Trauma in Migrant Workers and Migrant Child Laborers in Thailand

This time, LPN is permitted to publish a written work of 2010 from our previous intern, Ms. Sutikant Ratanachaiyaphan, who is currently studying at New York University, on our blog. This paper is writing on the trauma among migrant groups in Thailand based on theoretical and clinical perspectives. As the paper is quite long, we decide to put only an introduction on the blog. Provided anyone is interested in reading the whole paper, please contact us at: lpnthailand2011@gmail.com.

Introduction

Background 

         Systematic political repression and brutality in Burma has been forcing millions of people to flee their homes – taking cover in the jungles or escaping to neighboring countries. Perverse human right abuses by the Burmese military junta, including torture, forced labor and relocation, forced recruitment, extrajudicial killing, rape, political imprisonment, and cutting access to information, health care, and fundamental needs for living are commonplace. Many ethnic nationalities have taken flight through Thai-Burmese state boundary, only end up living in darkness on the Thai side. Once they cross the border into Thailand, they are often regarded by the Thai society as the aberrant – unqualified political subject whose lives do not qualify to be accounted for (Tangseefa, 2006).

         Approximately 150,000 now live in the refugee camps in Thailand (“Regional thematic”, 2008), where life offers limited hope and self-determination that further proliferating the suffering brought on by the human rights abuses they have endured. In addition, millions live outside the camps as undocumented migrant workers: filling the difficult, dangerous, and dirty jobs with limited legal protection and redress under Thai law and remain vulnerable to human rights violations, physical violence, and exploitation (“Regional thematic”). Female are particularly vulnerable to rape, trafficking, and unwanted pregnancy. Their children, whether accompanying them at the time of migration or born in Thailand are also considered undocumented and hold illegal status. Throughout this paper I will use the term migrant worker and child laborer for them.

         Not only did they endure trauma in their country of origin, but they will also have been exposed to trauma during their journey across the border, and will continue to suffer relentlessly from persistent trauma in the destination country. The children, they are often pressed into child labor and denied the opportunity to enroll in a school: instead, they are forced to contribute to the family’s income to help them survive. While in Burma they are likely to have been exposed to war-related traumatic events such as witnessing people being severely beaten or being in close proximity to gunfire. Their childhood traumas are generated from outside, but damage them internally. Like rheumatic fever, it stays inside the body and remains active for years; often to the detriment of the young (Terr, 1991).

          My experience working with migrant workers and their children have been harrowing, the torments inflicted on them under the Burmese dictatorship and the Thai government that chooses not to see, have been imperceptible to the outside world. Their sufferings have rarely been adequate redress. Therefore, this paper attempts to examine their traumatic experiences and especially to focus on the plight of children by drawing on my fieldwork experience with them in Thailand. 

Calls for Donations to Help Flood Victims in Thailand

Currently, Thailand is facing a severe flood situation especially in the northern, central and north-eastern region. Victims of the flood are suffering from the insufficient of food, clean water and medicine. Moreover, the floodwater has taken away their land and shelter leaving them homeless. The victims are relying on many parties for survival both governmental, private sector, and other non-governmental organizations for help and support. The Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation deems the importance of the occurring problems affecting the lives of the people both Thai and migrant workers needs to be taken care of immediately. The organisation together with migrant workers group is encouraging those who concern to donate goods for those being affected by the flood. Thai citizen and migrant workers in Samut Sakhon province has proceeded in distributing goods in the affected provinces, which will start on the 9th – 23rd October 2011. From the 23rd onward the activity will be carried over by organizations dealing with the provinces or central organisations.

