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THAILAND VISIT 2016
“Beyond ‘Tolerance’: Working hand-‐in-‐hand to promote the social inclusion of migrants and their families”
Image: Cambodian migrant working in the fishing industry in Rayong, Thailand.
Overview
• Purpose: To better understand issues of social inclusion and exclusion for
migrants and their families living in Thailand. • Date: 20-‐26 March 2016 • Location: Rayong province and Mae Sot distric, Tak province, Thailand • Project Partners: The 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, MAP Foundation,
Legal Support for Children and Women, and Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center • Host Organization: MAP Foundation and Foundation for AIDS Rights • Participants: Members of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, Legal
Support for Children and Women, Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center, Foundation for AIDS Rights, MAP Foundation and MMN Secretariat
• Funder: The Toyota Foundation
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Introduction On 20-‐26 March 2016 MMN and project partners Legal Support for Children and Women (LSCW), Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center (CWCC), the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, and MAP Foundation held its first of four country visits for a project entitled: “Beyond ‘Tolerance’: Working hand-‐in-‐hand to promote the social inclusion of migrants and their families”. The project is supported by the Toyota Foundation. “Beyond ‘Tolerance’” aims to promote social integration and address the issue of social exclusion of migrants in the context of origin counties Cambodia and Myanmar as well as destination countries Thailand and Japan. The first visit was held in Thailand where participants traveled to Rayong Province, hosted by the Foundation for AIDS Rights (FAR), and Mae Sot distric, Tak Province, hosted by the MAP Foundation.
Day 1: Internal Planning Meeting Internal Strategic Planning Meeting On the first day of the visit, a strategic planning meeting with the project partners was held. The meeting aimed to introduce and provide an overview of the project, and discuss key issues related to the project that should be explored during each country visit. The project partners also brainstormed who should be visited (including organizations, communities, and locations), and drafted a work plan for the site visits scheduled in respective countries. Partners also exchanged ideas about outcomes of the project.
Day 2: Visiting a Drop-‐in Centre & Migrants’ Worksites Foundation for AIDS Rights Drop-‐in Centre On 21 March, participants gathered at the FAR drop-‐in centre where Rayong Coordinator, Naai, Sutthichai Rerkyamdee and Information and Campaigning Staff Thao, Noppol Maiy-‐puang provided an overview of the migration situation in Rayong province and the work of FAR. FAR works to promote migrants’ rights and access to health care services, whether registered or unregistered. Working primarily with Cambodian migrant workers and their families, FAR carries out its mission by providing HIV testing and information, free condoms, referrals, interprative assistance, and general counseling at its drop-‐in centre, mobile clininc and second office in the Klaeng district of Rayong.
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During the migrant worker regularisation processes in 2014, only 1 million out of 1.6 million migrant workers renewed their documents in order to apply for National Verification (NV). The 93,000 registered migrant workers in Rayong province work primarily in fishing, fishery related, agriculture, construction, and factories. Prior to the military government coming to power in Thailand, the policy of the Ministry of Public Health was that any migrant, regardless of status could purchase health insurance. Since then, the policy has changed so that in order to purchase health insurance, migrants must show an ID card, passport, or country ID, and temporary resident registration. Another obstacle is that many hospitals are reluctant to sell insurance to migrants. The result is that migrant workers in Rayong have difficulty accessing healthcare. Migrants’ Worksites After learning about the issues affecting migrant workers, participants and FAR went to visit a number of worksites where Cambodian migrants work and live. The first site visited was Ban Phe Pier in Ban Phe Sub-‐district where small crews of migrants were combining efforts to repair fishing nets in preparation for the next trip out to sea. Workers on the fishing boats that “Beyond ‘Tolerance’” participants spoke with receive 9,000 Thai Baht (THB) per month, in addition to commission from the fish caught by the crew, paid every six months.
Image: Migrant worker repairing fishing net.
Next, individulas traveled to a small worksite where anchovies are brought to be boiled and dried before they are exported to Taiwan, Malaysia, and China. Workers in this ‘fishing related’ industry are paid by the kilogram. Participants also visited the Sala Kieow community where workers prepare dried fish and squid for delivery from the hours of 2AM until 11AM. During the day migrants cut, clean and set the fish and squid on large palates to be dried in the sun and in smoking rooms.
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Image: Migrants working in the fishing industry.
Day 3: Visiting a School for Migrant Children, Cambodian Community & Mobile Clinic Labour Rights Promotion Network School for Migrant Children On 22 March, “Beyond ‘Tolerance’” participants visited the Labour Rights Promotion Network (LPN) school for migrant children. At the school, around 100 Cambodian children prepare for entrance into Thai schools, learning to speak, read, and write Thai. There are a number of challenges that migrant children face including discrimination, language barrier and a high drop-‐out rate of the many teenage children who leave school in search of work. In Thai schools many migrant children are kept behind due to the language barrier and end up leaving school for work before they complete their primary education. MMN presented the LPN school with the children’s book Dragon Lake, written in several Mekong languages, that promotes the concept of many cultures living together.
