Cambodian workers flee Thailand out of fear

[wandasloan]

.

Edited June 13, 2014 by wandasloan

[Briggsy]

Those who know about the 1979 horrendous massacre of unarmed Cambodian refugees by the Thai Army which had come to power following a coup should understand why Cambodians are sceptical and fearful of the the Thai Army.

[InsideOut]

Who is going to take the place of these workers? Thais don't want to do manual labour

Do you?

Edited June 13, 2014 by InsideOut

[thumper101]

Shit! there goes all of my rubber plantation workers!!!!

So you are exploiting illegal workers then?

Is it the cheap rates you are making your profits off?

Working without permission is illegal, if an employer can't make sure his workers at least get themselves legally registered, then sure... I hope their business grinds to a halt.

Enforcing these laws is the first step to controlling the slave trade and it may help if the RTA start actually targeting the masters of these illegal and exploited workers and give them a 100,000 baht fine for each worker found in their employ.... In the UK it is a £10,000 fine per illegal worker, and it gets enforced.

[webfact]

Rumour of military sweep forces exodus of illegal Cambodian labour



BANGKOK: -- Rumour that the military will begin to sweep illegal foreign labour has sent wave of panic and scare with Cambodian workers now crowding border-bound trains in hurry to return homes.

State Railways of Thailand officials reported its Cambodian border-bound trains were packed daily with Cambodian passengers, particularly at the Hua Mark railway station with destination in Aranyaprathet.

SRT operates two border train services daily, No 275 diesel train, and No 279 free normal train.

The free train is now overcrowded daily by Cambodian labour as well as the paid diesel train, officials said.

All stations along the eastern route namely Makkasan, Klong Tan, Hua Mark, Thap Charng, Lat Krabang are seen to be packed daily by Cambodian labour waiting to board the border trains homes.

Labour Department director-general Pravit Kiengpol said the Cambodian labour exodus stemmed from unfounded report and hear-say that the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will soon begin a major sweep of illegal foreign workers.

He affirmed the report was unfounded and untrue but admitted that those returning homes are mostly illegally working in the country.

When they heard of the imminent military sweep, they were scare and then fled.

But he said that those who have legally registered could still work in the country.

He said the exodus of illegal foreign labour might have impact on some businesses due to labour shortage, but entrepreneurs could still apply for foreign labour quota with the Department of Employment.

At present, a total of 441,569 Cambodian workers have registered with the Department of Employment.

Among the labour exodus also included registered workers who informed their Thai employers that their government told them to leave Thailand in three days as Thai authorities are going to close its border and ban all exits and entries.

This is one of the reasons which forced the mass exodus of Cambodian labour from Thailand, one employer said.

The instruction for Cambodian labour to leave came as the Thai military junta issued an order June 10 setting up a foreign labour committee to tackle illegal foreign labour in the country citing security reason.

Permanent secretary of the Labour Ministry Chirasak Sukontachart welcomed the move of the junta to tackle the illegal foreign worker problem seriously which remained unresolved, particularly when foreign workers who have not yet passed nationality certification are allowed to continue staying in the country for another year as their work permission are going to expire August 11.

But this involved the special economic zone policy of the military junta and other relevant government agencies.

He said foreign workers working in special economic zones at the border are allowed to come to work and return to the border on daily basis, and construction workers who could migrate to work in other places when their Thai employers sought permission from authorities which employers said was the cost burden because they have to pay fees for permission.

These problems would be raised for talk at the meeting of the new committee.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/rumour-military-sweep-forces-exodus-illegal-cambodian-labour/


-- Thai PBS 2014-06-13

[asiaworld]

One of my Khmer staff ran from the workplace when she heard soldiers were coming. Even tho she is legal with all the paperwork etc.they are scared of being captured by army, you would not believe the roumors they tell each other about it.

If you care to know them better, and observe how they are treated by Thais , even when completely legal .. It will be evident those aren't just roumors , but sad facts of life in Thailand .. I've personally witnessed Thai immi, and customs extorting money from Cambodians and Burmese with proper visas , just based on their nationality !!

[thumper101]

Those who know about the 1979 horrendous massacre of unarmed Cambodian refugees by the Thai Army which had come to power following a coup should understand why Cambodians are sceptical and fearful of the the Thai Army.

I don't know if anyone has told you yet.... This is 2014, not 1979.

Those so called 'refugees' I think you will find were Khmer Rouge fleeing the Vietnamese after committing an atrocious genocide against their own people, and I think you may find that Pol Pot and all his cronies were among them.

