Cambodian families calling relatives to return home: Thailand

[webfact]

RUMOURS
Cambodian families calling relatives to return home
Thanapat Kitjakosol
The Nation
Sa Kaew

BANGKOK: -- FEARING A military crackdown on illegal workers, Wiang left his construction site in Bangkok without even receiving a single baht for many weeks of work.

"My employer said he could pay on June 28. But we can't wait till then," the 32-year-old Cambodian lamented yesterday as he was about to cross the border back to his home country. "My family demanded that I and five other relatives head back to Cambodia immediately".

His group had toiled on the Thon Buri side of Bangkok for nearly two months without a work permit, when their families called and told them to come back home for the sake of their safety.

Saweun On, 28, and his relatives are also heading back to Cambodia for much the same reason.

"Our families said things like Thai soldiers have launched a serious crackdown on illegal workers and Thai soldiers have already shot many Cambodians," he said.

Sa Kaew police chief Maj General Yingyos Thepjamnong yesterday said that rumours about attacks on illegal workers were groundless. He said the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) in fact did not have a policy to crack down on illegal migrants right now.

"But yes, if we find them, we will have to deport them," Yingyos said. "But they can always come back as registered workers if they want."

Wiang, who was arrested as an illegal immigrant some time ago, said he would try to figure out how to get a proper work permit.

"I don't think I will be able to find any job back home," Wiang said as he was waiting to cross the border checkpoint in Sa Kaew. "So, I will need to come back to Thailand sooner or later."

Warin, a 28-year-old Cambodian, said she had been working in Chachoengsao province, near Bangkok, for about two years - and without any rough encounter with officials.

"But I have to leave now because my parents are real worried about my safety," she said, admitting that she did not have a work permit.

Since the NCPO staged a coup last month, fear has been grown among illegal workers in Thailand partly because of military-led raids at places suspected of sheltering illegal immigrants.

Several Cambodian construction workers say their employers told them to leave in anticipation that officials will toughen their stance against illegal workers.

"My employer told me to leave before June 25," said Boonlert, an illegal worker from Cambodia. He said he himself did not want to leave because he was paid Bt350 a day in Thailand. "If I work in Cambodia, I will earn just Bt100-plus a day."

According to Yingyos, more than 100,000 Cambodians have crossed the border to get back to their homeland since the NCPO came to power.

-- The Nation 2014-06-17

[chooka]

Pretty much the same that is being reported in the Australian media, thousands fleeing the country out of fear for their lives from the Junta.

[thumper101]

Pathetic.

Someone is using the Cambodian connection to destabilize Thailand.

We all know who would make gains from it.... Just think about who has been attempting to destabalize thailand for the past 13 years???

Why don't they just go to a registration centre instead of the border?

Then they would be legal.

Edited June 16, 2014 by thumper101

[Suriya4]

Don't worry. They all will be back within a week or so. And more will be coming. Mostly illegal.

[MikeOboe57]

Wiang left his construction site in Bangkok without even receiving a single baht for many weeks of work.

What a nice side effect of that rumour.

[rabas]

Pretty much the same that is being reported in the Australian media, thousands fleeing the country out of fear for their lives from the Junta.

Odd, your eyeballs are inverted, that is not how the story goes. The word is out that 13 years of Taksin mafia corruption is coming to an end and illegal workers will no longer be a source of extortion for Tak-police. Even street vendors know it and are demanding the extortion stop now. The junta will help them come back a legal workers, I suspect.

So much for those international news sources and keen analysis, eh?

[rametindallas]

Too bad the RTP aren't as fearful of a crackdown by the NCPO.

[ratcatcher]

Pretty much the same that is being reported in the Australian media, thousands fleeing the country out of fear for their lives from the Junta.

Is the Australian media also reporting the numbers of deaths by this so called Junta. No bias there eh?

[chooka]

Pretty much the same that is being reported in the Australian media, thousands fleeing the country out of fear for their lives from the Junta.

Is the Australian media also reporting the numbers of deaths by this so called Junta. No bias there eh?

No they haven't reported on any deaths and I wasn't aware there were any. How many have there been?

[Loles]

"But yes, if we find them, we will have to deport them," Yingyos said. "But they can always come back as registered workers if they want."

And will who build almost free your next condo smart Yingyos ???

