January 4, 2013
When Myanmar began opening up to the world and showed determination to
reconnect with the global economy, many investors here feared the pool
of cheap labour in Thailand would soon dry up as migrant workers from
Myanmar started to head back home. After all, who would want to endure
back-breaking work for low pay and the constant threat of police
extortion here when they could go home again and find new work
opportunities?
That may well be true for Myanmar nationals and some other ethnic
groups, but it is certainly not the case for the Rohingya Muslims who
still face violent persecution in Myanmar.
Last year, the world's enthusiasm at the prospect of political reform
and an end to ethnic strife in Myanmar was quickly shattered by the
outbreak of sectarian violence in Rakhine state. The bloodshed left
about 200 people dead, more than 100,000 displaced and thousands of
homes destroyed.
Widely viewed as illegal immigrants trying to steal land from Buddhists,
the stateless Rohingya face deeply embedded sentiments of distrust and
hatred among Buddhists not only in Rakhine, but across Myanmar. They are
denied citizenship, legal existence, and basic rights including
education, employment, the right to travel and even the right to marry
and set up a family.
The hardship and hopelessness of their situation has driven successive
generations of Rohingya men to work illegally in neighbouring countries
to support their families back home. The perilous journey and life away
from home used to be men's business only. But the outbreak of sectarian
violence last year changed that; now women and small children are also
joining the exodus _ not to seek jobs, but to save their lives.
At the height of New Year celebrations in Thailand, a boat carrying 73
exhausted Rohingya men, women and children _ some as young as three
years old _ was found stranded near Phuket. Authorities initially
planned to give them food, water and fuel, as they usually do with
Rohingya boatpeople, so they could continue their journey to Malaysia.
They then signalled a policy about-face, deciding to deport them back to
Myanmar by land, since leaving women and children to fend for
themselves in the open sea would certainly harm the country's image.
If deported by land, the Rohingya will be immediately fleeced by people
smugglers at the border. There are reports that many who cannot pay to
go to Malaysia are sent to work as slave labourers on Thai fishing
trawlers or in plantations. Such irresponsible deportation makes
Thailand a tacit supporter of human trafficking, the last thing the
country should do when the European Union and United States are
threatening trade sanctions.
If they are put to sea, authorities are needlessly endangering the lives
of innocent people, and Thailand risks being hit with another
international condemnation.
Both methods are wrong and inhumane.
This latest batch of Rohingya are not economic migrants. That the men
brought their wives and children shows they are asylum seekers, and they
should be treated accordingly, with a chance to seek refuge in a third
country.
To solve Rohingya cross-border migration, the government must take steps
with Myanmar and other Asean countries to ease the sectarian violence
in Rakhine state. Meanwhile, authorities must honour the Rohingyas'
right to seek asylum. The inhumane policies of pushing them back to sea
and deporting them by land must stop once and for all.
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