Stop scaremongering against the army, they are doing a fantastic job, and in three weeks alone have done more good for Thailand than 13 years of 'so called' democracy.

[Briggsy]

Those who know about the 1979 horrendous massacre of unarmed Cambodian refugees by the Thai Army which had come to power following a coup should understand why Cambodians are sceptical and fearful of the the Thai Army.

I don't know if anyone has told you yet.... This is 2014, not 1979.

Those so called 'refugees' I think you will find were Khmer Rouge fleeing the Vietnamese after committing an atrocious genocide against their own people, and I think you may find that Pol Pot and all his cronies were among them.

Stop scaremongering against the army, they are doing a fantastic job, and in three weeks alone have done more good for Thailand than 13 years of 'so called' democracy.

Your post contains appalling inaccuracies and seems to fit a pattern of denial and revision of facts by the Thai military of any atrocity committed against civilians, and there have been many, even when the evidence is compelling that the massacre did occur.

When a military is answerable to no-one, heinous abuses do tend to occur.

[EnzoRippo]

http://www.adhoc-cambodia.org/?p=4597 from an important Cambodian human rights organization

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Thai at Heart]

Thailand has never recognized the significant economic benefits it gains from its migrant workers - whether they are Lao, Burmese, Cambodian, etc. In addition, Thailand has not attempted to reform the corrupt practices of brokers who demand exorbitant fees for 'proper' documentation from migrant workers. If Thailand wants to rectify this problem it would enter into government to government agreements to make sure that all migrant workers enjoy their proper benefits under Thai labor law. In the meantime, they remain the prey of the police, the military, and unscrupulous employers.

Other than business owners, who exactly gains from having such a large amount of imported labour.

The argument that they are doing jobs that Thai wont do, when the mechanism for.raising the wage through a labour shortage is spurious.

[thumper101]

Those who know about the 1979 horrendous massacre of unarmed Cambodian refugees by the Thai Army which had come to power following a coup should understand why Cambodians are sceptical and fearful of the the Thai Army.

I don't know if anyone has told you yet.... This is 2014, not 1979.

Those so called 'refugees' I think you will find were Khmer Rouge fleeing the Vietnamese after committing an atrocious genocide against their own people, and I think you may find that Pol Pot and all his cronies were among them.

Stop scaremongering against the army, they are doing a fantastic job, and in three weeks alone have done more good for Thailand than 13 years of 'so called' democracy.

Your post contains appalling inaccuracies and seems to fit a pattern of denial and revision of facts by the Thai military of any atrocity committed against civilians, and there have been many, even when the evidence is compelling that the massacre did occur.

When a military is answerable to no-one, heinous abuses do tend to occur.

Any chance of you posting a link to this massacre.... a link from a credible source that is.

BTW... answerable to no-one??????

How about answerable to HMK?

How about answerable to the people?

How about answerable to the International community?

How about answerable to the Cambodian army?

Like I said.... It's not 1979... so you can stop trying to weave history into the present day. The RTA are NOT GOING TO MASSACRE ANYONE!

Edited June 13, 2014 by thumper101

[Paulzed]

Shit! there goes all of my rubber plantation workers!!!!

So you are exploiting illegal workers then?

Is it the cheap rates you are making your profits off?

Working without permission is illegal, if an employer can't make sure his workers at least get themselves legally registered, then sure... I hope their business grinds to a halt.

Enforcing these laws is the first step to controlling the slave trade and it may help if the RTA start actually targeting the masters of these illegal and exploited workers and give them a 100,000 baht fine for each worker found in their employ.... In the UK it is a £10,000 fine per illegal worker, and it gets enforced.

Tell that to the Puyai, good luck with that, he wears a .357 magnum on his belt too.

[wandasloan]

Any chance of you posting a link to this massacre.... a link from a credible source that is.

BTW... answerable to no-one??????

How about answerable to HMK?

How about answerable to the people?

How about answerable to the International community?

How about answerable to the Cambodian army?

Like I said.... It's not 1979... so you can stop trying to weave history into the present day. The RTA are NOT GOING TO MASSACRE ANYONE!

Any chance you could employ this new internet thingy to find a source YOU consider credible? But start with these and then find your own, it's really, really easy. It's in US State Department histories and everything, just like the second source says. For anyone there, it isn't soon forgotten, people by the hundreds dumped out of trucks and pushed out of buses, literally rolled down the hill into a minefield:

http://goo.gl/gW3zrY

http://goo.gl/LMshNP

And yes, answerable, to this day, to no one. That is why Cambodians are very afraid when a bunch of soldiers come around at 3am and say, "get in the truck. SHUT UP and get in the truck." And it's kind of why when someone says "let's burn down the Thai embassy," some Cambodians to this day say, "well.... okay."

