Once a happy-go-lucky fifth-grader who studied at a migrant learning centre in Mae Sot, Min* opts to sniff glue in his free time. By doing so, he wishes to momentarily forget the enormous responsibility of bringing food to the table by working long shifts at a local slaughterhouse after his parents were laid off due to the impact of Covid-19.
With no money to purchase a smartphone and WiFi, the chances of continuing his education via online learning quickly faded, while attempts to conduct home-based learning by social workers also was short-lived. Having entered the child labour force to support his family during the first wave, Min suffers from a host of medical issues but doesn't have the resources to get treated.
One of the few that was able to work through the pandemic was Karen migrant worker Jor Gay Ler, father of a nine-year-old girl, who noted that his daughter's emotional and physical health has suffered greatly since Thai schools closed indefinitely due to Covid-19.
"She has become very rebellious and refuses to obey. She shows signs of anxiety and aggressive behaviour. Her overall health has also deteriorated, however, the health insurance we have does not cover such medical conditions. Keeping up with online learning has become an uphill task because both my wife and I do not read and write Thai well. I don't know who to turn to for help. All I can hope is for schools to open soon," he said.
They are among thousands of migrant workers' children in Thailand who are in dire need of education, health care, and basic rights since the Covid-19 pandemic made life a living hell for them.
Earlier this month, Thailand reported that it planned to reopen its borders to workers from neighbouring Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos in a bid to ease a labour shortage that is hurting its export and tourism-dependent economy. Migrant workers particularly from Myanmar are known to be the backbone of the country's construction, manufacturing, and seafood industries, thus it is unfortunate that host country Thailand has done little to guarantee migrant children are taken care of during the pandemic when they face added risks.
This has come at the heels of reports that 97,060 migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar were infected with Covid-19 between March of last year and August this year; approximately 4,202 were under the age of 18.
A survey further highlighted the mindset of low-wage migrant parents towards their children's education and well-being, with over half agreeing to have their child work if school was not a viable option, putting the child's health and well-being at risk.
A related concern for child activists and social workers was the need to review and revise relevant child protection laws to provide better security for migrant children.
They also suggested the government allow the private sector to step in and help if the wheels of bureaucracy hindered efforts to offer respite to the thousands of children that have been put at risk due to the pandemic.
As most migrant families face illiteracy, bureaucracy, and corruption during their stay in Thailand, much of the responsibility for the well-being of their children falls on social workers and child activists that work in their communities.
Adisorn Kerdmonkol, a coordinator with the Migrant Working Group, said migrant children suffered from not having health insurance schemes, thus making it next to impossible for them to receive adequate medical treatment when found to have contracted the virus.
"We faced all types of complications, from getting them tested for Covid-19 to supplying them with face masks and alcohol get to keep them protected during the second wave. Our toughest moment was the third wave, during the surge of the Delta variant, in which the number of children infected rose rapidly because of their squalid and cramped living conditions," said Adisorn.
"Online learning, with its need for internet and smartphones, was a total flop with migrant children because for one their parents are daily wagers who were badly impacted by the closing down of businesses and layoffs," he added. "Not having the extra income to support these expenses coupled with just the hassle that was involved set a trend of migrant students dropping out of the schooling system."
Adisorn said due to their lack of basic rights, criminals often used loopholes in the system to traffic the young and vulnerable. Due to the delay in issuing birth certificates for migrant families during the height of the pandemic, babies were targeted while the rise in the number of children illegally attempting to enter Thailand from Myanmar to unite with their families also offered opportunities for traffickers to lure them.
Siriporn Kaewsombat of Help Without Frontiers Organisation said the pandemic highlighted the poor state of education of children of migrant families.
She said recent research showed that they lacked proper nutrition and clean water, and were at risk of becoming child labourers, often due to abject poverty. She added that during the pandemic, a large percentage of the children showed signs of mental anguish due to child abuse and domestic violence.
Siriporn said the most vulnerable groups of students are undocumented, which make up to 39% of the student population in the border town of Mae Sot. They study at migrant learning centres that have a more flexible syllabus, with a curriculum from Myanmar schools.
During the pandemic, they found that less than 10% of the students from these educational centres went missing without a trace particularly when the borders closed due to the spike in Covid-19 cases.
Siriporn said that from experience she would like to suggest that a record of orphaned children of migrant workers that have succumbed to Covid-19 be kept, so they could receive assistance from relevant agencies and their progress documented.
"We need to rescue these orphans and offer them hope for the future. Both government and private sectors should also support agencies that focus on keeping track of these children that due to unforeseen circumstances are left out of the education and health systems. We need to keep a track of their whereabouts," said Siriporn.
"Covid-19's impact has pushed these children into child labour at a quicker rate than ever before. We need to be their safety net before it is too late.''
