Bangkok Post: Opinion

Monday, August 09, 2010

How we bully our migrant workers

Posted by Sanitsuda Ekachai

So we want migrant workers from Burma to be legal with passports and all, yet we still want them to submit to our old oppressive ways, is that it?

If not, then why have we refused to give legal migrant workers driving licences - on the grounds that they still pose a threat to national security?

The provincial authorities in Ranong recently stopped issuing driving licences to a batch of legal Burmese workers, following a protest from some 200 Ranong motorcyclists who feared that migrant workers would steal their jobs if allowed to drive.

Worse, they might abuse their new privilege and smuggle drugs and illegal workers into the country, said the motorcyclists.

Their concerns are understandable. But isn't it the job of the police to arrest law breakers? Aren't drug and human trafficking rings reportedly run by men in uniform, and not by migrant workers?

Also, is it right to comply to a demand which violates a basic human right of another person? Do we not consider the right to movement a basic human right? Or do we simply not see migrant workers as human? What is our real problem?

These workers have fled harsh poverty and persecution in Burma to toil here doing dirty and dangerous work at pitiful wages. Yet we condemn them as unwanted outsiders who burden us with social problems and infectious diseases. We dismiss the fact that it is our government's support for the atrocious Burmese junta that has forced them to flee their homeland.

And it is our prejudice that makes us blind to their slave-like conditions.

We Thais pride ourselves as free people in a free land. Yet we celebrate confinement, which is part of slavery, for migrant workers. Why is that so?

Since we brand them illegal, which is criminal in our view, we believe the problems from migrant workers and human trafficking will disappear if all Burmese workers have legal entry. So we forcibly deport them to face danger, extortion and complex red tape back in Burma in order to obtain the passports, not to mention the astronomical fees involved. So far, only about 90,000 out of 2-3 million Burmese migrant workers in Thailand have succeeded in obtaining their passports.

Yet, after going through a difficult process, these legal workers are not promised the legal minimum wage nor the right to change employers. They are allowed to work only as labourers and domestic workers and, as before, denied the freedom of movement. With such little benefits, most migrant workers prefer to stay underground and remain exploited while human trafficking rings continue to thrive.

Regarding the Ranong incident, the driving licences for migrant workers are actually private and cannot be used for plying or running taxis or taxi-motorcycles. Also, migrant workers - legal or illegal - cannot travel outside their restricted zones. So a driving licence would only help them to commute within their area without fear of police extortion. Yet, this too is beyond their reach.

No, I am not writing about all this because it is a matter of life and death for migrant workers in Ranong to go buy food on their motorcycles. But it is a matter of life and death for us.

How can we get out of our political abyss and avoid future carnage if we still don't see the weak and the poor as our equal human beings?

At the core of the social injustice and double standards that are threatening to tear our country apart is this very lack of respect for lawful needs and concerns of the people we view as inferior to ourselves, isn't it? Migrant workers are at the lowest rung of our big-fish-eat-little-fish world. How we treat them is an indicator of social justice itself.

The May bloodshed may have shocked us into trying to fix structural injustice. But don't bet on it if we still feel it is okay to treat migrant workers the way we do now. We cannot hope to get closer to a fair society because we do not have in our hearts what it takes to make this happen.

Read comment

Comment 2

pen CHRISTY date : 10/08/2010 time : 18:40

Good write up.why can't you spread this topic among Thais ?Issue about racism is high in Thailand.

The type of jobs this guys are doing no Thai man will like to do the job,still Thais hates this guys without reason.It is time for Thais to respect other people ,There are thousands of Thais working illegal in other countries and they never treated like that.
Time have come when Thais will understand that there are millions of Thais living and working in other countries ,so that they will stop all this their hates to others.

Everyday in Thailand immigration changes law.police changes it own, court changes it own ,only to find away to suppress foreigners.It is wrong motive. Thais should know that their second god called Thaksin is living in another country where we work too and never ask him not to drive his car or not pass another areas,wake up Thais.This is 2010 not 1800,.

