Inside Thailand’s ‘little Burma’, a refuge for Myanmar’s exiles • FRANCE 24 English

Inside Thailand’s ‘little Burma’, a refuge for Myanmar’s exiles • FRANCE 24 English

[Music] A narrow, shallow river is all that separates Burma, now known as Myamar, from Thailand. All of the children at this school on the Thai side of the border, are Burmese refugees. What color is this? Their school is illegal. opened by Burmese teachers who don’t have Thai teaching qualifications were sometimes raided and forced to close. These kids have been deprived of their rights and are unfairly marginalized. That’s all I can say. The teachers are regularly forced to move their school. These Burmese children are permitted to attend Thai public schools, but their parents must submit a birth certificate. That’s impossible for people who left everything behind when they fled their war torn country. In addition, refugees who are accepted into a Thai school must restart their education from kindergarten level, even if, like Tut, they are 15 years old. These schools are not legal and we might get deported if we’re found out. But wandering around the streets is a lot riskier. After class, Tutt has to rush home. The 2021 military coup in Myanmar reignited a civil war in a country that had already endured decades of fighting. The number of Burmese seeking refuge in Thailand has soared and is now estimated at more than 4 million, including illegal migrants. Turtle lives with his mother and sister. The three of them share a single room. His father works in Bangkok. He studies hard to catch up on his education. After the pandemic, General Minong Lang staged a coup. Because of the coup and COVID, I stayed at home for almost 5 years. We would get together at a neighbor’s house to hang out, play video games, and chat. So, this year, I decided to make a fresh start and study. It’s like going back to square one. Despite the challenges, his mother believes life in Thailand is an opportunity. Yes, there is some discrimination, but all of the Thai people in this area are nice. Sometimes they come and offer us fruit from their garden. Thai society tolerates Burmese immigrants because they’re needed to address a severe labor shortage, but life is hard for recent undocumented arrivals who live near the border in overcrowded camps with no proper sanitation. Their plight has worsened since the US cut off aid in January this year. According to this Thai doctor who works at one of the few hospitals still open, the first problem is the heavier workload caused by more patients. When NOS’s had to end their activities, closing down their camp clinics, people didn’t know where to go. The situation is especially difficult for those with contagious diseases or during an outbreak of illness. They could infect others living nearby, migrants and ties. [Music] In early September, Thai authorities decided to grant official status to thousands of undocumented Burmese. That’s because many refugees are here to stay, particularly young people who fled political oppression. They include this student who wishes to remain anonymous. The 2024 introduction of mandatory military service in Myanmar forced even more of his compatriots into exile. Some of my revolutionary friends disappeared and some were imprisoned. It’s not a good idea for me to go back. I refuse, not out of cowardice, but because of my conscience. I don’t want to get conscripted by the juna. During Buddhist Lent, we meet Tut’s family at a monastery that reminds him of his homeland. About 80% of Burmese are Buddhists, around the same rate as in Thailand. And it’s here in Thailand that Tut’s mother has found peace. People said the dictator Minang Lang was wrong, but he is not solely responsible for this mess. When I think of it, it feels like almost the entire country has gone crazy. He’s got a lot of supporters and the evil forces are strong. That’s why we fled. Myar’s military juna has promised to hold elections in December, but the vote could add to the chaos. Millions of Burmese are stranded abroad and are unlikely to be able to vote. And inside Myanmar, rebel forces, which control half the country, have said they will boycott the election.

Myanmar is once again in the grip of civil war. Since the 2021 military coup that ousted the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, hundreds of thousands of Burmese have fled to Thailand to escape escalating violence and a collapsing economy. Thai authorities are struggling to manage the influx, particularly in border regions. At the same time, Thailand faces a labor shortage – and increasingly relies on Burmese workers to fill critical gaps in the workforce.

Read more about this story in our article: https://f24.my/BRZc.y

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