Thailand: The impact of the tsunami on the human rights situation, particularly on the situation of Burmese migrant workers (26 December 2004-January 2005)

There are an estimated 128,000 Burmese migrant workers in Thailand (Express 10 Jan. 2005; AFP 7 Jan. 2005; USCRI 7 Jan. 2005). Only 22,504-or 18 percent-of these workers are registered with the Thai authorities (ibid.; AFP 6 Jan. 2005; IPS 13 Jan. 2005). According to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), an American non-governmental organization, these workers are "refugees" from "repressive military dictatorship" in Burma [Myanmar] (11 Jan. 2005; see also IPS 13 Jan. 2005).

Sources have published reports estimating that between 500 and 1,000 of these Burmese workers perished when the tsunami hit (USCRI 7 Jan. 2005; Globe and Mail 11 Jan. 2005; The Nation 5 Jan. 2005) and that some 1,000 to 2,500 are still missing (ibid.; AFP 7 Jan. 2005; USCRI 7 Jan. 2005). USA Today indicated that the exact death toll of migrant workers "may never be known because the number of Burmese immigrants working in the tsunami-wrecked areas is unclear" (12 Jan. 2005). Furthermore, these migrants often lack registration papers (Global and Mail 11 Jan. 2005), and therefore have no legal status in Thailand (AFP 7 Jan. 2005).

According to allegations made by various organizations, the Thai authorities have refused to provide aid to thousands of Burmese because of "their tenuous legal standing" or because they lost their identity documents when the waves hit (ibid.; IPS 13 Jan. 2005; see also Globe and Mail 11 Jan. 2005). However, "Thai Minister for Natural Resources and Environment Suwit Khunkitti, who is overseeing rehabilitation efforts in Phuket, said he was unaware that Burmese migrants were denied emergency aid in the relief centres" (IPS 13 Jan. 2005). He also said that "[i]n a catastrophe like this, everyone is entitled to aid regardless of whether they are Thai or foreigners" (ibid.).

Many Burmese workers who survived the tsunami have been arrested (Globe and Mail 11 Jan. 2005; Bangkok Post 9 Jan. 2005) and deported by Thai police (ibid.). The workers were deported because they were accused of looting the homes and stores of tsunami victims (ibid.; Express 10 Jan. 2005; Globe and Mail 11 Jan. 2005; USA Today 12 Jan. 2005; IPS 13 Jan. 2005) and because they were in Thailand illegally (Bangkok Post 9 Jan. 2005).

Approximately 1,500 Burmese workers have been deported (ibid.) and 1,000 more have gone into hiding because they fear the same fate (Globe and Mail 11 Jan. 2005; see also USA Today 12 Jan. 2005). According to an article published in Express, a British newspaper, some Burmese workers were taken in army trucks to the Burmese border, where they were left to their own devices (10 Jan. 2005).

Burmese workers have gone into hiding out of fear of being arrested and therefore cannot access health services, claim their dead, or travel to places out of the disaster area to find work (USA Today 12 Jan. 2005). Inter Press Service (IPS) reported that, after the waves receded, some Burmese workers tried to retrieve the corpses of friends, but that "they were chased away by the local search and rescue teams" (13 Jan. 2005). When they went back later, the bodies had disappeared (IPS 13 Jan. 2005).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 7 January 2005. "US Groups Highlight Plight of Myanmar Migrants in Tsunami-Hit Thailand." (Dialog)

Bangkok Post. 9 January 2005. Tul Pinkaew. "Thai Authorities Send Unregistered Burmese Migrants Home." (BBC International/Dialog)

Express [London]. 10 January 2005. Anna Pukas. "I Discover the Invisible Victims." (Dialog)

Globe and Mail [Toronto]. 11 January 2005. Geoffrey York. "Migrants Becoming Hidden Victims of Tsunamis." [Accessed 12 Jan. 2005]

Inter Press Service (IPS). 13 January 2005. "Tsunami Impact: Thai Compassion for Burmese Migrants Wears Thin." [Accessed 13 Jan. 2005]

The Nation [Bangkok]. 5 January 2005. Subhatra Bhumiprabhas. "Thailand: Over 500 Burmese Migrant Workers Dead, 2,500 Missing in Tsunami Attack." (Dialog)

U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). 7 January 2005. "USCRI to Assist Burmese Refugee Tsunami Victims in Southern Thailand." [Accessed 12 Jan. 2005]

USA Today. 12 January 2005. Donna Leinwand. "Tsunami Pushes a People Deeper Into Hiding." [Accessed 13 Jan. 2005]