The Thai government’s sudden closure of six schools in southern Surat Thani province has left nearly 2,000 Myanmar migrant children without access to education, school officials and parents told Radio Free Asia.
The government said the schools were operating illegally with teachers who didn’t have the legal right to live and work in Thailand. Children from the closed schools can enroll in public schools in the province, the government said in an Sept. 8 announcement.
A labor activist working on the issue of migrant workers in Thailand said 24 teachers were being investigated by Thai authorities and may face legal action under Thai law.
Thai officials also apparently don’t want the children singing Myanmar’s national anthem or dressed in different uniforms than at Thai schools, according to the founder of one of the schools who asked to remain anonymous so as not to draw attention from Thai authorities.
“They want the education system to be integrated with the Thai system, where a Thai teacher should lead the school, only the Thai national anthem should be sung, and the image of the King must be properly maintained,” he said.
One of the schools closed in Surat Thani last week served more than 1,000 students, according to Zaw Khaing Myo, the school’s principal. The Myittar Yeik School was established in 2022, he said.
Pupils study at a school in Thailand, Jan. 22, 2024. (Manan Vatsyayana/AFP)
“We have many children, and they are facing many difficulties. Now, parents cannot leave their children at home or take them to work, making it impossible for them to work without constant worry,” he said.
Children have already missed at least two years of education due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Thein Aye, the father of two students at Myittar Yeik School.
“It is sad that this is happening just as they were finally able to return to school,” he said.
The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand on Sept. 8 called for a review of the school closures and emphasized the need to ensure that migrant children have access to education.
Aid workers specializing in migrant issues estimate that at least 50,000 Myanmar migrant children are currently studying in Thailand.
The Thai Ministry of Education has instructed local authorities to inspect other schools for Myanmar migrants to verify whether teachers have a permit to work in Thailand.
As a result, migrant schools in other parts of Thailand – such as Mae Sot – are now worried that they will be shut down, according to the Myanmar migrant school founder.
RFA has contacted both the Thai Embassy in Yangon and the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok to inquire about this situation, but no response was immediately received.
Translated by Kalyar Lwin. Edited by Matt Reed.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.
Bangladesh was plunged into an unprecedented crisis on August 5 with the ouster of erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following months of violent student protest. Looting and attacks were reported on leaders associated with the Awami League, the party of Hasina, as well as on their homes, shops, and businesses. Additionally, there have been numerous reports of attacks on the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh. At the same time, various old and unrelated photos and videos have gone viral on social media in India as attacks on Hindus in the neighboring country. These have been debunked by Alt News. Several Right-wing social media users have been using these false claims to target the minority Muslim community in India.
Politicians have also played an active role in exacerbating the situation. For example, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane posted a tweet on August 5, asking if Hindus were being attacked in Bangladesh, why should Indians spare a single Bangladeshi in their country. He added that they would hunt down and kill every Bangladeshi living in India. Rane deleted the tweet after it had sparked a controversy. However, this is not the first time that he has made such an inflammatory statement. In January of this year, during the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha procession in Mira Road, Mumbai, when communal tensions broke out, Nitesh Rane made a similar incendiary statement, threatening to hunt down individuals.
The impact of inflammatory social media posts and fake news has been significant, leading to targeted attacks on the minority Muslim community in India. Criminals, motivated by a desire to avenge the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, have been attacking people living in slums in various parts of the country, branding them as Bangladeshis. Several Hindu organisations have been directly involved in these attacks, and the accused are closely associated with the ruling BJP. In many places, Bengali-speaking workers from West Bengal and other residents of slums have been harassed and attacked under the suspicion of being Bangladeshis.
Shastri Park, New Delhi
On August 8, a group of Hindu extremists attacked garbage collectors in the darkness of night, accusing them of being Bangladeshis, and beat them up with sticks and rods. In a video that went viral, the attackers could be heard saying that these snakes were thriving here while their Hindu sisters and daughters were being raped in Bangladesh. Cow-vigilante and Hindu Raksha Dal member Daksh Chaudhary could be clearly identified in this video. He posted this video on his social media account with the caption, “We will not allow them to stay in this country anymore; if the government cannot remove them, we will.”
After attacking people living in slums branding them as Bangladeshis, Chaudhary released another video stating that he had no regrets over his actions. He made an open call, stating that they had started the process and that the youth and various organizations of India knew what needed to be done. He declared that no Bangladeshi Rohingya Muslims would remain in this country and though the government may be powerless, they were not.
