all migrants so far have received the necessary papers.

According to the Thai government, migrants who go through the procedure will have the same rights as other foreigners with full visas. They would also be included in the social security system.

But critics of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajiya fear that the procedure is mainly a pretext to crack down on illegal migrants. They demand, among other things, that the deadline be postponed. Human rights activists fear that undocumented migrants will become even more vulnerable to exploitation after February 28.

More than 2 million migrants work in Thailand. They mainly do hard and poorly paid work in factories, on plantations and in fishing. Many domestic staff also come from abroad. Illegal migrants are the cheapest labor and experts do not believe that they will soon disappear from Thailand.

Source: MO