But now that you mention it, do you have a link to your credentials as a fortune teller?: From a credible source of course. Otherwise, however much we wish it, your remark about "are not going to" might not be credible.

.

Edited June 13, 2014 by wandasloan

[thumper101]

All that aside.... The main issue is that it seems someone is instigating these rumours and probably have an agenda of straining tensions between Cambodia and Thailand.

Now I wonder who would do such a thing?

[wandasloan]

Other than business owners, who exactly gains from having such a large amount of imported labour.

The argument that they are doing jobs that Thai wont do, when the mechanism for.raising the wage through a labour shortage is spurious.

Please read the above thread. Obviously, illegal migrants are here because it's a better life than they left. (Which says a lot.) Even more obviously, the entire network of human traffickers gains.

All that aside.... The main issue is that it seems someone is instigating these rumours and probably have an agenda of straining tensions between Cambodia and Thailand.

Rumour? What part do you think is a rumour? Thousands of Cambodians have been rounded up and trucked away like it's Tak Bai, dumped over the border. Cambodians are afraid. Where's the rumour?

.

Edited June 13, 2014 by wandasloan

[thumper101]

Any chance of you posting a link to this massacre.... a link from a credible source that is.

BTW... answerable to no-one??????

How about answerable to HMK?

How about answerable to the people?

How about answerable to the International community?

How about answerable to the Cambodian army?

Like I said.... It's not 1979... so you can stop trying to weave history into the present day. The RTA are NOT GOING TO MASSACRE ANYONE!

Any chance you could employ this new internet thingy to find a source YOU consider credible? But start with these and then find your own, it's really, really easy. It's in US State Department histories and everything, just like the second source says. For anyone there, it isn't soon forgotten, people by the hundreds dumped out of trucks and pushed out of buses, literally rolled down the hill into a minefield:

http://goo.gl/gW3zrY

http://goo.gl/LMshNP

And yes, answerable, to this day, to no one. That is why Cambodians are very afraid when a bunch of soldiers come around at 3am and say, "get in the truck. SHUT UP and get in the truck." And it's kind of why when someone says "let's burn down the Thai embassy," some Cambodians to this day say, "well.... okay."

But now that you mention it, do you have a link to your credentials as a fortune teller?: From a credible source of course. Otherwise, however much we wish it, your remark about "are not going to" might not be credible.

.

US propaganda State Department?

Stop it pleeeeeeeease.

[wandasloan]

US propaganda State Department?

Stop it pleeeeeeeease.

I hope you're getting paid for this. Beclowning yourself for free seems pointless.

So while you're peeling off that ridiculous red nose, here you go: What source do you want on the Dongrek massacre of 1979? To your "mind", what's credible?

.

[webfact]

Junta chief says Thailand still needs unskilled labourers from neighbouring countries

BANGKOK: -- Junta chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha denied Friday that the Army would crackdown on illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries who have come in to work as unskilled labourers.

The reumours prompted workers, especially those from Cambodia, to flee en masse back to their countries.

Prayuth said Thailand still needed workers from the neighbourign countries to compensate for labour shortage in the country.


-- The Nation 2014-06-13

[thumper101]

US propaganda State Department?

Stop it pleeeeeeeease.

I hope you're getting paid for this. Beclowning yourself for free seems pointless.

So while you're peeling off that ridiculous red nose, here you go: What source do you want on the Dongrek massacre of 1979? To your "mind", what's credible?

.

The only clown on here at the moment is the clown who is alluding to the fact that Cambodians fear a massacre at the hands of the Royal Thai Army.

Even if that did happen BACK IN 1979.... You have to understand that a hell of a lot of those 'refugees' were Khmer Rouge,and to be blown to bits by their own mines is poetic. The Thais didn't plant those mines you know.

[wandasloan]

The only clown on here at the moment is the clown who is alluding to the fact that Cambodians fear a massacre at the hands of the Royal Thai Army.

Even if that did happen BACK IN 1979.... You have to understand that a hell of a lot of those 'refugees' were Khmer Rouge,and to be blown to bits by their own mines is poetic. The Thais didn't plant those mines you know.

What source do you want on the Dongrek massacre of 1979? To your "mind", what's credible?

It's not that you're ignorant. Everyone is, where by "everyone" I mean everyone. It's that you're completely incurious, apparently frightened you might run across a previously unknown fact or, heaven forbid, an actual new development that challenges what you do know - even though what you know is of course hugely incomplete, like everyone.