Taking cognisance of the video of the attack on garbage collectors by Daksh Chaudhary and his associates, Delhi Police registered a case in the matter. However, no arrests had been made so far. It is worth noting that Chaudhary has several cases registered against him in different police stations. In February year, he entered a mosque in Sahibabad wearing shoes and pushed the Muslims present there, warning them against praying there. He also threatened to kill them if they tried to go to the mosque’s roof. He was later arrested by the police for hurting religious sentiments and disturbing the peace. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chaudhary and his associates had attacked Congress candidate Kanhaiya Kumar and abused voters in Ayodhya (Faizabad) when the BJP lost the election there.
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
On August 7, Pinky Chaudhary, the president of the Hindu Raksha Dal, released a video threatening that if Hindus were being persecuted in Bangladesh, Bangladeshis would be treated the same way in India. They would be killed and driven out. In another video, Pinky Chaudhary gave a 24-hour ultimatum. He stated that the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh had to stop and that areas in which Bangladeshis were living in India were on the radar of the Hindu Raksha Dal.
On August 9, Pinky Chaudhary and his supporters attacked people living in shanties, branded them as Bangladeshis, and vandalised and set fire to the slums. Several Right-wing users shared the video of this incident in solidarity with the attackers, claiming that the people living there were Bangladeshis. Ashok Srivastava, editor of India’s state-run news channel Doordarshan, also defended Pinky Chaudhary on Twitter, stating that Hindus in India were distressed and angry, and it was possible that Pinky Chaudhary was unable to control his emotions.
उत्तर प्रदेश : गाजियाबाद में हिंदू रक्षा दल ने कुछ झुग्गी झोपड़ी तोड़ दीं। सामान में आग लगा दी। यहां रहने वाले लोगों को बांग्लादेशी बताकर खदेड़ दिया। pic.twitter.com/WxyqWw50xD
After the video had gone viral, Ghaziabad Police took cognisance of the matter and registered an FIR against Pinky Chaudhary and his supporters and subsequently arrested him. In a statement to the media, police clarified that based on the facts that emerged during the investigation, the people who were beaten up for being Bangladeshis were actually Indian citizens from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
UP : गाजियाबाद पुलिस ने मुस्लिमों को बांग्लादेशी बताकर पीटने में हिंदू रक्षा दल के अध्यक्ष पिंकी चौधरी सहित 15–20 समर्थकों पर FIR दर्ज की।
दिनांक 09.08.2024 को गाजियाबाद के थाना मधुबन बापू धाम क्षेत्रांतर्गत मजदूरों की झोपड़ी को क्षतिग्रस्त करने एवं उनके साथ मारपीट की घटना के मुख्य आरोपी हिस्ट्रीशीटर पिंकी भैया उर्फ भूपेन्द्र तोमर को #ghaziabadpolice द्वारा गिरफ्तार कर आवश्यक विधिक कार्यवाही की जा रही है।@Uppolicepic.twitter.com/6YriJgCx14
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE GHAZIABAD (@ghaziabadpolice) August 11, 2024
Eyewitnesses to the incident reported that people were asked about their religion before being attacked. A child present at the scene said that Pinky Chaudhary and his supporters asked whether they were Muslim or Hindu. As soon as someone identified as Muslim, they started beating them up.
गाजियाबाद में बांग्लादेशी बताकर झुग्गी-झोपड़ियां तोड़ीं : ” जैसे ही बताया की मुस्लिम हैं, तो उसने मारना शुरू कर दिया ” pic.twitter.com/KS1C1Ksmw7
On August 10, Pinky Chaudhary released another video claiming that they had done what they had claimed and called on all Hindus to kill Bangladeshis and drive them out of India.
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Satyam Pandit, associated with the Hindu Veer Sena, issued a warning to Rohingyas and Bangladeshis to leave the country within 24 to 72 hours. He threatened that if they did not comply, every worker of the Hindu Veer Sena would cut their beards, pull out their hair, and bury them in Bangladesh.
“रोहिंग्या, कटुए, बांग्लादेशी अगले 24 घंटे में भारत को छोड़ दें। अन्यथा राष्ट्रीय हिंदू वीर सेना इनकी दाढ़ी उखाड़कर एक–एक बाल को बांग्लादेश में गाढ़ देगा”
ऐसा कहने वाले सत्यम पंडित पर UP की गाजियाबाद पुलिस ने FIR दर्ज की। सत्यम की तलाश जारी है !! pic.twitter.com/W4QtFxJ40q
The Uttar Pradesh Police took cognisance of the matter and registered an FIR against Satyam Pandit, arresting him on August 12.
