Alert: Planned Site Outage Tonight: Tue. July 28th, 9pm-Midnight PST
my care2
make a difference

community

shares

share your passions, stories, inspirations, and more

Feb 8, 2008



THE THAILAND ODYSSEY

Burmese refugees fill refugee centers along the Burma/Thai border. Tired and hungry, they soon discover there is no food or supplies according to Karen Relief officials. The injured, though lucky to be alive, ponder their fate while the lack of medical attention takes its human toll. With a new Thai government taking control the refugees as well as migrant workers, approximately 1 million or so, fear for an unknown future.

Animosities between Burma and Thailand as well as cultural differences have widened the gap that separates them. All aspects of life are affected as Burmese are grossly underpaid. Registered migrants have equal rights under Thai Law. This is largely ignored since Burmese are systematically denied educational opportunities, health care and other basic societal comforts. Many provinces have also imposed curfews. Some provinces have forbidden immigrants from owning cell phones.

Unregistered workers are the majority of the workforce though. Working long hours with no protection from the law, sweat shops team with nothing short of slave labor. They are paid a third of the minimum wage at best while lining the pockets of unscrupulous businessmen. Two and three families will live in dwellings designed for 2 people in an effort to survive in this new and foreign world. Life is very trying for these immigrants at best. But they are thankful for the safety Thailand offers them.

So they live and work in squalid conditions, treated like second class citizens and endure more ethnic hatred and distain. At least they were not returned to Burma to face death or imprisonment. Sadly corrupt Thai officials have hampered the registration process for refugee applicants in an effort to keep wages low for industries sake. With the appointment of Noppadon Pattama as Thailands new foreign minister the Burmese refugee's fears are not so unfounded since he seems to cater to Junta officials. The possibility of a Burma Friendly policy is very real and is the subject of many conversations. Their only hope is that Pattama's actions are a sign of diplomatic prowess and not an early sign of bias. Their fate is in the balance and time will only tell.

Thailand's newly elected government has postured themselves to honor and respect Burma's sovereignty. The issues of democracy, human rights and wholesale murder of human beings were relegated to "Domestic Issues"¯. Foreign Minister Noppadon was quoted as saying; "We are not a headmaster who can tell Burma to do this or that"¯

From the jungle refugee camps to the slums of Bangkok, Burmese refugees are fearful of their future. With the new government flexing it's new wings and making plans for the countries future. The place once thought to be a new beginning may very well become the beginning of the end.


Your Devil's Advocate
Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

Imported from external blog


Visibility: Everyone
Posted: Friday February 8, 2008, 4:09 pm
Tags: [add/edit tags]

Group Discussions start a discussion
Comments
Or, log in with your
Facebook account:
Compose your comment and submit:




Author

Judith Ann G.
Author Tools:
Compose New Share
female , single, 2 children
Springfield, MO, USA
JUDITH ANN'S SHARES
Nov
6
(0 comments  |  discussions )
video:http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=JWboOM1j7WQ
Nov
1
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Simple Choice Posted in Reflets Sombres with tags Earth Changes, Mother Earth, Poetry, Time of Change on November 1, 2009 by buffalohair The time of change is oh so grand Fore it will spread throughout this land From trees to s...
Oct
9
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Why I Fight For Burma Posted in Reflets Sombres with tags Burma, genocide, Holocaust, Humanity, Native American on October 8, 2009 by buffalohair Mingalaba! I’ve been asked why I’ve decided to take a stand for the people of Bur...
Oct
6
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Obama Passes on Dalai Lama VisitPosted in Asia with tags Barack Obama, China, Dalai Lama, Tibet on October 5, 2009 by buffalohair President Barack Obama passes on a visit with the Dalai Lama outraging many human rights supporters around the ...


SHARES FROM JUDITH ANN'S NETWORK
Nov
9
(0 comments  |  discussions )
MUNCIE -- The clock is ticking. At age 21, Kelsey Koch is fighting for her life. Afflicted with Job's Disease, more recently pinpointed as genetic Dock 8 Disease, she is in dire need of a blood stem cell transplant. "All of my thoughts are on get...
by Road L.
(0 comments  |  discussions )
This article passed the snopes test!   http://www.snopes.com/med ical/drugs/generic.asp           & nbsp;   &n bsp;&nbs...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Find a comfortable place to meditate where you won't be disturbed for at least 20 minutes. If possible make a special place for you to meditate. Perhaps create a small altar or use a beautiful piece of fabric you unroll mindfully and with sacred inten...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Truth Advocate - Notes for November including store closeout   :)This Action, on Change.org, the url   :) Allowed 9-11   :) http://socialentrepreneur ship.change.org/actions/v iew/allowed_9-11 http://www.change.org/pro f...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Faulty Forensics and the Ultimate Injustice  &nbs p; :)This Action, on Change.org, the url   :) ultimately injustice   :) http://criminaljustice.ch ange.org/actions/view/ult imately_injustice http://www.change.org/pro fil...


MORE MEMBER BLOGS
Nov 9
Blog: How Soda Effects Your Body by Past Member .
(0 comments  |  discussions ) — Thanks Mark for the article and thanks to Dr. Mao and his team for the research! Soda, pop, cola, soft drink — whatever you call it, it is one of the worst beverages that you could be drinking for your health. As the debate for whet... more
Blog: Mr. Chilcott: … enough is enough for a reasonable man—more is superfluous by Horatio G.
(0 comments  |  discussions ) — In reference to Reader's view: Tell Congress, 'Enough' :   Two antithetical ideological views are making the nationalization argument very contentious. One is the ideology of free market capitalism, a Randian philosophy of objectivism and indi... more
Blog: The Enemy Of Wildlife by Patrick W.
(0 comments  |  discussions ) — We Have Met The Enemyand it is usThis is a long article, but important to wildlife conservationistshttp://ww w.iucn.org/about/work/pro grammes/species/red_list/ ?4143/Extinction-crisis-c ontinues-apaceExcerpt:The latest update of the IUCN Red List of Thr... more
Blog: Trucker dies as big-rig plummets off SF bridge by HM S.
(0 comments  |  discussions ) — SAN FRANCISCO -- An accident-plagued stretch of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge saw its first fatality Monday when the driver of a speeding big rig lost control and the truck plummeted 200 feet from the span, authorities said. more
Blog: Iran accuses 3 detained Americans of espionage by HM S.
(0 comments  |  0 discussions ) — TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran accused three detained Americans of spying Monday, signaling Tehran intends to put them on trial. It drew a sharp U.S. response that the charges are baseless because the hikers strayed across the border from Iraq. more
 
Content and comments expressed here are the opinions of Care2 users and not necessarily that of Care2.com or its affiliates.
Copyright © 2009 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved