April 25, 2000
Homeward bound Friends Without Borders, a Thailand-based non-governmental organisation, hopes to bring to light the sad fate of many ethnic migrants in the Kingdom, so that people in Thailand will understand them better Atiya Achakulwisut 'Our project is based on the creation of friendship. When one person regards another as a friend, they don't harm each other. They are not indifferent to their friends' suffering, either.' -- Pornsuk Koetsawang. Coordinator of Friends Without Borders 'Everybody wishes to live and die in his or her own homeland. But they took away my homeland. So where can I die?" asks Wong, a Tai Yai from Kunhing. The man migrated to northern Thailand after a forced relocation of his village by the Burmese military. "If, one day, my homeland becomes better, I would return right away," adds Sin, a Karen from the Irrawaddy region. "Please don't chase us away. If life there had some room for hopes and dreams, I would not take refuge here. But up till now, I have not seen anything but darkness there. How can I go back?" Jo Mor, a former member of an ethnic armed force fighting the Burmese junta, has another story to tell. "At times, it just didn't make any sense. I fought against the military soldiers. They died. We died. The conflict did not end. I don't know if we lost or not. I couldn't think any more. I only knew I had come too far to go home. One day, I simply escaped from the army, running astray, not knowing what to do." The young man ended up being an underpaid, illegal worker in an ice plant in northern Thailand. Tales like these are assembled in Mung Ha Saeng Tawan (In Search of Sunlight), a book about the plight of members of different ethnic minorities fleeing the brutality of the Burmese government, making their way to Thailand. The paperback, published this year, was written by Pornsuk Koetsawang, coordinator of Friends Without Borders, a project which aims to promote positive relations between grassroots people in Thailand and Burma. The project was established last year as a part of the Forum Asia, a non-governmental organisation promoting awareness of human rights in the region. Mung Ha Saeng Tawan was the result of Ms Pornsuk's more than five years of research and work on the issues of transnational migrant workers and refugees. Formerly a researcher with the Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Ms Pornsuk's work brought her in touch with the sad facts of life for displaced people from Burma-rampant suppression and heavy violations of human rights by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), which was renamed the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)-that prompted them to leave their homeland for an uncertain future in Thailand. There is Koh La Mian, a Mon farmer from the Karen state, who was forced to become a slave porter for the Burmese military. Or the young Joh and Soh, who escaped starvation brought on by relentless taxation and extortion both in the form of money and agricultural produce from home, to become construction workers in Bangkok. "It was like being in hell," said Jam, a Tai Yai man from the town of Mong Su. Like many of his countrymen, Mr Jam was rounded up to do construction work for the junta. "They forced us to build a fort, road, bridge, railway, everything. They didn't give us money. They didn't even give us water to drink," the man said. Compared to the darkness of repression at home, neighbouring Thailand must seem bright with rays of hope-but the migration route is by no means smooth. To reach Thai-Burmese gateways, sporadically located along the border from the northern Shan state to the Tenasserim region in the north, most refugees must pay a fortune to so-called agents-some of whom are abusive or dishonest, leaving their clients in Thai jails, or selling the escapees as slave labourers, or luring young women to work in the sex trade. Some of the escapees end up in refugee camps. According to Ms Pornsuk, there are about 10 of them in the border provinces of Mae Hong Son, Tak, Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi. Only people of certain ethnic background-Karen and Karenni, for example-are allowed to stay in these camps. For political reasons, Ms Pornsuk said, there is no such facility for Tai Yai people. Ironically, they are perhaps the ones that face the harshest repression by the Burmese military and, thus, are most likely to flee to Thailand. One of the major problems in the camps, apart from a lack of freedom which, Ms Pornsuk said, erodes the human quality in these people, is abuse by authorities. She remembers one such incident very well. "An officer at a camp for displaced people ordered a relocation. He spoke in Thai. One boy, unfortunately, did not understand what he said. He, therefore, stood by idly. The officer was very angry. He kicked and punched the boy. It was drizzling. When (the officer) walked away, he accidentally slid and fell down, drawing some laughter from bystanders. Outraged, the officer berated the surrounding people, drew his gun and shot the battered boy in the back." The boy survived the gunshot wound. The officer was simply transferred to another unit. "If the same incident happened to a well-to-do Thai boy, would it be as much of a non-issue as what happened at that refugee camp was? Do these people have to suffer the abuse in silence simply because they are escapees seeking refuge in a foreign land?" Ms Pornsuk asked. "I am not asking the government to initiate a full-scale human development project in the camps. But I think at least we should set up the camps in an area that is safe from invasion (by armed forces) and see to it that the staff do not harm the escapees," she said. Most of the migrants do not end up in the camps, however. With an efficient network of labour scouting agencies both in Thailand and Burma, assisted by corrupt officials in Thailand, migrants flow into Thailand endlessly. To survive, they have to try to earn a living as illegal workers. Very often, they suffer further exploitation and maltreatment at the hands of their hosts. In her book, Ms Pornsuk writes about the experience of one migrant after another sold to work as slaves, cheated by unscrupulous labour agencies, or severely abused by employers. There is Ju Ju, a Burmese woman and her 14-year-old daughter, who were sold by one such greedy agent for more than 20,000 baht. The women had to work for 120 baht a day in a factory that is only slightly better than a sweatshop to pay back the debt. Meanwhile, Tan Sin, a Shin migrant, was fired by his boss after his foot was cut by a factory saw