Immigration police keep close watch on Cambodian Muslims in Thailand

[webfact]

Immigration police keep close watch on Cambodian Muslims in Thailand
By English News



SA KAEO, Sept 2 – Thai immigration police are closely monitoring the movement of Cambodian Muslims who entered Thailand through the eastern border to work illegally in the South.

Benjapol Rodsawat, deputy immigration police chief of Sa Kaeo province on the Thai-Cambodian border, said about 10,000 Cambodian Muslims entered the kingdom through the eastern border and travelled to Malaysia via the southern border checkpoint in Su-ngai Kolok, Narathiwat province in the past year.

The migrants told Thai authorities at the southern border checkpoint that they would visit their relatives in Malaysia but they re-entered Thailand shortly after to work in the three Muslim-predominant border provinces without work permits, he said.

Nearly 10,000 Cambodian Muslims are arrested in Narathiwat each year and charged with illegal entry after failing to produce legal documents, he said.

The illegal Cambodian migrants have become a burden for the Thai authorities who have to send them back via the Aranyaprathet immigration checkpoint in Sa Kaeo province, he said.

Pol Lt Col Benjapol said police could not take legal action against the illegal migrants due to an agreement between Thailand and Cambodia.

“Many Cambodian Muslims migrated to work in the South without work permits or legal documents. It’s the responsibility of Thai authorities to send them back to their home country without them having to pay for travel expenses,” he said.

At the checkpoint in Aranyaprathet yesterday, 57 Cambodian Muslims were stopped but later allowed to enter Thailand after producing legal passports with tourist visas.

They told immigration police that they intended to visit their relatives in Malaysia and would travel South to the checkpoint at Su-ngai Kolok.

Aranprayaprathet police sent their records and photos to Su-ngai Kolok checkpoint to keep a close watch on their re-entry, police said. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2013-09-02

[laurentbkk]

well that could be an answer to the difficulty of finding workers in Thailand.

[hellodolly]

well that could be an answer to the difficulty of finding workers in Thailand.

Apparently they only want to work in the southern provinces.

Seems strange to me that all these Cambodians have relatives in the southern provinces which are trying to claim over 100s of years ago they were there own kingdom.

Some thing does not feel rite about this to me.

[soi41]

Now we are just waiting for the Thai government to blame the Cambodian illegals for the Southern unrest!

Those pesky foreigners.

[HeavyDrinker]

Many of them will be ethnic Cham, more likely from Viet Nam than Cambodia as the KR did a pretty good number on ethnic Chams though some returned during the UNTAC days to their 'homeland' in Southern Cambo.

The Cham (arguably) came from Indonesia to the Mainland during the reign of Jayavarman II and were worthy warriors during the height of Angkor until Jayavarman VII got the pip with them and finally pushed them back to the Delta region.

Anthropologically you can tell them by the long ears....(don't ask...)

[simple1]

well that could be an answer to the difficulty of finding workers in Thailand.

Apparently they only want to work in the southern provinces.

Seems strange to me that all these Cambodians have relatives in the southern provinces which are trying to claim over 100s of years ago they were there own kingdom.

Some thing does not feel rite about this to me.

I would assume they are ethnic Cham (orginally Kingdom of Champa) who mainly live in Cambodia & Vietnam. Some live in Thailand & Wikipedia states that a number moved to seek work in the Thai deep South provinces.

[impulse]

Gotta wonder why they don't just call them Cambodians.

There's got to be a reason they keep specifying Cambodian Muslims when referring to illegal immigrants.

Edited September 2, 2013 by impulse

[HeavyDrinker]

Gotta wonder why they don't just call them Cambodians.

There's got to be a reason they keep specifying Cambodian Muslims when referring to illegal immigrants.

Well the point is that they're NOT all illegal...

Read the post.

I think the unwritten concern is that they maybe heading south to join militias therein old bean.

Edited September 2, 2013 by HeavyDrinker

[impulse]

Gotta wonder why they don't just call them Cambodians.

There's got to be a reason they keep specifying Cambodian Muslims when referring to illegal immigrants.

Well the point is that they're NOT all illegal...

Read the post.

I think the unwritten concern is that they maybe heading south to join militias therein old bean.

I read the post:

Thai immigration police are closely monitoring the movement of Cambodian Muslims who entered Thailand through the eastern border to work illegally in the South.

If they're working illegally in a foreign country, does that not make them illegal? Or did the English language change this past year?

I have no doubt the fear is that they'll join up. My question is why they don't specifically voice that concern in the article? The article claims the main issue is the burden they have become in repatriating them.

They could have written it like this, but I doubt it would have the same propaganda effect:

Thai immigration police are closely monitoring the movement of Cambodians who entered Thailand through the eastern border to work illegally in the South.

Edited September 2, 2013 by impulse

[HeavyDrinker]

At the checkpoint in Aranyaprathet yesterday, 57 Cambodian Muslims were stopped but later allowed to enter Thailand after producing legal passports with tourist visas.

I was indeed referring to this part of the article old prune. I doubt they're that mithered about the illegal ones trying to stay alive...

[tomross46]

Many of them will be ethnic Cham, more likely from Viet Nam than Cambodia as the KR did a pretty good number on ethnic Chams though some returned during the UNTAC days to their 'homeland' in Southern Cambo.

The Cham (arguably) came from Indonesia to the Mainland during the reign of Jayavarman II and were worthy warriors during the height of Angkor until Jayavarman VII got the pip with them and finally pushed them back to the Delta region.

Anthropologically you can tell them by the long ears....(don't ask...)

