Nearly 60,000 Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, whose migrant registration cards are due to expire on Jan 20, could be deported if they do not get work permits within the next few days or the Thai government quickly changes its policy to allow them to stay, according to leading rights groups in Thailand.
“Many of the 59,228 migrant workers [whose cards expire on Jan. 20] have not applied for nationality verification. If the Thai government does not extend their registration cards for one more year, they could be deported,” said Andy Hall, the director of the Migrant Justice Programme (MJP), based in Bangkok.
“Even if the government deports them, they will come back illegally because they need the money. The government should find a solution for them. It is quite dangerous if they are forced to work underground,” he said.
MJP said it will ask Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to consider deeply what will happen to the 59,228 migrants if they are deported.
The Thai government announced in December 2008 that migrants who have not yet completed the nationality verification process by Feb 28, 2010, would be deported.
MJP and other rights groups said that the Thai government will have a Cabinet meeting soon and the migrants will have to wait until a Cabinet resolution is issued that allows them to formally extend their permits.
The right groups have urged the Thai government to allow two more years for migrant workers to go through the nationality verification process. In the meantime, there are only 12,000 migrant workers in Thailand who have work permits.
Of an estimated 2 to 3 million Burmese migrant workers in Thailand only 1,310,686 have registered as migrant workers.
Many of the Burmese migrants are from ethnic minority groups, such as the Mon, the Karen and the Shan, and have fled from Burmese army oppression and human rights abuses.
To verify their Burmese nationality, migrant workers have to submit detailed biographical information to the Burmese military. Many fear for their safety and of repercussions against family members in Burma if they turn up at the military government offices for nationality verification registration.
The rights groups say very limited public awareness has been raised about the national verification process and its benefits, both for migrant workers and employers.
The right groups have called on the Burmese government to send their officials to verify their people's nationalities in Thailand in order to encourage Burmese migrant workers to register. Due to a lack of information and awareness about the national verification process, they say many migrant workers have chosen to stay away from the process.
The Cambodian and Lao governments have sent their officials to Thailand to complete the process in previous years. However, the Burmese government has refused the demand and wants all migrant workers to go to three border points––Myawaddy, Tachilek and Kawthoung––for nationality verification registration.
Comments
Post a Comment