Yes. Thailand is mass-deporting Cambodians in the most aggressive and actually inhumane way. Yes, Cambodians fear mistreatment or much worse in the present, 2014, atmosphere. That doesn't mean they WILL be massacred, it means they have been in the past, and they fear for their fate today.

PHNOM PENH (Kyodo) - Thailand repatriates over 7,000 illegal Cambodian workers

Thailand repatriated more than 7,507 illegal Cambodian workers in the first nine days of this month, a government official said Wednesday.

Bangkok (AFP) - Thailand's junta threatened Wednesday to arrest and deport all illegal foreign workers, as border officials reported an exodus of Cambodian migrants following last month's military takeover.

From now on any illegal migrant workers found in Thailand "will be arrested and deported", Thai army spokeswoman Sirichan Ngathong said.

"We see illegal workers as a threat because there were a lot of them and no clear measures to handle them, which could lead to social problems," she said....

"They feel scared. Some were crying," said Soum Chankea, a coordinator for Cambodian rights group ADHOC, who met with some of them.

Edited June 13, 2014 by wandasloan

[Briggsy]

US propaganda State Department?

Stop it pleeeeeeeease.

I hope you're getting paid for this. Beclowning yourself for free seems pointless.

So while you're peeling off that ridiculous red nose, here you go: What source do you want on the Dongrek massacre of 1979? To your "mind", what's credible?

.

The only clown on here at the moment is the clown who is alluding to the fact that Cambodians fear a massacre at the hands of the Royal Thai Army.

Even if that did happen BACK IN 1979.... You have to understand that a hell of a lot of those 'refugees' were Khmer Rouge,and to be blown to bits by their own mines is poetic. The Thais didn't plant those mines you know.

Thumper

When you are in a hole, it is best to stop digging. You clearly have no idea about the past actions and positions of the Thai Army vis a vis Cambodians and in particular Cambodians in Thailand.

At the time of the massacre which you seem to know nothing about, the Khmer Rouge remained active in pockets along the Thai border because they were receiving military assistance and safe haven from the Thai military. The Thai military supported the Khmer Rouge at that point in order to oppose Communist Vietnam.

The civilian refugees had fled the Khmer Rouge and were in safety in a refugee camp in Thailand and were pushed over a cliff at the point of a gun into a minefield surrounded by Khmer Rouge territory.

These actions are well remembered in Cambodia and talk of it is obviously suppressed in Thailand.

It is not hard to understand why a military crackdown on Cambodians has sent tens of thousands into a panic fleeing to the border.

Next you will be denying the Nazi concentration camps. You can always learn new things if you will just listen. Will you listen?

[belg]

oh my god, soon the thais will have to do jobs they think they are too good for them, even they have no education , nor skills....

[thumper101]

US propaganda State Department?

Stop it pleeeeeeeease.

I hope you're getting paid for this. Beclowning yourself for free seems pointless.

So while you're peeling off that ridiculous red nose, here you go: What source do you want on the Dongrek massacre of 1979? To your "mind", what's credible?

.

The only clown on here at the moment is the clown who is alluding to the fact that Cambodians fear a massacre at the hands of the Royal Thai Army.

Even if that did happen BACK IN 1979.... You have to understand that a hell of a lot of those 'refugees' were Khmer Rouge,and to be blown to bits by their own mines is poetic. The Thais didn't plant those mines you know.

Thumper

When you are in a hole, it is best to stop digging. You clearly have no idea about the past actions and positions of the Thai Army vis a vis Cambodians and in particular Cambodians in Thailand.

At the time of the massacre which you seem to know nothing about, the Khmer Rouge remained active in pockets along the Thai border because they were receiving military assistance and safe haven from the Thai military. The Thai military supported the Khmer Rouge at that point in order to oppose Communist Vietnam.

The civilian refugees had fled the Khmer Rouge and were in safety in a refugee camp in Thailand and were pushed over a cliff at the point of a gun into a minefield surrounded by Khmer Rouge territory.

These actions are well remembered in Cambodia and talk of it is obviously suppressed in Thailand.

It is not hard to understand why a military crackdown on Cambodians has sent tens of thousands into a panic fleeing to the border.

Next you will be denying the Nazi concentration camps. You can always learn new things if you will just listen. Will you listen?

Will YOU listen???????

It is people like you that creates misinformation.

I am saying it is 2014 NOT 1979

Or are you also saying that the army are capable of massacring these Cambodian illegal workers????

Come on man.... Even the Cambodians don't think that is their fate if they remain.

You and your mate are completely scaremongering and people like you are the main reason the Junta has to control social media and prohibit certain comments...... like yours.