Is Thailand a democratic nation as they claims to be?They only remember united nation when they run into problem but easily forget about United nation laws

Comment 3

Le La date : 11/08/2010 time : 02:46

This is a balanced and convincing article. It shows a rare compassion drifting in the sea of today'a hatred and selfishness. I wish more Thai people, best known as smiling and nice and compassionate peole read and become more toleraable to unlucky Burmese. Yes, migrants are human being. No one likes to live away from their village. Why they? The answer is clear as the brutality of the junta is clear. Please help those migrants. If you find it hard, imagine yourself being in their hard situation.

Comment 5

nestordfermin date : 11/08/2010 time : 17:02

http://nestordfermin.blog.co.uk

This article sheds light to the clouded view of the people on their neighbors and how they look at their migrant workers.

Comment 6

Ron date : 11/08/2010 time : 23:36

Good article, which needs to be in the Thai Press too.
Here in Chiang Mai Burmese labour is in demand because the bosses know it is cheap (sometimes free!). These unfortunate people sit along a particular road here, just waiting for a 'pick up' or taxi to collect them to take to a work site.
It is, according to a Thai friend of mine, common practice for the Thai or Thai/Chinese bosses to exploit this source of labour for a few days then dismiss them without pay. Then they go and collect another group of labourers from the same road and the cycle continues.
And, of course, the exploited have nowhere to turn.
Disgusting.

Comment 8

Ron date : 12/08/2010 time : 18:49

Actually, an interesting discussion would be about 'why' rather than 'how'!

Comment 9

SPICEMAN date : 13/08/2010 time : 11:44

Mr Midnight #7, most Thais know they should forgive those poor Burmese-Buddhists, but they lack the will power to bring themselves to actually do it. However, for a people who don't believe in God, they are as good as they can be, which attract people like yourself to Thailand in the first place, I supposed.

Comment 10

Xannadu date : 13/08/2010 time : 17:20

Very well written and a very good topic. Something we all should think about.

Comment 11

Migrant Observer date : 13/08/2010 time : 23:02

Fully agree with your article. With few exceptions, Burmese Migrant Workers are treated as slaves. Any excuse is used to bully and harrass them. They are exploited and denied the right to be recognized as (legal) refugees, which they really are. They are the victims of a brutal regime that destroys its own people. We greatly help that regime by buying energy from them. Inside Burma there are 'Ayutthayas' every day. Homes burned, people killed, women raped, and so on. We let this happen and listen to 'well-informed' people like the motorcycle taxi drivers in Ranong. And we do nothing to correct this. Shame on us!

Comment 13

tomas date : 14/08/2010 time : 10:00

thais have much to learn about low payed migrantworkers.
Studu litle about how they do in SWEDEN.
mask thais who go to Sweden last year and after that you know,Thais have anything to shame of.only much to learn about how to get the work done for free

Comment 14

voice date : 14/08/2010 time : 23:57

Their adding up and taking jobs from Thais,many even were paid protesters for the reds,I respect not one if their illegal migrate works and believe as being illegal they have zero rights in that country,as many Illegal workers found happening in the USA from Mexico,another bunch is the foreign western teachers that don't understand enough Thai culture and their customs,their not teaching, they can only hope what they interpret is correct especially when there range levels are minimal to start with and it took another Thai job also

Comment 15

dr.k.conor date : 15/08/2010 time : 02:39

Thai and their Thailand, bully just about anyone deemed lesser, uncultured, below. Meaning, the Thai begin with the premise of 'Thai' being better, superior, and a model icon. Buddhist they are not. Racist they are. Sympathetic and sharing they are not.
Adjacent land craftwman are exploited and disposed of; foreign investors and
educators are also. It is a land of tiered class-dominance, non-Thai educated or not are just tinder. In turn, what the affluent Thai do in foreign countries is 'just our way of doing things.' Again, not acceptable.

Comment 17

Nabin date : 15/08/2010 time : 20:58

Thanks ,pen CHRISTY,tomas ,dr.k.conor

thanks to all ,it was good comment from you.many thai also doingCheap labour, doing the unseen 3D jobs (dirty, difficult, dangerous)oversees.thai must have to do good behave to neighbors and their migrant workers.if they are buddhist.