Image: Migrant girl skipping rope before school begins.
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‘Cambodian Alley’ Participants then departed for the area known as ‘Cambodian Alley’ where many migrants live, typically 2-‐3 families sharing one dwelling. During the visit, community members were preparing for a wedding ceremony, sharing in the work to make Khmer delicacies for guests. Others were using their free time to cross-‐stitch an image of the Buddha, while others were preparing for a celebration of a newborn baby.
Image: Women migrant workers during their free time.
Foundation for AIDS Rights Mobile Clinic In the afternoon, the “Beyond ‘Tolerance’” team joined FAR at their mobile clininc at the pier where a number of fishermen were docking to enjoy a day off from work. FAR’s outreach program provides condoms, HIV information and testing, as well as fun games and prizes twice per month, in accordance with the working schedules of migrants working in factories, construction, and fishing.
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Image: Men receiving condoms at the FAR mobile clinic.
To conclude the visit to Rayong, MMN, participants and FAR staff and volunteers discussed the main issues that migrants in the area face. Many migrants have difficulty claiming their Social Security benefits, which impedes their ability to care for their health. Employers provide these benefits but do not inform workers on how to receive them, forms for claiming benefits at the Social Security office are always in Thai and no interpretative services are provided, and many migrant workers who return home and then come back to Thailand for work do so under a different name and are unable to claim their previous benefits. In addition to the difficulties in claiming benefits, migrants face discrimination and stigmatisation. FAR has found that 12% of healthcare workers surveyed wear two pairs of protective gloves when providing care to migrant workers. FAR is working to create a dialogue with a number of key actors including local authorities, law enfrocement, lawyers, and community members to improve the protection mechanisms for migrants, reduce stigmatization against migrant workers, and promote social inclusion.
Day 4: Meeting with MAP Foundation & Site Visits MAP Foundation, Mae Sot On 24 March, the visit commenced at the MAP Foundation’s Mae Sot office where director Brahm Press and manager and consultant Sutthisak Rungreangphasuk spoke about the history of MAP and the experience of migrant workers in Mae Sot.
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Image: “Beyond ‘Tolerance’” participants meeting at the MAP Foundation Mae Sot office.
MAP Foundation has been working for the rights of migrants since 1999, through its four main promgrams. MAP’s Labour Rights for All (LRA) program provides education on labour rights, legal counseling, campaigning on belhalf of domestic workers and promoting occupational safety and health. The Rights for All program (RFA) focuses on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and family planning. The program also works with migrant learning centres run privately for Burmese migrant children, and provides migrant children at Thai schools with small scholarship for uniforms, book bags and other expenses. RFA also includes the Women’s Exchange program in Chiang Mai, a network of female leaders trained on gender based violence and domestic violence that create ‘women only’ spaces in their communities where they can talk about those issues. The Community Health Empowerment program (CHE) aims to promote the physical, emotional and social health of migrant workers, focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention and changes on attitudes toward sex, relationships and gender. The MAP Multimedia program (MMM) features community radio stations broadcasting 11 hours per day on topics including labour rights, health, children’s rights, women’s rights, culture, language, and news from Burma. Everyday, 2,000 people cross the Friendship Bridge travelling between Mae Sot and Burma/Myanmar. More than 100,000 migrants from Burma/Myanmar live in Mae Sot (roughly 70% of the population), while 70,000 Burmese live in the surrounding area. Of these, 70% are female and 65% work in garment and wool factories. By law a working day is eight hours, a workweek is six days and overtime is 65 baht per hour. In reality, migrants often work more than twelve hours per day, receiving one day off per month and no compensation for overtime hours. The minimum wage in Thailand is 300 baht per day, though most migrant workers receive between 120 and 220 baht.
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Beyond wage theft, migrants in Mae Sot face a number of obstacles. Most employers keep migrants’ documents to keep them from finding other work, while undocumented workers are discouraged from leaving the factory grounds at any time. Workers run the risk of being fired if they are suspected of meeting with NGOs for fear that they will be emboldened to demand their lawful rights. Mae Sot is latticed with bribery and corruption: undocumented workers often pay police bribes to avoid arrest, documented workers pay police to avoid hassle, employers pay police to protect their workers during immigration raids, and village heads pay police to protect the residents under their oversight. In all instances, it is the migrant who is paying the fees, whether it is through an intermediary such as an employer. While corruption among officials in Mae Sot has decreased since the NCPO came to power there are still regular occurrences.
