Thai by blood and culture, 88-year-old Arp Katukaeo has spent a lifetime trying to be officially recognised by Bangkok. All he had ever wanted was that critical Thai identity card that had been denied him and thousands of others.
Arp Katukaeo: ‘Now that I have an ID card, I can hold my head up high.’ (Photos by Chanwit Saiwan)
For the Manora dance teacher, the good news came shortly after the New Year. He had been up all night playing the klong khaek (long, two-sided drum) for dancers when a call came through that he was to report to provincial authorities on Jan 6.
He was among the 143 stateless people who on that day were granted their Thai ID cards in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
As he celebrated his good fortune, he gazed at his white and pink card — the civil registration document for stateless people — as he exchanged it for the blue smart ID card. It was, he realised, a bitter-sweet experience. He also felt concern for other stateless Thais as they wait in a state of anxiety to be legally recognised by Thailand as legitimate citizens.
“How can I be happy when so many of my peers are still struggling to have their nationality recognised?” he said.
Mr Arp is one of thousands in displaced Thai communities who were rendered stateless following the territorial annexation by Britain in 1893. The territories — known today as Mergui, Dawei and Thanintharyi — became part of Myanmar, but most of the Thai diaspora there remained without citizenship: neither Thailand nor Myanmar were willing to take them in.
It was not until 2012 that Thai lawmakers agreed to amend the Nationality Act, opening channels for the displaced populations to verify and regain their nationality. However, out of the 17,000 displaced Thais registered with the Provincial Administration Department, only 4,200 people so far have had their rightful nationality returned to them.
The slow granting of nationality status highlights just how difficult it is to translate state policies into concrete action, said Preeda Kongpaen, manager of the Chum Chon Thai Foundation, who helps the communities to claim nationality.
With only about 1,000 successful applications a year, it could take up to 17 years to process everyone. Like Mr Arp, some of the older folk might die before they get their turn. And that is not acceptable, Ms Preeda said.
Until their case became universally known, the members of the displaced communities were viewed as Myanmar migrants, and they faced discrimination and harassment. Although their situation has since improved, their living and working conditions remain precarious to this day.
Those awaiting nationality verification are not allowed to travel outside their district unless they inform provincial officials in advance. Some of them have to work illegally and are known to have been cheated of their wages by unscrupulous employers.
“Now that I have an ID card, I can hold my head up high,” said Mr Arp, who resettled in Prachuap Khiri Khan 18 years ago, after fleeing Myanmar’s political turmoil near the Singkhon border area. With his card in hand, he no longer needs to hide in fear of authorities or accept discrimination.
But his smile quickly fades as he looks at his family and friends, wishing they could share in his joy. Only three of his eight children currently hold Thai citizenship.
Since the beginning of this year, more efforts have been made to speed up nationality verification procedures for displaced persons, in the hopes that the number of applications processed by authorities can be expedited.
In January, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between representatives of the displaced Thais, the Provincial Administration Department, the National Human Rights Commission, Thaksin and Rangsit universities, as well as the Chum Chon Thai Foundation, to promote cooperation between all parties and boost efficiency.
As a result of the agreement, law students from Thaksin and Rangsit universities are to be dispatched to localities in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon and Ranong provinces where displaced Thais reside, to assist district officials in handling demands and help community members gather documentary evidence necessary for nationality verification.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has committed itself to addressing the persistent delay in considering locals’ applications for citizenship verification.
Following two visits to Trat province’s Khlong Yai district — where over 1,000 citizenship applications from displaced Thais are pending — NHRC member Tuenjai Deetes advised that the matter be dealt with urgently.
Ms Tuenjai called for priority to be given to the disabled, the elderly and children, as well as boat crews who have seen their access to employment opportunities restricted since the government tightened controls over fishing activities, related to efforts to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
At the national level, she said, the verification procedure is complicated as it involves cooperation from several state agencies, including the Foreign and Interior ministries, as well as the police.
Meanwhile, the Nationality Act’s provision on displaced Thais requires applicants to present several pieces of evidence while leaving many loopholes to be handled at the discretion of local offices, which are often short of staff and lack a detailed understanding of the verification process.
Applicants begin the process by submitting a request to their district, explained Veenus Seesuk, chief of the Provincial Administration Department’s civil registration and nationality subdivision.
Evidence required includes the stateless people’s household registration documents and a family tree, detailing their link to Thai relatives that needs to be verified by district officials. Two witnesses are later called in to testify on the applicant’s status and personal conduct, he said.
Once all documents are compiled, they are forwarded to the provincial administration office to determine whether they comply with Interior Ministry rules. Each case is then examined and ruled on individually by a central committee.
However, most files do not even get past the district level, Mr Veenus said. “Our target group comprises 17,000 people, but only 7,000 applications have reached the committee so far.”
He said many requests were sent back because they were incomplete or were incorrectly filled out. In other cases, officials were found to have deliberately slowed down the process with the intent of demanding a bribe, he added.
In some localities, officials claim that the witnesses must include a village chief or a local influential figure, a condition that is not found in official regulations.
Many displaced Thais accuse district officials of being biased towards them, while red tape has prevented them from quickly gaining Thai citizenship. The lack of transparency, bogus rules and paperwork have caused many to lose faith in the system, said Sohib Charoensuk.
A displaced Thai Muslim, Mr Sohib said he is frequently regarded as a Rohingya migrant by local officials and local residents. His nationality verification has stalled after district workers told him they had lost his files.
Struggling with emotional anguish, he questioned how officials could have lost his documents and then claim to have made no copies.
He has heard of cases in which fraudulent dealings led local officials to register Myanmar migrant workers as Thai nationals awaiting verification. Hearing that the Department of Special Investigation was about to launch a probe into the alleged misconduct, officials hastily removed several hundred names from the applicants’ list, including those of genuinely displaced Thais.
“Whenever higher-ranking officials come to town, district officials plead with me to stay quiet,” added Mr Sohib, who is vocal about the plight of the Thai diaspora and enumerates striking examples of alleged failings by state officials.
He recounted another incident in which a witness who called to testify for a displaced Thai’s application was brought several times to the district office even though she was receiving treatment at a hospital, because officials made errors transcribing her interview.
“They chat on social media throughout our meetings, hardly looking at our files, then get our names mixed up with official documents,” he added.
Displaced Thais welcomed the recent MoU although many do not want to get their hopes up too high.
As they carry on with their daily lives, they eagerly await their turn for the verification files to be shuffled and reach the central committee.
For the time being, community members have learned to be cautious when dealing with officialdom.
They have begun organising themselves, making copies of all documents they submit to the various offices. They avoid going to district offices alone and many record their meetings with officials on their phones.
“It’s the best way of protecting ourselves,” Mr Sohib added.
Youngsters receive training from Mr Arp during a Manora dance class in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Displaced people attend a meeting in Trat as their applications for Thai ID cards are being processed. Over 1,000 citizenship applications from displaced Thais are pending in the province’s Khlong Yai district. Photo courtesy of the National Human Rights Commission.
Students trained by Mr Arp perform in a dance troupe at an event to promote cultural arts.