Comment 18

Nabin date : 15/08/2010 time : 21:02

Thanks ,pen CHRISTY,tomas ,dr.k.conor

Thanks to all ,it was good comment from you.many thai also doingCheap labour, doing the unseen 3D jobs (dirty, difficult, dangerous)oversees.thai must have to do good behave to neighbors and their migrant workers.if they are buddhist.

Comment 19

SPICEMAN date : 15/08/2010 time : 21:03

http://bangkokpost.com

Mr Midnight #12, when I said, "Most Thais," I meant "Most Thai-Buddhists," OK? If the situation is a reverse, the Burmese Buddhists would do exactly the same thing to their Thai counterparts.

As a matter of fact, the Thai-Buddhists are about to go to war with Cambodian-Buddhists over what's once an ancient Hindu Temple. Crazy, isn't it?

Comment 20

s.a.srinivasa sarma date : 15/08/2010 time : 21:44

Sir,
The voice in support of migrant workers clearly indicate that the voice of democracy is vibrant and it is not throttled. The migrant workers play an important role in various countries. They come to unknown place to make life and living and their place of stay harmonious.
If there is no migration of workers from one country to another, the whole world would be as useless as a country with a single one variety trees all around

Comment 21

marcos sanchez date : 17/08/2010 time : 15:41

First we ave to see whether the Thai laws protect the whistleblowers!
If local police and local mafias do not engege themseleves into intimidating whistelbloweres , i can guarantee you that milions of cases of corruption will come out --Does anyone know how Thai border police and thai local police work as an organised mafia to smuggel burmese nepalese and burmese immigrants into Thailand?????
You will be horrified after listening the stories from the victims--the entry point is Maesot of Tak Province --Do u think Local MP -Governor-administrations are not aware of these ??

Comment 23

ugg mayfaire boots date : 18/08/2010 time : 15:16

http://www.uggs-boots.cc/UGG_Mayfaire

I only recently started out leaving comments! Makes me feel a little alot more about what I enjoyed and learned about the post! Outstanding points, thanks!

Comment 24

Barnabas Zan date : 18/08/2010 time : 22:07

Thanks for well written article. Please also research and highlight the situation of the children of these migrant workers. You may found out many of them were born in Thailand and yet cannot pursue formal education.

Comment 25

willis minn date : 19/08/2010 time : 05:08

thanks for written that,,without burmese migrant worker,,that your thais people can do their job??burmese migrant worker are working for thailand,,not for burma,,must understand that

Comment 26

SPICEMAN date : 19/08/2010 time : 10:22

Mr Midnitht #22, human needs will always take precedent before that of the environment. The horror of living as strangers in a strang land obviously vastly outweights the horror of living in their homeland, for those poor Burmese.

As I said before, it's about how one group of (Thai) Buddhists treating another group of (Burmese) Buddhists, who were also the old arch enemies.

I think what we see playing out between the two groups is just too much for Buddhism to handle. And the looming war between Thailand and Cambodia over the ancient Hindu ruin at Preah Vihear will really drive this point home.

Comment 27

J Krishnan date : 19/08/2010 time : 21:46

I had been to Thailand once and am in love with your country and the friendly people. Of course, there may be crime and bad people like in any other country.I think Thailand should provide all legal workers equal rights.

Allow me to add a long term danger to your country that I, as an outsider sensed during my visit. I see religious places of a particular religion coming up many places - even in remote islands. As such it may not be dangerous. But the next step is religious conversion and unending set of demands, murders and bombs.

Comment 29

Niel Taylor date : 21/08/2010 time : 12:27

What an extremely good article you have written on what is an unspoken subject certainly amongst Thais. Very well said Sanitsuda, I congratulate you. I seriously hope that government members would read your article, admit the facts and then act together with the view of changing the mindset of the Thai authorities and indeed the Thai people generally.
I say again, well said Sanitsuda.