You guys couldn't get more 'anti-Thai army' if you tried.

You are both disseminating very dangerous content.

Edited June 13, 2014 by thumper101

[hanno]

oh my god, soon the thais will have to do jobs they think they are too good for them, even they have no education , nor skills....

Funny that, I see a lot of Thais doing pretty hard jobs; the only thing I see some foreigner do is sit in bars and complain about Thailand and its inhabitants.

But let's not get facts into the way of some Thai bashing.

[wandasloan]

I am saying it is 2014 NOT 1979

Or are you also saying that the army are capable of massacring these Cambodian illegal workers????

Come on man.... Even the Cambodians don't think that is their fate if they remain.

That's the second time in this THREAD you have claimed to be a mind reader. You could be right, but supply a credible link, please.

This is a statement just issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission. It's not even on their website as I write, but it soon will be. It does not claim to read minds. The AHRC is at:

www.humanrights.asia

Excerpt: The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) – a coalition of 21 NGOs working on the promotion of Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law in Cambodia deplores the decision of the Thai junta to deport Cambodian migrants en masse and demands that their deportation is carried out in a manner which respects their human rights

Since June 1st, 2014, about 40,000 Cambodian workers in Thailand have self-deported or have been forcibly removed from the country by the military junta. ADHOC investigators have received credible witness accounts up to nine Cambodian migrants have been killed, and that beatings have occurred at the hands of the Thai armed forces.. Unfortunately, in times of crisis in Thailand Cambodians are often scapegoated. Many Cambodian workers are now stranded at the border without enough money to get them home.

... The Thai military violated the human rights of undocumented Cambodian migrant workers when it forcefully expelled them from the country, placing them in crowded trucks. This treatment subjected these workers to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment as prohibited by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Moreover, due to inadequate preparation and coordination between the Thai and Cambodian authorities, the migrants workers have been forced to shelter in makeshift tents at the border, and hundreds more workers continue to arrive every day. Water, food, healthcare and shelter are severely limited.

You are both disseminating very dangerous content.

I appreciate your concern, although not very much. There's nothing in this thread that hasn't been in the papers.

Edited June 13, 2014 by wandasloan

[lomatopo]

Migrants flee Thai instability

Mon, 9 June 2014

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”.

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

Migrant labourers flood border

Thu, 12 June 2014

Laignee Barron and Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Din Phivorn, 20, crammed into a Thai army truck yesterday morning with 15 or so other migrant workers and headed to the Poipet checkpoint he crossed more than two years ago, lured by the promise of work.

Now, dismissed from his employment as a construction worker, he has no idea where he will sleep or how he will earn a living – one among thousands of undocumented Cambodian labourers subject to an unprecedented mass deportation instigated by Thailand’s junta.

Official government figures list 7,500 Cambodian workers deported over the first nine days of June, but rights groups say the number is even higher, with more than 10,000 and counting streaming over the border, more than half of them women and children.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/migrant-labourers-flood-border

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Or are you also saying that the army are capable of massacring these Cambodian illegal workers????

Well, the Junta did issue a statement last week saying illegal migrants may be shot on sight.

It was reported on ThaiVisa last week, but the story has been deleted.

I read it.

[wandasloan]

Well, the Junta did issue a statement last week saying illegal migrants may be shot on sight.

It was reported on ThaiVisa last week, but the story has been deleted.

I read it.

Sounds more like a post that one of our eagle-eyed monitors spotted as a stupid rumour, which it is. The junta has issued no such statement about anything or anyone, anywhere at any time. "Shoot on sight" as a NCPO order is a totally made up tale.

That doesn't mean no one is or will be shot on sight. It means there has been until this moment no public order to do it.

.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Well, the Junta did issue a statement last week saying illegal migrants may be shot on sight.

It was reported on ThaiVisa last week, but the story has been deleted.

I read it.

Sounds more like a post that one of our eagle-eyed monitors spotted as a stupid rumour, which it is. The junta has issued no such statement about anything or anyone, anywhere at any time. "Shoot on sight" as a NCPO order is a totally made up tale.

That doesn't mean no one is or will be shot on sight. It means there has been until this moment no public order to do it.

.

It was a "webfact" post.

[wandasloan]

It was a "webfact" post.

Okay. I have no idea what that means.

Whatever was posted here, the junta hasn't issued any shoot-on-sight or shoot-to-kill or similar orders since May 22. It just hasn't.

Edit: Please note I'm not disputing you. I'm sure you saw what you say. I'm saying that what you read was not factual.

.

Edited June 13, 2014 by wandasloan