Until the French Colonial Imperialist came, What is now Cambodia, was part of Siam. The French made treaties with Siam and than broke the treaties, wanting more land and raw materials, for there hunger of riches. It was the colonialist thet were the drug pushers.

[HeavyDrinker]

What was once Siam was also Cambodia....

The borders (as we know them today) shifted like sands until the early part of the last century and even then they still wobbled a little.

I think it's a tad off the mark to blame it all on the French but why not...?

[simple1]

You learn something new every day:

The Cham community suffered a major blow during the Khmer Rouge rule. During the mass killings by the government, a disproportionate number of Chams were killed compared with ethnic Khmers. Ysa Osman, a researcher at the Documentation Center of Cambodia concludes, "Perhaps as many as 500,000 died. They were considered the Khmer Rouge's No. 1 enemy. The plan was to exterminate them all" because "they stood out. They worshipped their own God. Their diet was different. Their names and language were different. They lived by different rules. The Khmer Rouge wanted everyone to be equal, and when the Chams practiced Islam they did not appear to be equal. So they were punished

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cham_people#Genocide

Edited September 2, 2013 by simple1

[HeavyDrinker]

You learn something new every day:

The Cham community suffered a major blow during the Khmer Rouge rule. During the mass killings by the government, a disproportionate number of Chams were killed compared with ethnic Khmers. Ysa Osman, a researcher at the Documentation Center of Cambodia concludes, "Perhaps as many as 500,000 died. They were considered the Khmer Rouge's No. 1 enemy. The plan was to exterminate them all" because "they stood out. They worshipped their own God. Their diet was different. Their names and language were different. They lived by different rules. The Khmer Rouge wanted everyone to be equal, and when the Chams practiced Islam they did not appear to be equal. So they were punished

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cham_people#Genocide

Indeed. If you wore specs, had an education, looked remotely affluent, had long hair, had a shaved head, etc, you were grist for the KR slaughter machine.

In the end they had no one left who was 'different' to slaughter so started killing each other; starting with those who didn't appear to be towing the party line which was the beginning of the end for them. Visit Tuol Sleng where most of the victims were KR cadres and see for yourself.

When they began to spring raids in Viet Nam looking for victims, well that really was the end of days for them...

No one messes with the Viets.....

[moe666]

Many of them will be ethnic Cham, more likely from Viet Nam than Cambodia as the KR did a pretty good number on ethnic Chams though some returned during the UNTAC days to their 'homeland' in Southern Cambo.

The Cham (arguably) came from Indonesia to the Mainland during the reign of Jayavarman II and were worthy warriors during the height of Angkor until Jayavarman VII got the pip with them and finally pushed them back to the Delta region.

Anthropologically you can tell them by the long ears....(don't ask...)

No, you grind pork up in the rice gruel you feed them if they do not eat you know they are a Cham. That's how the bad boys wiped them out, the young ones would eat the pork but mom and dad would not. This was the policy after they had wiped out the Doctors, lawyers and teachers.

[Tomtomtom69]

Gotta wonder why they don't just call them Cambodians.

There's got to be a reason they keep specifying Cambodian Muslims when referring to illegal immigrants.

I don't know but for starters, Muslims are rare in Cambodia. No one I know including myself would ever associate Islam with Cambodia...nearly everyone in Cambodia is Buddhist. So the fact that these illegal immigrants are all Muslim and are from Cambodia, is highly unusual in my mind.

[simple1]

Gotta wonder why they don't just call them Cambodians.

There's got to be a reason they keep specifying Cambodian Muslims when referring to illegal immigrants.

I don't know but for starters, Muslims are rare in Cambodia. No one I know including myself would ever associate Islam with Cambodia...nearly everyone in Cambodia is Buddhist. So the fact that these illegal immigrants are all Muslim and are from Cambodia, is highly unusual in my mind.

Officially Hun Sen has a different opinion to you; refer below. However, muslims only represent approx 2% of the Camdodian population.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/muslims-%E2%80%98lucky-live-cambodia%E2%80%99-pm-says

[nong38]

Well at least you see more tham just their eyes and their clothes does look a bit more colourful than the usual black bin bag with an eye slit.

[HeavyDrinker]

No, you grind pork up in the rice gruel you feed them

Cobblers. They wouldn't have wasted pork.

[lee b]

Why does it matter that they are muslims, they are here illigelly right..Just send them back

[umbanda]

well that could be an answer to the difficulty of finding workers in Thailand.

Apparently they only want to work in the southern provinces.

Seems strange to me that all these Cambodians have relatives in the southern provinces which are trying to claim over 100s of years ago they were there own kingdom.

Some thing does not feel rite about this to me.

Talking about something hard to understand....In Mae Sot the border is a bridge over a narrow river that sometimes is totally dry. People from Myanmar walk the river every day to work or sell goods in the Thai side without any problem.....but...if a Thai citizen do the same and cross to the Myanmar side not using the bridge and not passing trough immigration checking, it will be arrested.

[hellodolly]

At the checkpoint in Aranyaprathet yesterday, 57 Cambodian Muslims were stopped but later allowed to enter Thailand after producing legal passports with tourist visas.

I was indeed referring to this part of the article old prune. I doubt they're that mithered about the illegal ones trying to stay alive...

The article also says

"Nearly 10,000 Cambodian Muslims are arrested in Narathiwat each year and charged with illegal entry after failing to produce legal documents, he said."

Huuuum let me see here 10,000 illegal 57 legal.

Not sure why they even bothered to mention the 57 legal ones. I would have thought there was a lot more legal ones.