Comment 30

Making Waves date : 22/08/2010 time : 16:15

Re: Comment 14 - perhaps if you had benefited from a (decent) Western teachers English your written English would be better than it is!!!

And on the point that Western teachers stole a Thai job - you have to be kidding. The standards for the level of English spoken by Thai teachers is so low that most cannot speak, let alone teach the language

Comment 31

Making Waves date : 22/08/2010 time : 16:32

Re Commenter no 16!!!

So women are the ones to blame for the problems in the country - be they Western female teachers teaching girls to stare at men or teaching the girls to scream or the young Thai women who leave their villages to work in the tourist areas therefore destroying the family unit!

I believe that this commenter should themselves attend a "real" Thai culture course (not the kind I hasten to add provided by the Thai Teachers Council) but a reality course!

Fact - Thai women teachers do not teach girls to stare at boys or screech! It is more likely that the Western female teacher (and they are certainly in the minority compared the their male counterparts!) is going to be stared at by Thai males. Teaching Thai girls to screech is entirely unnecessary as they get plenty of training and guidance from all those trashy soaps which of course give excellent (NOT) guidance on how to behave and (in my opinion) give a clearer idea of where Thai culture really is nowadays.

On the point of young ladies working in tourist areas, here the commenter is showing his real male "chauvinistic" tendencies (Mr Midnight date!!!). Dare I say it, one of the main reasons that most of these young ladies go to work in tourist areas is because their "loyal" Thai husband/boyfriend abandons her with child/children and no support! What chance does a young woman (in a male dominated society) have of raising her child under such circumstances? So she goes to a tourist area (and show me one tourist beach area in the world where local culture is not sacrificed in the name of foreign dollars) where she does her best to earn enough money to keep her family together!! Once she returns, perhaps she has benefited from some Western enlightenment and feels somewhat bitter that her own society did little to support or help her in her time of need. In addition she redisstributed some wealth to the poorer parts of the country, something the male dominated politics of this country have failed to address!

Comment 32

Tommybrown date : 22/08/2010 time : 19:21

Dear readers, This is more than interesting and enlighten discussions , i have lived in this country more than 15 years and my observations was that since i came to Thailand first time in early nineties the behaviour and characters of Thai people are so different that the country has not only changed in politics but in societical behaviour , is nothing to write home about. I think Thaksin turned this beautiful country upside down, many years back Thais are very friendly with foreigners, but now Thaksin brainwashed them that foreigners are bad and not to be trusted and later played the same game on them , people in Bangkok are bad and people from Isan are good ( Divide and rule politics ) this sad events is not hppening to Burmese people alone Bangkok is worse ,Tuk -tuk, Taxi drivers ,motorcyclists, and even people in government .It is sad and shameful , i hope and pray they learnt more about Bhuddism .

Comment 33

SHARE date : 23/08/2010 time : 05:13

http://www.share-international.org

There are push and pull factors in migration, it explains something about the country of origin and the country of destination, in this case only push factors are left, not most preferable.

Comment 34

SPICEMAN date : 24/08/2010 time : 10:14

http://bangkokpost.com

Mr Midnight #28, I don't think we are capable of destroying the "Mother Earth," even if we try with everything we have. We, however, are the caretakers of the only home we know, Earth. The better our care becomes, the better is our quality of life and vice versa. The point is everything must be kept at a healthy balance. God created the world for us to live in with everything we need. So what we need to do is to use natural resources responsibly, but not worshiping it. We worship the Creator God, but not His creation PERIOD.

Can you enlighten me more about discrimination of "Christianity?" As far as, I know, Jesus hates sins but loves all sinners.

Comment 35

Bun date : 25/08/2010 time : 15:14

According to my experiences among KAP, P will never follows K and A and I always believe that its depending on the way of thinking of people. Those who can get more benefit from, they may think its very good but when have no benefit its quite bad or very bad.

Comment 36

supra footwear date : 10/09/2010 time : 17:28

http://www.supras.cc/

Dream is an innocent word, but realization of dream is a cruel word.

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