And congratulation to the GREEDY and FOXY employers who could save more on these unlucky slavers, and hold their salaries. SHAME.

[ratcatcher]

Pretty much the same that is being reported in the Australian media, thousands fleeing the country out of fear for their lives from the Junta.

Is the Australian media also reporting the numbers of deaths by this so called Junta. No bias there eh?

No they haven't reported on any deaths and I wasn't aware there were any. How many have there been?

"... thousands fleeing the country out of fear for their lives..."

Perhaps the refugees know something we don't. I wasn't aware they were fleeing out of fear of their lives, seems like a reasonably organized exodus.

[LivinLOS]

Initial 'rumors' of killings seem to be confirmed with direct witness testimony now..

According to http://www.adhoc-cambodia.org/?p=4597

[pookiki]

Sad situation. The number of 'documented' workers from Cambodia has usually been estimated at about 450,000 with very little undocumented workers. The number or workers who are returning shows that the number of undocumented/trafficked workers has been substantially under estimated. When it is said that it will be easy to return to Thailand as a 'legal' worker, it shows a total misunderstanding of the corrupt broker system used to transport workers. If you want to rid the system of corruption, abolish the broker system and utilize government to government mechanisms to properly protect migrant workers. Thailand can also do the right thing by insuring that all migrant workers are treated the same as Thai workers under Thailand's labor law -- to include worker's compensation.

[dude123]

Initial 'rumors' of killings seem to be confirmed with direct witness testimony now..

According to http://www.adhoc-cambodia.org/?p=4597

If true, doesn't that really put Thailand into the dark ages? I mean, really, they have to kill illegal workers???

[gilliam]

Initial 'rumors' of killings seem to be confirmed with direct witness testimony now..

According to http://www.adhoc-cambodia.org/?p=4597

The "now" is from last week and the reports remain as unconfirmed as they were back then.

[Robby nz]

Initial 'rumors' of killings seem to be confirmed with direct witness testimony now..

According to http://www.adhoc-cambodia.org/?p=4597

Nope that does not confirm anything, only more rumor.

We know there have been 7 killed in a road accident, inflation by rumor mongers would probably account for the other 2 reported deaths.

What this does show is how dangerous a rumor can be and I don't mean to the military but to the "collateral damage" the victims of the rumor, those workers who have been put in a panic because of this.

Whoever started the rumor no doubt did so to get at the army and destabilize the country for their own ends or the ends of their employer.

I have seen estimates of anything up to 3 million overseas workers in the country in the various reports I have read.

The 100 to 140k that has been reported to have left is only a small proportion that have been got at, I note that the gang working on the building down the road from us are still there today, with a bit of luck this rumor will die a natural death in the next 2 or 3 days and many of those who have run will come back.

The labor ministry, being under new management and free of a previous minister who was always to busy elsewhere, will quickly, with a bit of luck and a bit of incentive, come up with an easy way for the migrant workers to be registered.

[belg]

why run away without getting paid ? makes no sense as what is the worst thing immigration can do ? deport you = free trip back to your country, i mean, for those border workers, not for us farangs

[Morch]

Initial 'rumors' of killings seem to be confirmed with direct witness testimony now..

According to http://www.adhoc-cambodia.org/?p=4597

Nope that does not confirm anything, only more rumor.

We know there have been 7 killed in a road accident, inflation by rumor mongers would probably account for the other 2 reported deaths.

What this does show is how dangerous a rumor can be and I don't mean to the military but to the "collateral damage" the victims of the rumor, those workers who have been put in a panic because of this.

Whoever started the rumor no doubt did so to get at the army and destabilize the country for their own ends or the ends of their employer.

I have seen estimates of anything up to 3 million overseas workers in the country in the various reports I have read.

The 100 to 140k that has been reported to have left is only a small proportion that have been got at, I note that the gang working on the building down the road from us are still there today, with a bit of luck this rumor will die a natural death in the next 2 or 3 days and many of those who have run will come back.

The labor ministry, being under new management and free of a previous minister who was always to busy elsewhere, will quickly, with a bit of luck and a bit of incentive, come up with an easy way for the migrant workers to be registered.

The NGO's report remains a single unverified source. Don't think there was any substantial corroboration, other than some

re-hashing of the very same.