उत्तर प्रदेश : गाजियाबाद पुलिस ने राष्ट्रीय हिन्दू वीर सेना के अध्यक्ष सत्यम पंडित को गिरफ्तार किया। कोर्ट ने जेल भेजा।
सत्यम पंडित ने कहा था- ”रोहिंग्या, कटुए, बांग्लादेशी 24 घंटे में भारत छोड़ दें। अन्यथा इनकी दाढ़ी उखाड़कर एक-एक बाल बांग्लादेश में गाढ़ दिया जाएगा” https://t.co/wmjTAQ3UPupic.twitter.com/EJ78AzlvRS
According to a report published on The Times of India’s website, several videos had surfaced on social media showing attacks on Bengali-speaking workers from West Bengal in the districts of Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, and Sambalpur of Odisha, in which they were branded as Bangladeshis. Local people demanded proof of their Indian citizenship. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee contacted her Odisha counterpart Mohan Charan Manjhi, urging him to intervene following reports of the attacks on Bengali-speaking workers.
According to a report by The Indian Express, several workers of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of Odisha’s ruling party BJP, surrounded 34 individuals at a construction site in Sambalpur district on suspicion that they were Bangladeshi nationals and handed them over to the police. After investigation, police officials stated that they were not from Bangladesh, but from the Murshidabad area of West Bengal, after which they were released.
Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh
On August 11, a Hindu organisation held a rally against the atrocities committed against Hindus in Bangladesh. In the video of this rally, one can clearly hear calls for taking up arms to protect Hindus. The video also shows intense sloganeering against Muslims, with offensive comments made against Islam.
After the video went viral, the local Muslim community lodged a complaint with the police, following which the person seen in the video, Devraj, apologised to the Muslim community in a video, stating that the words were not directed at Indian Muslims. However, there is currently no update on the police’s response in this case.
Migrant workers play a vital role in Thailand as its population ages and its labor-intensive industries struggle to fill jobs but they often miss out on the remuneration they are entitled to and lack the voice to do anything about it, labor activists say.
Thailand’s minimum wage has been boosted twice this year and could be raised again but many employers simply don’t pass on raises to their migrant-worker staff and some industry leaders even say the minimum wage shouldn’t apply to migrants as they only send it home.
Although the minimum wage differs in Thailand depending on the location and type of job, it is now up to about 370 baht (US$10) a day, according to the Ministry of Labor.
For the estimated two million Myanmar workers in Thailand, or about 75% of Thailand’s total migrant labor force, that’s a wage they would be lucky to get back home where bloody turmoil following a 2021 military coup has devastated the economy.
Myanmar citizen Zin Nwe Oo, 29, works as a seamstress in a Thai factory making bags and is resigned to not getting the minimum but is still determined to help her family back home.
In the town of Mae Sot on Thailand’s western border with Myanmar, she says she’s made below Thailand’s minimum wage for a decade.
The most Zin Nwe Oo has made is 200 baht a day and now she worries that even that is being eroded by Myanmar’s rampant inflation.
“We’re struggling to make ends meet … Even if the government increases the basic salary we won’t benefit if commodity prices keep rising,” she said, referring to Myanmar, where she sends her remittances. “I want to support my parents. If my siblings don’t get a good education, they’ll end up as laborers. That’s why I’ve sacrificed myself.”
A dollar a day
Labor activists say many Myanmar workers in Thailand aren’t getting the minimum wage although data is hard to come by given the huge numbers of undocumented workers.
“Enforcement, that’s a big problem,” said Migrant Working Group project coordinator Koreeyor Manuchae, referring to the prospect of workers in some areas seeing any minimum wage increase in their pockets
Undocumented workers can feel powerless to complain, fearing that approaching authorities to report unfair treatment could result in them being sent home.
The problem is particularly acute along the border, in places like Mae Sot, where garment factories and plantations take advantage of the abundant cheap labor from Myanmar.
Some informal sectors, like agriculture, can pay as little as 36 baht, or one dollar, a day.
But even workers with the proper paperwork know that a complaint to labor protection organizations will set off a long process of inquiry. Inevitably, they fear they could lose their jobs, or face intimidation by employers.
Workers from Myanmar sort seafood on the jetty in Ranong, Thailand, on May 22, 2022. (Kiana Duncan/RFA)
Some workers have complained and even taken their cases to court but are still waiting, years later, for a resolution.