For donation, please contact us at:

The Labour Rigths Promotion Network Foundation

25/17-18 Mahachai Muangthong Village,

Muang District, Samut Sakhon

74000

Tel. 034-434726, 086-1631390, 089-4224213

(or)

Transfer money to: Labour Rigths Promotion Network
Krung Thai Bank Pcl.
Chamchuree Square Branch
Account No.: 162-0-09432-0
Swift Code: KRTHTHBK

Granting the rights to healthcare for stateless people in Thailand: The case of migrant children in Muang District of Ratchaburi Province in 2010

This article aims to extract our lessons learnt in promoting the migrant children's right to health service. Firstly I would like to say “thank you” on behalf of the children to those who still think of marginalised population in Thailand who has no access to health service. Although the cabinet resolution granting this right was issued on 23 March  2010, it was not well publicised and only few relevant government agencies aware of this new regulation. The question now is how “migrant children and those who have no citizenship” can enjoy their right to health.

The cabinet resolution issued on 23 March 2010 regulated that the Ministry of Public Health must “return” the basic rights to the 457,409 stateless people – with the allocated budget of 472,823,683.30 Thai Baht. This can be operated from 1 April 2010. The guideline was that the people with identity number begin with (3) (4)  (5) (6) (7) (8) and (0) shall register themselves at the public health units in their locality without any cost. This should be done within three months starting from 1 April 2010. As I already mentioned earlier, this policy was appreciated. However, there have always been gaps in turning policy into practices.

When I first saw this cabinet resolution sent to a public health office, it was on the 9^th of May 2010 – which is almost one and a half month passed the starting date of April the 1^st. At that stage, only a few knows about this cabinet resolution, and moreover, the public health officials were not clear about the procedure of how this could be done, which offices exactly could register the stateless population, and what are the difference among the various digits of identify numbers. There has not been any public campaign whether through leaflets or cutouts that target stateless population. It was only “rumors” spreading amongst the migrants that they have the right to register for healthcare service, but nothing else is known.

As LPN has provided education opportunity to more than one hundred migrant children by sending them to government schools, and these children possess identity numbers which begin with (6) (7) (0) and etc. depending on how their parents were categorized; LPN therefore facilitated the registration process for these students. Documents they needed to bring with them for the registration include Thor Ror 38 Kor ( ทร.38 ก) and their identity card. On the first day, it takes almost the whole day for the officials to register around 10 children as they have had no clear instruction. They themselves were not sure if all the children brought by us were eligible for this right. 

LPN realised that time is short, therefore, to speed up the process, we coordinate with schools to gather the list of children with eligible identity numbers as specified in the cabinet resolution. After that the step of making copies of the Thor Ror 38 Kor for each individual child had faced problem. The officials refused to make copies of documents if the children were not presented (as we did not bring the children with us). We had to explain and refer to the cabinet resolution to persuade the officials.

I am sure that there are much more children who are eligible to register for healthcare service and their parents are not aware of this right. Although there have been migrant children went to claim this right, but, still, many of them fail to.  This is due to various reasons; first of all, they do not know that this right was entitled. Secondly, many children do not have a permanent house registration, and this makes it not possible to identify the health unit where they should go for free service. With regards to permanent house registration, some parents made an effort to move children out of a central house registration, but fail to register them into a new house within 15 days. As a result, the children were removed from the house registration database and are not eligible for anything. To re-register them into the system is also challenging, as an official is needed to approve their status, and they are quite reluctant to do so for migrant children.

After my experience in this process, a suggestion occurred: If the Thai government wants to help this marginalised and underprivileged population in accessing the right to healthcare, a public campaign on this right should be developed and made it known among relevant governmental agencies including schools, village headmen as well as municipalities and district offices.

What had happened was that some target population came to know about registration for healthcare only when the deadline was closed. They then had to go through all troubles like being absent from work, hunting for their house registration documents which may take them to travel across provinces, not to mention costs that occurred from these efforts.

Another point that I want to make with regards to this cabinet resolution is that if the intention of the Thai government is to grant the right to healthcare to the stateless population, it does not make any sense to limit the timeframe for granting it. The registration procedure is cumbersome and lengthy; therefore it should not become an obstacle for migrant population to access this right. There are more migrant children and the children of migrant workers who are still await to be granted the right to healthcare as similar to their classmates. And this should be our priority.

