When the tsunami hit southern Thailand last year hundreds of Burmese
migrants building beach front hotels were among the victims.
Thai officials have identified 80 Burmese migrant workers among the
dead. But they believe several of the more than 800 unidentified bodies
are likely to be Burmese.
Thousands of Burmese migrant workers are employed along Thailand's
Andaman Sea coast - a source of cheap labor for contractors who often
overlook the need to register the workers.
Those who survived the December 2004 tsunami often found their jobs,
homes and belongings were gone, and that they were unable to get
government aid.
Adisorn Kurdmongkol, a Thai labor activist, says the disaster called
attention to the problems the Burmese migrants faced even before the
tsunami.
"The tsunami helped expose the problem," he said. "The government has
asked the wrong question. It's like the government waiting for the migrant
workers to come to ask for assistance. But the reality is the migrant
workers cannot access the assistance even before the tsunami."
Many of the Burmese migrants who survived the tsunami lost their
documentation to the waves. Labor rights workers say even those who were
registered often found the names on the government lists did not match
their own.
Somchai Homla-or from the Thai Law Society blames many Thai employers
for the problems the migrants have in seeking assistance.
"We have found that there are still so many migrant workers who haven't
been registered yet because some employers don't want to pay the money to
the government in registration fee and medical fee," he explained.
Labor activists say the government overlooks the contribution Burmese
migrants make to the Thai economy.
Activists who have been helping migrants since the tsunami say the
tragedy should push the government and business owners to work together to
improve conditions for the workers.
On Monday, the anniversary of the tsunami, several Burmese migrants
attended a memorial service in the town of Ban Nem Khem, which was nearly
destroyed in the disaster. They said they felt neglected but their legal
status made it difficult for them to raise issues, so they suffered in
silence. |