“Migrants have been with us for more
than ten years,” said a male Thai activist. “Yet our treatment of them is still
way below par.”
Migrants reporting at the Chiangmai
immigration office early this year. (Photo: Chiang Mai Immigration)
The seminar entitled “Civil Society
and the Media working together to find a voice for migrants in the era of Asean
economic integration,” organized by MAP Foundation expects continued influx of
migrants from Burma after 2015.
“So far, Asean is only considering
people in 7 categories of profession, who it says can reside and work anywhere:
engineers, doctors, dentists, accountants, nurses, surveyors and architects,”
said one of the main panelists, Kanchana Di-ut. “But what about migrant
workers?
Migrants reporting at the Chiangmai
immigration office early this year. (Photo: Chiang Mai Immigration)
The National Security Council (NSC)
headed by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra “primarily sees” migrants as
security threats. “It’s time they changed their outlooks,” said well known
activist Pranom Somwong. “A change of name may also help: What about Human
Security Council instead of National Security Council?”
AEC is said to be aiming for
reduction in poverty, reduction in socio-economic disparities and promotion of
development within its 10 member countries.
There are about 150,000 migrants
from Burma in and around Chiangmai and another 150,000 along its border
districts, according to a MAP official Saengmueng Mangkorn, who is also
President of the Taiyai Education and Culture Association (TECA). “Only one
sixth of them are properly registered,” he told SHAN.
The total migrant population in the
kingdom is estimated by migrant assistance groups at 3 million.
Due to continued human rights
violations and increased land confiscations in Burma’s Shan State, the stream
of migrants coming to Thailand has not stopped despite a ceasefire agreement
having signed between Naypyitaw and the Shan State Army (SSA). Moreover,
continued fighting between the Burma Army and the SSA in spite of the ceasefire
agreement has further aggravated the situation in the countryside, where the
bulk of migrants originates.
Ref: www.english.panglong.org