Sompong Srakaew
Labour Rights Promotion Network, 2010

Translated by Chitraporn Vanaspong

A short documentary made for LPN

A team of volunteers has made a short film to reflect their appreciation of LPN work for all migrants.

Part I: http://www.youtube.com/user/thaistylez#p/a/u/1/LqIHha14kSI

Part II: http://www.youtube.com/user/thaistylez#p/a/u/0/41H8RZ0t5LA

The Situation of Migrant Workers, Child Migrants, and Dependants in Samut Sakhon Province (2011)

Samut Sakhon is the province where its Gross Domestic Production has reached the 6^th rank of Thailand. It is also the province that houses a great number of migrant workers who work in the food export industries. Among these industries are seafood processing industry, and frozen seafood industry which have capacity to export their products and contribute to a huge sum of money from 90,000 to 100,000 million baht to the Country per year. Each year, the number of this business is increasing rapidly. From this phenomenon, it also implies that the demand for labours goes on exponentially.

Apparently, the problem of labour shortage is always expanding. This pull factor draws more migrant workers to migrate to Thailand continually by using service from brokers or agents from country of origin, country of transit, and country of destination. In response to the incident, the Government, by using the policy, encourages these irregular migrants who have employers to come to register for the work permit year by year.

The Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation (LPN) has experienced working with migrant workers in Samut Sakhon province since 2004. We have analyzed the Thai labour policy since the past 3 to 4 years, and find that the State is making a great attempt to administer the issue of migrant workers from three nationalities; i.e. Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, by giving the priority to the security of the State. This attempt to reduce the number of labour migrants is somehow in contrast to another attempt of the State which is to boost up Country’s economic by encouraging new investment in Country which will subsequently turns to the cycle of labour shortage. In fact, migrant labour is considered as cost of production. According this approach, it seems that the Thai Government cannot do something to meet the need of business owners. Subsequently, business owners are imposed to use irregular migrants. As for these irregular migrants, some of them have to seek way to avoid an arrest from State authority; others have to bribe the State officer by paying monthly fee to be free from an arrest. In some case, they have to seek protection from some group of powerful people in order to stay and work in Thailand.

In 2010, it was estimated that there were 120,000 documented migrants in Thailand. However, the number of migrants coming into the country could be much more, approximately 300,000 to 400,000.

On 26 April 2011, the Government; however, passed the cabinet resolution to solve the problem of migrant labour system integrally. According to this resolution, it takes an effect on three groups of migrants. First, children upper 15 years of age can register for work permit. Second, children and dependants of labour migrants can register at the registrar office of Ministry of Interior for the House Registration or Thor.Ror. 38/1 from 15 June to 14 July 2011 (1 Month).

After registration period, it shows that there were 79,215 migrants coming to register for the work permit: 70,508 Burmeses, 4,490 Laotians, and 4,217 Cambodians. Apart from this there were 1,328 young migrants whose age is lower than 15 coming to register for the Thor.Ror. 35/1 as well.

When we sum up the number of migrants coming since 2010, the total number of documented migrants who have work permit would be around 120,000. According to the cabinet resolution, these migrants have to do nationality verification in order to obtain temporary passport which allow them to stay and work in Thailand for 4 years. Thus, this implies that about 200,000 migrant labours are permitted to work in Samut Sakhon.

As can be seen, the numbers of migrant labours’ and their dependants are on the top of Country, and their man power helps promote economics in Thailand, particularly in seafood processing industrial area which makes more than 100,000 million baht each year in export product.

Hence, the most interesting issues regarding migrant workers which should be taken into account is to find the way to administer, control and protect migrant labours effectively by not violating human rights and labour rights. At the same time, there must be the way to prevent any threats and intimidations, the way to promote fundamental rights of children (especially in education, healthcare, and child protection), and the way to integrate these migrants to live in harmony in Thai society.

Sompong Srakaew

Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation (LPN), 2011

Translated by Chanladda Strassle