“Workers don’t want to go to the court. It can take six months, or a year, or maybe more than a year to complete the case,” Koreeyor said.
Thailand’s minimum wage was increased by a national average of 2.4% in January and in April lawmakers announced another increase, for staff in certain tourist areas, meaning a daily wage of 400 baht in four-star hotels with more than 50 employees.
In early May, the civilian government that came to power after elections in May last year announced that 400 baht a day would become the national minimum.
But the decision needs agreement on a tripartite wage committee, made up of employers, workers and labor officials. Migrant workers have no voice in the debate as they have no right to form unions.
‘Lowest standards’
Employer and industry associations warn of the burden of a higher minimum wage, in particular on small and medium-sized enterprises, while some argue that the benefits of increasing the minimum wage are wasted if the extra cash is going to migrant workers who send it home.
“There is no reason to raise it,” said Chaiyan Charoenchokethavee, director general of the Employers Confederation of Thai Business.
An increase would hurt businesses while being of little benefit to the economy, he said.
“It will largely benefit foreign workers … [they] will receive full benefits and transfer the money back home without it circulating in the Thai economy. That’s opposite government policy.”
In June, the Federation of Thai Industries, or FTI, called for any minimum wage increase to be limited to specific skilled workers in “old industries” such as the auto parts, electronics and telecommunications sectors.
Wiwat Hemmondharop, vice-chairman of the FTI, said raising the minimum wage for everyone would not benefit Thailand.
“Migrant workers tend to spend only half their wage here and send the rest to their families. This means a higher wage would support the GDP of neighboring countries,” Wiwat told the Bangkok Post in May.
Labor campaigners are dismayed by such talk.
“The minimum wage is the lowest standard, the basic standard to guarantee that people survive, we shouldn’t be against that,” said Koreeyor.
“As the owner or company or factory, if you could not take responsibility to pay the minimum wage, you should not run your business.”
Edited by RFA staff.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Kiana Duncan and Pimuk Rakkanam for RFA.
More than 200 Myanmar migrant workers are deported from the Chinese border town of Ruili each day as Chinese authorities tighten immigration controls, several workers told Radio Free Asia.
Hundreds of people line up daily in Muse, a town on the Myanmar side, to cross into China to find jobs or to return to jobs they already have in restaurants, clothing stores, factories, on farms and at construction sites.
But limits on the number of people who can cross, the duration of their stay and changes to border crossing protocol have resulted in many of the workers being in violation of immigration statutes once they get to China, prompting many to be sent back, the workers said.
To gain entry into Ruili, workers need to submit a photo attached to a QR code sheet from an employer that confirms they have a job offer, a temporary seven-day border pass, health certificates and endorsements of employment agencies.
Many workers entered China without these, and if they are caught, they will be sent back, a Myanmar worker in Ruili told RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“Some police inspect and leave you alone, but others will arrest workers immediately. We cannot go outside confidently,” he said.
“We have to remain vigilant when we go to work. Good employers will get us out of arrests, but some bosses don’t care. So we always avoid the police when going to work.”
Rising costs, dropping wages
Crossing into Ruili is never easy, the worker said.
“If there is direct contact with the employer who can give guarantee, the worker can get QR code and the entry pass,” he said. “If the worker is not taken by the employer and they say they are only visiting, we are not allowed to get a QR code that would allow us to stay.”
Many of the workers enter China without the QR code, instead applying only for the temporary border pass, which allows them to stay for only seven days. After that they need to return to Myanmar or be in violation of the law.
The China-Myanmar border gate in Muse in Shan state is seen July 5, 2021. (AFP)
In the past, workers could pay as little as 2,000 kyats (about US$1) to get the border pass, work a full week in China, return to Myanmar – and then buy another pass to re-enter China.
But these days, they have to pay employment agencies 200 Chinese yuan (about $28) for the QR code, making frequent border crossings unaffordable.
Since August, thousands of Myanmar people have been trying to get into China through the Muse-Ruili crossing as Myanmar’s economy has deteriorated. The influx of workers in Ruili has resulted in employers paying lower wages.
A job that previously paid 3,000 yuan ($415) per month now only pays around 1,500, a resident of Muse said. Still, thousands line up to get into China every day.
He said that the throngs of workers in Muse incur many expenses even before they get to China.
“They have high travel costs and have to pay for staying at dormitories,” he said. “It takes about 10 to 20 days to receive the documents.”
‘Like chickens in baskets’
RFA attempted to contact officials in the Chinese Embassy in Yangon, as well as the Myanmar Consulate in Yunnan province, but neither responded to requests for comment on the situation
A spokesperson for the Myanmar junta in Shan State, where Muse is located, did not answer queries into the matter.
