Migrants flee Thai instability

[geovalin]

Migrants flee Thai instability

Cheang Sokha and Laignee Barron

Thousands of Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand are rushing back across the border, voluntarily repatriating themselves in the face of increasingly hostile rhetoric towards undocumented labourers.

In the wake of Thailand’s coup d’état last month, army chief General Prayuth Chan-o-Cha urged better regulation of the workforce and warned illegal workers of their tenuous and unwelcome status, last week outlining ways “to prevent [an] illegal work force from entering into the country and give more work opportunities to Thai nationals”.

In response, many undocumented and unregistered Cambodian workers are deciding to show themselves the door. Border officials said groups of workers are cramming into military trucks, opting to be sent home rather than incur potential punishment.

“They are scared and decided themselves to come back. One day, around 100 or more came with Thai military transporting them to the border,” said Colonel Chin Piseth, deputy director of the Cambodian-Thai border relations office in Poipet.

Piseth estimated that thousands of Cambodians have returned since last week when the Thai military announced it would not take responsibility for any incident involving undocumented migrants.

While forcible expulsions from Thailand are not uncommon – a UN study found more than 89,000 Cambodians were deported from Thailand in 2009 for illegal migration – en masse voluntary returns or large round-ups of employed workers is extremely unusual, according to Moeun Tola, head of the labour program at the Community Legal Education Center.

“The military government has made it clear they want to control the situation with illegal workers. I’m not sure if they are worried Cambodians will join the ‘red shirt’ uprising or what,” he said.

“Before, a worker could be arrested and fined or deported, but now they can also be shot and killed. It’s gotten even more dangerous for migrant workers, and there’s no priority to improve the situation for them.”

Border officials said many of the daily returns include dozens of minors, summoned home by worried relatives. Adding to the fears, Thai media have reported a rising number of arrests and crackdowns on migrant workers following the coup, with numbers particularly high over the past few days, according to Andy Hall, a migration expert based in Thailand and Myanmar.

“However, generally in my experience, police and law enforcement arrest, extort money from workers and their employers, and then simply release them unless they need to prove a deportation quota,” he said, adding that it is economically unviable for Thailand to send home all of its hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers.

Cambodian border police, meanwhile, claim the number of workers crossing has dwindled to almost none, and they intend to keep it that way.

“If we find them, we will not let them go, because we fear the danger,” said So Channary, commander of Border Police Infantry Unit 911.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/migrants-flee-thai-instability

[geovalin]

In this article, junta says: "give more work opportunities to Thai nationals"

and economists say: "it is economically unviable for Thailand to send home all of its hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers."

It will be interesting to evaluate the situation within one year.

[ammagic]

The jobs they do, esp the Burmese on construction sites, no Thai wants to do anyway. Wonder how all the latest property projects will be completed!

[Sheryl]

Does anyone know if the Cambodian side is blocking all workers or only undocumented ones? Wondering specifically about those with a "border pass", a system that allows workers to legal;ly enter and work in provinces along the border. ??

[khwaibah]

Does anyone know if the Cambodian side is blocking all workers or only undocumented ones? Wondering specifically about those with a "border pass", a system that allows workers to legal;ly enter and work in provinces along the border. ??

Chong Chom is requiring a valid passport for into or out of Thailand/Cambodia. This also includes going to the casino. No "border pass".

[Sheryl]

Anyone know the situation in Poipet/Aran?

[Sheryl]

Just called through and was told the entry with the yellow border pass is no problem at the Poipet/Aran crossing.

[phuketrichard]

if they start repatriating Burmese without official wp's the construction of villas, condos, hotels here in Phuket will cease!!

[Tomtomtom69]

if they start repatriating Burmese without official wp's the construction of villas, condos, hotels here in Phuket will cease!!

Although it may only be a trickle now, but slowly Burmese are returning to their homelands after working in Thailand, due to greater economic opportunities in their homeland and peace for the first time in over 5 decades. I know a Burmese family who run a Thai restaurant just east of Hpa-an, the capital of Myanmar's Kayin (formerly known as Karen) State. I have been to their restaurant numerous times, on 4 separate trips last year. All family members speak quite good Thai, especially the daughter, who also fluently reads and writes Thai and is the main cook. The restaurant is located on the main road between Hpa-an and the Thai border town of Myawady (opposite of Mae Sot). The brother of the young lady that cooks used to work in Phuket until last year I think, either in hospitality or construction as did she, in hospitality I think, until 2012. Starting the new business now with the increase in tourists to Myanmar, the opening of the road between the Thai border and Myawady to tourists and greater stability in the region, coupled with no restrictions on ownership of a business (unlike in Thailand) and having her family in the area means that working at home in Myanmar is a much better proposition than getting exploited in Thailand with no rights.

With their new found wealth, the family have been able to purchase a relatively new Honda Jazz and are considering building a resort/hotel next to their successful restaurant to accommodate all the foreign tourists that are now passing through town.

I think if countries like Myanmar start catching up with Thailand, then there will be little reason for many of the Burmese to stay. Of course that process will take a while, but I'm just saying - especially now more (mostly positive) changes have happened in Myanmar since late 2011/2012 than in the previous few decades combined.

[phuketrichard]

an interesting summary follow up,;;

http://asiancorrespondent.com/123792/over-70000-cambodians-leave-thailand-why/

Although, Rainsy claims that 500,000 Cambodians were deported by the Thai authorities (whereas HE’s government claims lower figures than those of IOM). Moral of the story is that BP would rely on IOM over either Rainy or the HE government…

He is a regular rumor spreader.

Conclusion:

It is hard to say what specifically set things off, but BP believes it is a combination of (1) Cambodians being aware that some were being blamed for being red shirt protesters and understanding the military government is aligned with the establishment, (2) military has been cracking down on all types of activity since the coup, (3) many of the Cambodians leaving/fleeing do not have the correct documentation, but in the past the crackdowns were infrequent and payments could be made (but with the military in control, there seem to be doubts from workers whether this is possible now), (4) military has made statements cracking down on illegal labor, (5) talk of crackdowns has made some Thai employers nervous and this no doubt filters through to employees, and (6) stories of Thai soldiers killing Cambodian workers (together with the knowledge that previous stories about the Thai military in regards to Cambodian workers/loggers has not been positive).

[Sheryl]

As far as I can tell it is only illegals (undocumented) who are returning. They have weathered some unpleasant crackdowns in the past (and always weather a fair amount of abuse/low-level harrassment) so it doesn't take much to spook them.

Plenty of Khmer workers out near where I live, but they all have the yellow border passes (valid only in border provinces) so legal and none of them are thinking of returning.