while working. He received no compensation and could no longer work because of the wound. And Mena, a young Burmese-Indian, who was sold and forced to become a prostitute when she was 18, said, "The brothel bought me for 5,000 baht and had me work to pay back 10,000 baht." "Thai society does not know much about what happened to these ethnic minorities. Why did they escape from Burma? Without understanding, there is little sympathy for them," Ms Pornsuk said. The Friends Without Borders project was established with an aim to bridge the gap in understanding. Ms Pornsuk also hopes that compassion for ethnic migrants will help create a shift in Thailand's national policies both about displaced people and towards Burma. Ms Pornsuk is critical of the authorities' perception of foreign workers as depriving Thais of jobs that they could hold-this impression led to the massive arrest and repatriation of foreign workers in 1997, the year the Thai economy crashed and many local workers were made redundant. Adisorn Kerdmongkol, of the Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma, argues that the perception is not true, and that statistics show less than half the jobs once held by foreign workers were filled by Thais after their departure. Ms Pornsuk added that as long as the situation in Burma does not improve, there is no point in pushing these migrants back to a war-torn country because they will surely try to escape again. "Several things need to be done simultaneously if we are to solve the problem," Ms Pornsuk said. "We have a real need for migrant workers, but definitely not as many as the number we have now." A more systematic registration of foreign workers was urgently required, she said. The laws that protect these migrants from greedy employers and labour agencies must also be implemented. Above all, Ms Pornsuk called for a consistent foreign policy that will promote long-lasting peace in Burma. "I wish our policy toward Burma was more pro-active in terms of peace promotion. The campaign for peace does not mean we would like the Burmese military to simply sweep out dissenting ethnic minorities. "Rather, we would like to see every party involved come to the negotiating table." Sadly, she noted, many Thais remain biased against people from Burma. "Some people are still restricted by nationalism in a narrow sense. We, at the project, are often asked why we help these foreigners. Why don't we try to help Thai people first? "We realise that the challenge is enormous," she added, referring to the project's mission of fostering transnational compassion towards victims of political repression. "People's attitudes, which are acquired over a period of years, can't be changed in a short period of time. We are not hoping to create sympathy within a fortnight. But we believe that Thai people or human beings in general are not cruel in their hearts. They may have heard about some ethnic people migrating into the country, but they are not aware of the tragedy involving their escape. They don't have a chance to witness the human agony of it all." Unfortunately, she added, the media seems inclined to report only news that reinforces the pre-set, negative perception of migrants. Mistreated migrant workers hardly make news. If a foreign worker hurts his or her boss, however, the incident often hits the headlines. Despite the apparent obstacles, Ms Pornsuk said she will not lose heart. She has faith that once people get to know one another as humans, they will not stay imbued in hatred. "Our project is based on the creation of friendship. When one person regards another as a friend, they don't harm each other. They are not indifferent to their friends' suffering, either." Ms Pornsuk further explains that the word "borders" in the project's name has a meaning beyond the haphazard lines drawn on a map. "For us, the word also signifies the concepts of race, religion and gender that also separates human beings. These lines of segregation exist only when people believe they are there. For us, we believe that between one human and another, between friends and friends, the 'border' does not exist." For Ms Pornsuk, there is an encouraging sign in research she did a few years ago. The research showed that those who do not want ethnic minorities to come into the country are urban dwellers who live far from these people, while most of the people who live or work with the migrants do not have anything against them. The Friends Without Borders's activities at present include campaigning against human rights abuses and organising forums for citizens' groups to come to know and exchange opinions with migrant workers. The project is raising funds for its future plans, which include publishing a book of essays written by youths of different ethnic backgrounds about what they hope to see in the future and producing a notebook featuring drawings by children in refugee camps. Pushing for a change in the country's foreign policy and a shift in people's deep-seated attitudes sounds like a lifetime commitment. Asked if she ever feels disheartened with the mammoth task, Ms Pornsuk said discouragement does indeed come from time to time-but it has never occurred to her to call it quits. "Through this work, I have met many people, both Thai people and Burmese workers, who put their trust in me. These poor people, once you know them, you can't just walk away." - "We Care" is a fortnightly series honouring people who believe in giving. Apart from supporting these causes, you can also let us know about people who unselfishly help others so we can make more people aware of their efforts. Fax "We Care" on 240-3668 or call 240-3700 ext 3208 or 3212. Email can be sent to: sanitsuda@bangkokpost.net. For a comprehensive list of charities covered by Outlook's "We Care" series, see the Bangkok Post Web site at http://www.bangkokpost.net/outlookwecare/. Info for donations: Name of organisation: Friends Without Borders: Project to Promote Positive Relations between Thai and Burmese People Contact address: c/o Forum-Asia, 109 Suthisarnwinichai Road, Huay Kwang, Bangkok, 10320 Telephone: 276-9846-7 Fax: 693-4939 Email: aurora@ksc.th.com Contact person: Ms Pornsuk Koetsawang Bank account: Savings Account, Krung Thai Bank, Ratchada-Huay Kwang Branch Bank account number: 091-1-02062-4		Daily Main Entrance Page Local News Business Outlook Weekly IT news Horizons Travel NiteOwl (Trink) Real.Time Motoring Student Weekly Entertainment & Lifestyle What's on Dining out Recipe of the week Movies Music Book Review Beauty Fitness Nutrition NEW! 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