The road accident is a separate incident which happened AFTER the NGO report - so probably no connection. Doesn't seem

like anyone is mixing the two stories, or it would have been 16 death cases (well, 15, as the driver was Thai).

Regardless of how the rumors started and by whom (can think of more than one interested party), it is worth noting how fast

they took hold and the magnitude of their effect. If it was a totally inconceivable eventuality, not that many would have thrown

everything away and do a runner to the border. With some Cambodians saying they got the message from bosses, and some

from family back home, quite intriguing to follow the flow of information on this rumor.

Unless something really drastic happens, it is quite probable most will be back in a while, with somewhat better registration.

Guess that there would still be many working illegally, though.

[Morch]

why run away without getting paid ? makes no sense as what is the worst thing immigration can do ? deport you = free trip back to your country, i mean, for those border workers, not for us farangs

I do not think they are really all that worried about immigration services, right now.

While illegal workers getting picked up by immigration can face quite a bit of hassle and are wide open to further exploitation,

the rumors have more to do with possible violent crackdown by the army.

That to date there doesn't seem to be one is true, but the Cambodians obviously see it as not too far-fetched.

Edited June 17, 2014 by Morch

[Emptyset]

Initial 'rumors' of killings seem to be confirmed with direct witness testimony now..

According to http://www.adhoc-cambodia.org/?p=4597

Nope that does not confirm anything, only more rumor.

We know there have been 7 killed in a road accident, inflation by rumor mongers would probably account for the other 2 reported deaths.

What this does show is how dangerous a rumor can be and I don't mean to the military but to the "collateral damage" the victims of the rumor, those workers who have been put in a panic because of this.

Whoever started the rumor no doubt did so to get at the army and destabilize the country for their own ends or the ends of their employer.

I have seen estimates of anything up to 3 million overseas workers in the country in the various reports I have read.

The 100 to 140k that has been reported to have left is only a small proportion that have been got at, I note that the gang working on the building down the road from us are still there today, with a bit of luck this rumor will die a natural death in the next 2 or 3 days and many of those who have run will come back.

The labor ministry, being under new management and free of a previous minister who was always to busy elsewhere, will quickly, with a bit of luck and a bit of incentive, come up with an easy way for the migrant workers to be registered.

No, nine have been killed in road accidents, 2 from this incident where men, possibly police, shot out the tires of a truck containing migrants: http://www.pattayadailynews.com/pattaya-news/2014/06/16/truck-shot-at-by-mysterious-gunman-in-chonburi/

But the 9 deaths ADHOC are talking about are separate from that:

"Investigators from the Cambodian human rights NGO ADHOC said they had received “credible witness accounts” that up to nine Cambodian migrants had been killed during the deportations, and that “beatings have occurred at the hands of the Thai armed forces.”

ADHOC’s coordinator for women and children Chhay Sokuntea told Radio Free Asia that witnesses reported eight migrant deaths in Chonburi and one in Bangkok.

She said the victims were killed by Thai soldiers during raids on their rented homes, adding that workers were being “abused and extorted” by both Thai and Cambodian authorities."

http://asiancorrespondent.com/123788/thailands-migrant-workers-race-for-the-exits/

Migrants are interviewed in this video: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/video/100k-plus-cambodians-flee-thai-junta

The migrants they interview claim to know someone who has witnessed brutality, but none have seen it themselves. Now perhaps the rumours spread organically amongst migrants sparked by fear of a crackdown, or perhaps there's some truth to it, or maybe the rumours were put out there for a specific purpose (like to get people considered "security risks" moving out faster). Your suggestion that Thaksin is behind all this seems a little less plausible, especially if you believe that he's an ally of Hun Sen (clearly the last thing HS wants is more unemployed young people with little money and few prospects roaming around).

[tezzainoz]

3 years ago the thai wife showed me why holidaying in Pattaya, how Cambodian workers where given job and on pay days the boss had an excuse saying they must wait to get paid as the money had not arrived yet

this would go on for as long as they could then the boss would make a report to immigration

the lot would be shipped back to Cambodia over night and his free labour would start all over again

How did she know this was true

Her sister worked for the head office of the construction company, and this practice was well know amoungst all the bi companies and had been going on for years

[Thaddeus]

why run away without getting paid ? makes no sense as what is the worst thing immigration can do ? deport you = free trip back to your country, i mean, for those border workers, not for us farangs

The conversation goes like this....

