Historic case sees stateless kids freed

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Historic case sees stateless kids freed

Published: 28/01/2012 at 04:03 AM
Newspaper section: News

Two stateless children, their mother and another member of their family were released yesterday after 20 months in detention in a landmark case.

A stateless mother cries in delight and hugs Jan Davis, a volunteer with the Thai Committee for Refugees Foundation, after being released from the Suan Phlu immigration detention centre along with her son and daughter and a relative. PHOTOS BY SOMCHAI POOMLARD

It is the first time stateless children arrested in Thailand have been allowed to go free as the country moves toward a more humanitarian policy in dealing with refugees and asylum seekers.

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About the author

: Writer: Pakawat Sunpituksaree; Position: Reporter

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med142
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Discussion 15 : 28/01/2012 at 04:30 PM15
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Can someone enlighten me please. What has it to do with being a buddhist? Is this going to turn into a religious discussion?
It is about this poor family. Now a happy family after all these months.I hope also that they will be a happy family for many years to come.
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aileen
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Discussion 14 : 28/01/2012 at 04:29 PM14
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heartie, disc 13,

I admitted that I was too quick to be proud of being a Thai and a Buddhist because for the first time, the Thai authorities relented. However, raimund of disc. 8 woke me up to a wider picture of this humanitarian problem that I certainly do not have the right to be proud of. raimund was the only one who directly and constructively commented to my posting and not "people posted their replies to my comment" as perceived by you.
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heartie
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Discussion 13 : 28/01/2012 at 03:30 PM13
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aileen, discussion 10. there is a time and place to be proud of being Buddhist and Thai, but this is not the right time or the place. Maybe you should read the article again to understand why people posted their replies to your comment. I'm trying to be constructive here, so please don't take it the wrong way.
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dao
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Discussion 12 : 28/01/2012 at 02:14 PM12
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Its time someone stepped up and addressed the plight of stateless people .Thai Chinese dont seem to have any problems .Indians in Sukhumvit no problem .How come its so hard to give someone who has generations of his living in Thailand an ID card ? This person would be a hero in my books .
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spiceman
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Discussion 11 : 28/01/2012 at 01:54 PM11
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A few months ago, about 20 children of these undocumented refugees were rounded up by immigration police in front of their UN's school in BKK. The school was just over, so the timing was just perfect. Many churches and other good samaritans had to raise substantial amount of money, in order to bail them out. So, if you happen to be a Buddhist, there is nothing to be proud of.
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aileen
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Discussion 10 : 28/01/2012 at 01:04 PM10
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Discussion 8,

Points accepted - nothing to be proud of.
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heartie
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Discussion 9 : 28/01/2012 at 12:56 PM9
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Why did the adults leave Vietnam? And did they come with any sort of documentation?

I know for a fact that Thailand usually does not detain people who enter as refugees and asylum seekers, especially from Burma and Cambodia. But how do Thai authorities pick and choose which ones to detain? Is it based on nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, politics, money or what?
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raimund
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Discussion 8 : 28/01/2012 at 12:52 PM8
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Discussion 2 No reason to be proud of. It was Thai authority who kept them for 20 months. Without the help of the foreigners (guess they are not Buddhists)nothing would have changed. Suggest you have a walk down to immigration prison and have a look inside.You should also read the annual reports of NHRC.
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hillfarang
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Discussion 7 : 28/01/2012 at 12:49 PM7
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"It is the first time stateless children arrested in Thailand have been allowed to go free as the country moves toward a more humanitarian policy in dealing with refugees and asylum seekers."

This is very good news & a nice accomplished of this government!
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future
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Discussion 6 : 28/01/2012 at 11:30 AM6
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Great story but sad to think that so many live like this. We are so lucky to be born where we are born but it would be great to see countries without borders and a planet that belongs to us all.
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