webfact Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 BURNING ISSUEThailand has ignored Rohingyas' misery for too longSUPALAK GANJANAKHUNDEETHE NATION BANGKOK: -- GOVERNMENT officials should not pretend they have just learned that people calling themselves "Rohingya" have fled from somewhere via trafficking networks to Thailand.Thai authorities under the military government of Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha are handling the issue of trafficking in Rohingya as if these unfortunate people have just arrived from Mars.The government badly needs a comprehensive approach to cope with this complicated and tragic issue.Although the origin of the Rohingya it is still debatable - this ethnic group has lived north-west of Myanmar, mostly in the state of Rakhine, for the entire memory of our generation. Myanmar has refused to recognise them as national citizens and calls them illegal migrant Bengalis.More than 1.5-2 million Rohingya were forced to leave their homes during Myanmar independence in 1948, due to differences in race and religion, according to the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, a group of social activists who champion their rights.However, two million are still living in Myanmar while hundreds of thousands are moving along the border of Myanmar and Bangladesh. A major exodus of Rohingya has happened twice since Myanmar independence: once in 1978 when the military regime of Ne Win launched the Naga Min (Dragon King) operation to check 'illegal migrants'; and again in early 1990 after a military crackdown on democratic movement.The current wave of Rohingya movement began without notice more than a decade ago when they sought better lives in Southeast Asia. Malaysia is their destination of choice but Thailand is the regional transit hub due to loose border control and corrupt officials.The refugee movement came to public notice in early 2009, when some received brutal treatment from Thai authorities (when vessels were allegedly pushed back to sea). And problems in Rakhine State were exacerbated three years later when Muslim Rohingya clashed with Buddhist Rakhine. The violence displaced over 100,000 people who ended up in refugee camps.With the emergence of human trafficking syndicates, it is estimated that more than 100,000 Rohingya have managed to settle in Southeast Asia.Their adventures were not at all smooth. Usually, they had to pay between US$90 (Bt3,000) and $370 (Bt12,500) for the "boat fee" to board a vessel, but they could not get off unless another $2,000 was paid, according to a United Nations report.They were pressured, starved, beaten to extort payment from families and relatives to facilitate their travel. Those who had no relatives to pay, told the UN they worked as labourers for smugglers for several months in order to secure their freedom. Some were forced to work in hard conditions on fishery trawlers and farms to repay their debts from trafficking expenses. Some others were held in brutal jungle camps in Southern Thailand, pending payment.It is too naive to say that Thai security officials knew nothing about these matters. Unless officials took bribes to allow them to continue their dangerous journey, they would be brutally deported and left to starve on the high seas. Of more than 50 traffickers facing arrest warrants from Thai police, many are uniformed officials of many agencies.But, this could not stop them. By the end of the monsoon season in October, Rohingya sometimes mixed with Bangladeshis to begin their risky voyage in the Gulf of Bengal to Southeast Asia.In the first quarter of this year, 25,000 people were estimated to have departed in irregular maritime movements from the Bay of Bengal. The departure rate in the period was approximately double the departure rate reported in the first quarters of 2013 and 2014, according to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) report. More than 300 died in the sea during the first quarter of this year, accumulating a total of 620 since last October, the report said.The on-going Thai crackdown - aimed to please the United States for the benefit of upgrading Thailand's status in the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report - might not always yield good results.The International Organisation for Migration estimated there could be as many as 8,000 boat people stranded at sea in the Gulf of Bengal as the smugglers are reluctant to land.Thai officials arrested, prosecuted and deported dozens of them over the past weeks after launching the crackdown on traffickers. Their fates are unknown.Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Thailand-has-ignored-Rohingyas-misery-for-too-long-30259961.html-- The Nation 2015-05-13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Credo Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 It's not ignoring their misery that is the problem, it is contributing to it that wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somtamnication Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 They have been ignoring farangs married to Thais for a long time, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_Dog Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Plenty of stories out there like this one from the BBC, seven years old. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7437016.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsujin Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 But, but, but ... the Thai Officials haven't ignored the problem ... they've profited from it for years and years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prbkk Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 "how many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free, And how many years can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_Dog Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Glad to see Thai PBS is trying to get the news out, but I wonder how long it will be before they are suppressed. http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/sadao-immigration-police-deny-any-involvement-in-human-trafficking-racket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quandow Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Ignored! No, active participants! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeverSure Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 "how many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free, And how many years can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see?" How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry? How many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emster23 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 "The answer my friend is set up a panel of inquiry, lots of press releases, and business as usual blowing lots of hot wind" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clockman Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 "how many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free, And how many years can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see?" Bobs, the man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastguy Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 For many years they've turned a blind eye to the problem because from the bottom of the ladder to the very top certain people in Thailand have capitalised from the misfortune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torpedo1970 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Why do they have to care? Thailand be best in the world! Thai people better than everyone! And all bad things in Thailand is done by foreigners.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiUser Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 "how many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free, And how many years can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see?" Reading the article I have to say that it is fair and square in most what it reports but that a few more lines added about the political situation in my country would have made it easier to understand why the misery of the migrants was hardly noticed; not that it would provide an excuse for the treatment they received because there is no excuse for it that could justify it. Still the last ten years in Thailand have been political unrest and violence that focused the view of the media on the events that seemed to be of greater importance. Demonstrations, occupation of airports, a stand off in Bangkok that ended in violence and governments that for the sake of staying in power ignored to look more closely to what happened in the south of the country. In that respect no political party or agency is free of blame because everybody seemed to have pushed their own agendas. Now that the situation has been brought to the attention of most Thais I believe that we will do something about it and that it will show that we have as much heart and empathy as any other nation. Here are some more lines from Bob Dylan and a song that I personally prefer because it still speaks of hope: Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide the chance won't come again And don't speak too soon for the wheel's still in spin And there's no telling' who that it's naming' For the loser now will be later to win For the times they are a-changing' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiUser Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Why do they have to care? Thailand be best in the world! Thai people better than everyone! And all bad things in Thailand is done by foreigners.... Grammar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_Dog Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Little River Band comes to mind: And all the peopleWho are trapped withinServe to showJust how far we'll goAnd how dumb we've beenAt the topLife looks so easyBut they'll never knowWhat they'll never knowThey're much too busyCountin' all their doughFrom the borderFrom the border Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papayabokbok Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Little River Band comes to mind: And all the people Who are trapped within Serve to show Just how far we'll go And how dumb we've been At the top Life looks so easy But they'll never know What they'll never know They're much too busy Countin' all their dough From the border From the border Time for a COOL CHANGE...has been too damn hot Just ask the Night Owl.....but thats just me..Reminiscing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maidee Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 can the EU invite the myanmar people to come to explain how to clean up europe ? aka all those with another religion that is imposing their will on the natives ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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