"Boss, boss, we have a problem"

"What's up Somchai"

"Well, the 2.2 Trillion (off the books) Baht loan scheme isn't going to happen now, so all these white elephants we were planning to build are no longer on the cards"

"Ok that's going to hurt a bit, but there are other things we can be building"

"Not really Boss, the economy has slipped and there is already an over supply of white elephants"

"Well Somchai, we'll just have to wait until the economy picks up, we have enough in the bank from the last white elephant project to ride this out"

"But Boss, this labour force we have, may be cheap, but it still costs money"

"Well lay them off then"

"What happens when they start asking for severance pay Boss? that's going to cost us and this General chap does appear to be quite keen on enforcing laws and making sure the downtrodden actually get paid what they are owed"

"Hmmmm, I see, let me think................ got it.......... spread a rumour that the Army said that they had a week to leave, or they may be shot"

"Brilliant Boss, consider it done"

Blam.

[Zoom3]

why run away without getting paid ? makes no sense as what is the worst thing immigration can do ? deport you = free trip back to your country, i mean, for those border workers, not for us farangs

Exactly !

[fab4]

Pathetic.

Someone is using the Cambodian connection to destabilize Thailand.

We all know who would make gains from it.... Just think about who has been attempting to destabalize thailand for the past 13 years???

Why don't they just go to a registration centre instead of the border?

Then they would be legal.

[worzel]

RUMOURS

Cambodian families calling relatives to return home

Thanapat Kitjakosol

The Nation

Sa Kaew

BANGKOK: -- FEARING A military crackdown on illegal workers, Wiang left his construction site in Bangkok without even receiving a single baht for many weeks of work.

"My employer said he could pay on June 28. But we can't wait till then," the 32-year-old Cambodian lamented yesterday as he was about to cross the border back to his home country. "My family demanded that I and five other relatives head back to Cambodia immediately".

His group had toiled on the Thon Buri side of Bangkok for nearly two months without a work permit, when their families called and told them to come back home for the sake of their safety.

Saweun On, 28, and his relatives are also heading back to Cambodia for much the same reason.

"Our families said things like Thai soldiers have launched a serious crackdown on illegal workers and Thai soldiers have already shot many Cambodians," he said.

Sa Kaew police chief Maj General Yingyos Thepjamnong yesterday said that rumours about attacks on illegal workers were groundless. He said the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) in fact did not have a policy to crack down on illegal migrants right now.

"But yes, if we find them, we will have to deport them," Yingyos said. "But they can always come back as registered workers if they want."

Wiang, who was arrested as an illegal immigrant some time ago, said he would try to figure out how to get a proper work permit.

"I don't think I will be able to find any job back home," Wiang said as he was waiting to cross the border checkpoint in Sa Kaew. "So, I will need to come back to Thailand sooner or later."

Warin, a 28-year-old Cambodian, said she had been working in Chachoengsao province, near Bangkok, for about two years - and without any rough encounter with officials.

"But I have to leave now because my parents are real worried about my safety," she said, admitting that she did not have a work permit.

Since the NCPO staged a coup last month, fear has been grown among illegal workers in Thailand partly because of military-led raids at places suspected of sheltering illegal immigrants.

Several Cambodian construction workers say their employers told them to leave in anticipation that officials will toughen their stance against illegal workers.

"My employer told me to leave before June 25," said Boonlert, an illegal worker from Cambodia. He said he himself did not want to leave because he was paid Bt350 a day in Thailand. "If I work in Cambodia, I will earn just Bt100-plus a day."

According to Yingyos, more than 100,000 Cambodians have crossed the border to get back to their homeland since the NCPO came to power.

-- The Nation 2014-06-17

dont worry they will start to blame the farangs next legal or not

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[freebyrd]

why run away without getting paid ? makes no sense as what is the worst thing immigration can do ? deport you = free trip back to your country, i mean, for those border workers, not for us farangs

I live in Cambodia and work with Cambodian people and have discussed this with my senior, well educated staff. Put yourself in the position of these 'refugees', poorly educated, not wordly wise as you are, they are easily intimidated/scared and obviously think there is some risk of them receiving rather more than simply being deported.

You can't judge these people or think like them until you've walked a mile in their shoes.