Burmese Migrants Come Under Stricter Control

By MIN LWIN

Local authorities in Thailand’s Chiang Mai Province recently sent a stern warning to Thais who house and employ illegal migrant workers from Burma, according to the Chiang Mai-based Migrant Assistance Program (MAP).

“The main goal is to get Burmese migrant workers to add their names to the list,” said MAP member Jo Tong Dee, referring to an informal registry of migrant workers maintained by the heads of villages where Burmese are employed.

Jo Tong Dee said that all Burmese migrant workers have been instructed to inform village authorities of their presence, regardless of their legal status.

“Whether they have work permits or not, they have to give their information to the village heads,” he said.

The warning was issued following a series of arrests targeting illegal migrant workers in the northern Thai province, which is home to a large Burmese migrant population.

Several hundred Burmese migrant workers have been arrested in and around Chiang Mai since February 8, when a 22-year-old student from Mae Jo University was found murdered in her dormitory room. Two Burmese migrant workers were arrested in connection with the case.

Sources from migrant worker assistance groups said that local authorities in San Sai District, where the university is located, have urged Thais to inform them about illegal migrants working on construction sites in the area.

One source said that migrants who live in camps in San Sai and San Kampang districts have to hide in the jungle at night.

According to the migrant worker groups, Thais running shops and factories have urged the government not to expel migrants, who make up a significant portion of the local workforce.

Meanwhile, local authorities in Mae Rim, near the city of Chiang Mai, have imposed a curfew on Burmese migrant workers, who are not permitted to drive motorbikes after 8 p.m. Or carry any tool that can be used as a weapon.

Local authorities have also forbidden Burmese migrants to rent land or cultivate gardens. They were specifically told that they could not grow flowers or chili.

According to MAP’s estimates, there are about 80,000 Burmese migrants, most of them ethnic Shan, working legally and illegally in the Chiang Mai area.