[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

'Little Burma' residents in fear of



'Little Burma' residents in fear of repatriation

14.2.98
The Nation
		------------------------------
The future of a Burmese village on Thai t soil is at stake as many of its
residents could be on the way home, says Sutin Wannabovorn of Reuters.
		------------------------------

Visitors to Talad Kung (Shrimp Market) on Bangkok's western outskirts can
be forgiven for thinking they have entered Burma.

Nestled in the fishing town of Samut Sakhon, 47 kilometres from Bangkok,
the slum  known as "Little Burma" houses 7,000 Burmese workers who have
transformed the area into a convincing slice of their homeland.

Burmese music fills the air as the residents mill about wearing longis, the
sarong popular in their homeland. The main street is dotted with
traditional Burmese tea shops and several stalls sell popular Burmese items
such as betel leaves and herbal powders.

"This town is like our home. We have everything, from Burmese movies and
songs to food," Ko Niag, 32, a worker from Burma's Moulmein state said.

Like Ko Niag, a long-time resident said most of the workers came as cheap
labour to the shrimp farms and market here in the early 1990s when the Thai
economy was booming.

But with Thailand now mired in its worst economic crisis in decades, Little
Burma's residents worry about their future here as they fear they may be
sent back home as the government starts shedding illegal foreign workers in
anticipation of increased unemployment.

"We are used to living here and have made this place our, home. But after
rumours spread that the Thai government will send us back, everyone is
worried. They don't want to go back," Ko Niag said.

Win Aye, 25, from Burma's Pa-Ann state, said she earned about Bt l50 after
working 12 hours a day as a shrimp packer. She begins work at 3 am.

Despite the tough hours, she would rather stay here than go back to Burma
where economic conditions are even harsher and discontent with the military
government makes life even tougher.

Win Aye and her husband share about 40 square metres of space with two
other couples and their living quarters are divided by a curtain.

In some cases, 10 or 15 male and female workers stay in one room.

"Even though it's overcrowded and life is tough, we still make more money
here than in Burma. So you see why everyone is worried about talk that we
will be sent back," Win Aye said.

But many illegal workers have already begun returning to Burma on their own
after their employers told them the government would force them to go back,
she added.

Thai Labour Minister Trairong Suwanakhiri has vowed to expel all alien
workers to open up jobs for thousands of Thais rendered jobless by the
economic crisis.

Thai officials say they are unclear when this will be put into full effect,
but authorities in some border areas have begun to forcibly repatriate
illegal Burmese workers.

Of the one million foreign workers in Thailand - many of them illegal -
about 300,000 are from Burma.

Only last year, they received permission from the previous Thai government
to work for two years in 43 of Thailand's 76 provinces.

"We are very confused with the government policy. Someone said they will be
sent back in 60 days while others said they can work here until July," a
Thai security official in Samut Sakhon said.

Little Burma residents are also confused.

"My boss said I can work here as long as I can because my boss has a
licence to hire alien workers. But some others said I can only work here
for another 45 days," said Hae Poh, 22, a shrimp packer.