Rules for sending laborers between Myanmar and China state that legally employed workers need to return to Myanmar three times each year and apply for reentry.
But in practice, the rules are confusing and the new QR system leaves many vulnerable to deportation, which leaves them at the mercy of their employers, an observer of Myanmar labor issues told RFA on condition of anonymity for personal safety.
“These workers can be arrested, jailed and deported anytime. They are like chickens in baskets,” he said. “The employment contract favors the employers without fixing rates for working hours, overtime fee and bonuses.”
Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Eugene Whong.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.
One ACLU attorney declared that every child, “regardless of whether Gov. Abbott and Border Patrol agents consider them ‘our child’ or not, deserves food and love.”
Migrants in Australia have been left behind in the rush to digitise government services and are missing out on entrepreneurial schemes because of underfunded agencies and poorly designed programs, according to a Labor taskforce.
The taskforce consulted with cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities last year and found they had been “sidelined” by federal government services that relied on Google Translate, and there was a dependence on digital and social media to deliver vital health information and economic support measures communication.
The taskforce launched its report on Tuesday, with policy recommendations including a new whole of government effort for translations and improving the current digital transformation strategy for CALD communities, as well as a a CALD-focused New Enterprise Incentive Scheme to support new migrants setting up a business.
Labor Federal member for Wills Peter Khalil chaired a multicultural engagement taskforce that recommended policy changes to support diverse communities. Image: Facebook.
“Migrants to Australia make a huge contribution to our communities and economy, with migrants twice as likely to start a business, and a third of small businesses owned by those born overseas,” Federal Labor MP Peter Khalil said.
Labor said its taskforce consulted with multicultural stakeholders and community leaders across Australia for more than a year and received more than 60 submissions as it probed migrant’s access to government services and the support they receive for business and innovation.
It found that the rush to digital services had left some CALD communities behind.
“Community members want one to-one assistance through the application process, not an online chat box or an automated call line,” the report said.
Of particular concern was the federal New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS), which the taskforce heard requires a high level of English language proficiency and an inflexible time commitment.
“We need to harness the incredible potential of migrants, including refugees, in the field of business and entrepreneurship,” the report said. “We propose a tailored program, with similar goals to the NEIS program.”
Labor recommended a new “Arrive and Thrive” NEIS program to be tailored to the needs of CALD communities and offer more time flexibility and wraparound services. A new Services Australia business coordinator could also provide translation assistance and support for CALD people starting a business or applying for grants.
According to the taskforce report, CALD communities often are not aware of the services available to them, and many services have not been properly designed for them.
The poor access is caused by a lack of mandated reporting on equity access to services, cuts to frontline public service staff, incorrect translations undermining confidence in services, critical services like the NDIS not being tailored to CALD communities and limited assistance for older CALD people applying for aged care packages, according to the report.
Local and specialist service providers are also missing out because of government procurement policies.
“The Taskforce heard from multiple organisations that the government tender process is now geared towards large organisations who operate nationally rather than local or specialist service providers,” the report said.
“These larger programs tend to have a one-size fits all approach to services and are unable to address the needs of specific CALD communities because it is not within their remit or in their capacity to do so.”
The report also found accessing to government business support is “unnecessarily difficult” for CALD communities with grant programs often only available in English and some advertising campaigns appearing only on social media.
The federal government should pursue a whole-of-government strategy for translations and improve the Digital Transformation Strategy for CALD communities, according to the taskforce.
This would involve the Digital Transformation Agency developing a roadmap for digital government services tailored for CALD communities, and audio translations being offered essential government websites. A one-to-one in-person option should also be offered for each essential service, according to Labor.
CALD communities should also receive targeted support for the COVID-19 vaccine roll out, including messaging in their native language across several channels. There should also be equity in access to vaccinations, regardless of visa or Medicare status, the taskforce recommended.
The federal government is quietly expanding its use of “tender age” shelters for migrant kids. We’ll tell you what we know. Then, we revisit a story from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, looking at how Jesuit priests got away with sexually abusing children.
Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
African migrants fleeing persecution or seeking opportunity often end up in Libya, where they are tortured and trafficked. Many try to escape to Europe, only to be intercepted at sea and returned to Libya. On this episode of Reveal, we bring you one reporter’s dispatch from a treacherous migrant rescue operation and explore how Europe’s immigration policy is helping Libyan warlords.
Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.
