The Nation - Perspective

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February 24, 1994
The Nation (Bangkok)

by Somjit Rungchamtratrassami
Tak, Thailand

The Feb. 12 boat accident in Ranong in which more than 40 illegal
Burmese immigrants drowned and scores of others went missing
underlined the presence and the associated problems of large
numbers of unregulated Burmese labourers.

The Thai government has for years been weighing the visiting
Burmese significance to the country's economy and potential threat
to national security but still has not formulated a clear-cut
policy on how to deal with them.  Authorities continue to turn a
blind eye to the exploitation in Thailand of the cheap Burmese
workforce.

Kachadpai Burutpat, deputy secretary-general of the National
Security Council, said there are an estimated 350,000 illegal
Burmese, most of them labourers, throughout the country.   The
figure does not include between 50,000 and 60,000 displaced by
border fighting between Rangoon and minority groups.

The deputy secretary-general admitted that it was difficult t o
check the continual influx of illegal aliens from Burma due to the
2,532-kilometre long land and sea border running from Chiang Rai in
the North to Ranong in the south.

Kachadpai said the Cabinet, mindful of the worsening situation
regarding the continued inflow of the illegal immigrants, ordered
the Interior Ministry and the National Security Council (NSC) to
find ways to stem the immigration and regulate the alien workforce.

The deputy secretary-general said the NSC and the Interior Ministry
had agreed that the governors of the 10 provinces bordering Burma
would serve as the chairmen of a committee set up to tackle the
illegal immigration problem.  He said the government would allocate
an extra budget for the purpose.  Kachadpai said the government had
decided to take tougher measures against illegal immigrants because
of potential threats to national security and rising crime rates.

He said the government's get-tough policy should result in a
dramatic drop in the number of illegal Burmese in Thailand if local
authorities strictly adhered to the given guidelines...

The average monthly salary for illegal Burmese is 1500 baht/month
($60), which is well below the minimum wage for unskilled Thai
workers.  Some Burmese housemaids accept salaries as low as 500-800
baht/month.

Most of the illegal immigrants enter Thailand through detention
centers along the Thai-Burmese border which are not always well
guarded.  Others employ the service of organized syndicates to
transport them from Tak to other parts of the country.

According to sources in the border police force, the starting rate
charged by human smuggling rings is 1500 baht per head, a rate
which increases to correspond with the distance they are being
taken from the border.  Using motorcycles is a popular means to
smuggle the Burmese because it rarely attracts police attention.  

Local authorities are reluctant to follow government orders to take
action against the illegal Burmese because the economies of
provinces bordering Burma have become almost entirely dependent on
the alien workforce.  "Burmese labourers are very much in demand
throughout Thailand.  They are cheap, uncomplaining and diligent,"
said one source.