Image: “Beyond ‘Tolerance’”, Burmese migrant farm worker relax in front of TV, Thailand.
Burmese-‐Karen Village After the initial meeting at the MAP office, “Beyond ‘Tolerance’” participants visited a Burmese-‐Karen village where migrant workers and their families rent land from their employers, construct housing, and raise goats and other livestock. Most of the working residents have jobs in agriculture and construction. Women in the community explained that in construction, they have the same duties as men but their wages are less (typically 150 baht per day, while men earn 170 baht). Women working in agriculture earn the same as men: 150 baht per day.
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Some of the older residents in the community have been in Mae Sot for more than 20 years and have never returned to Burma. While some of these residents long to visit their home, their children and grandchildren born in Thailand cannot go to Burma for lack of Burmese identification. In fact, many of the children born in the village don’t even have birth certificates and rely on MAP to help them obtain the proper documents. One resident expressed that in order to have a good life in Thailand, their children would be able to complete their education. Many children must leave school for work. MAP has a close relationship with the village, working together with the community to ensure children are enrolled in school, that workers have access to workplace safety information and protective equipment. MAP also provides training in healthcare and rights and established a gathering house where migrants can meet and access information and trainings. Agricultural Worksite Participants then traveled to a nearby agricultural worksite where some of the workers and their families also live. The workers there earn 150 baht per day. One of the workers expressed his dissatisfaction with his employer who increases the workload to an unmanageable level. While two of the worker’s children attend public school, his eldest son had to drop out before he completed grade 8 to help with the increasing amount of work.
Day 5: Mae Tao Clinic Visit, CSO Meetings & Site Visits Mae Tao Clinic On 25 March, the day began at the Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) where Deputy Director of Education and Child Protection, Liberty Thawda, Director of Clinical Services and Training, Saw Mu Ni, and Child Protection Manager, Myint Rae Ou spoke about the services provided at Mae Tao Clinic and the issues migrant children face.
Since 1995, MTC has helped to provide education to the many Burmese children living in Mae Sot. MTC funds the Children’s Development Centre (CDC), a migrant learning centre for primary through secondary level students from Burma that also provides transportation and family support. Because the government does not recognise the CDC, students do not receive a diploma after completing grade 12. MTC also supports the Branch Classroom program in which Burmese children can register with a Thai school, learn the curriculum at CDC, and sit the final exam to receive a high school diploma. Sadly, the Director of the partner Thai school has canceled the Branch Classroom program for 2017. Now parents and children face the difficult decision of whether to register at Thai public school or complete their education at CDC where they will be ineligible for a diploma. Burmese parents find it very difficult to enroll their children in Thai schools due to the long hours they work, the language barrier, extra
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expenses, and transportation costs. Out of 150 children at the CDC, only 10 decided to attend Thai school. The rest will continue their education at the CDC but their efforts will be officially unrecognised. Due to these complexities, only 10-‐15% of Burmese students are eligible to attend college. What’s more USAID, the main donor through which MTC funds the CDC, has made the decision to end funding in 2017.
Image: “Beyond ‘Tolerance’” participants meeting at the Mae Tao Clinic.
The Mae Tao Clinic’s health program is expansive and includes pediatric care, dental care, optometry, HIV prevention and treatment, obstetrics and gynecology, vaccinations, and mental health counseling to name a few. MTC also provides healthcare education and training. In Burma, the number of registered health workers and functioning medical centres is very low. There is no functioning health insurance scheme, and people without ID or household registration cards cannot receive medical care. NGOs now provide a number of health services in Burma but typically for communicable diseases such as HIV, TB, Malaria rather than comprehensive care. In Tak province in Thailand, there are an estimated 250,000-‐300,000 Burmese migrants. The number of undocumented migrants is very high and is expected to increase as the Special Economic Zone in Mae Sot develops. In 2012, out of 3,138 infants delivered at MTC, only 302 had parents with legal documentation. The undocumented status of migrants along with a high rate of high school dropouts, high youth unemployment, economic and social disparities, and the cost and language barriers within the Thai healthcare system make the healthcare situation among Burmese migrants critical.
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Since its inception in 1989, MTC has grown steadily and has seen a number of changes to the health issues among Burmese migrants in Mae Sot. Currently, MTC sees more cases of malnutrition; and while there has been a drop in TB and Malaria cases, MTC has seen an intake of more chronic non-‐communicative diseases and more sever medical problems in recent years. MTC also struggles with providing follow-‐up care and Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) due to the high mobility of patients. Overall, the greatest need among Burmese migrants and their children is for some form of citizenship. Without it, they cannot claim their rights and access the services they need.
Image: “Beyond ‘Tolerance’” participants visit Mae Tao Clinic.
Civil Society Organisation Meetings In the afternoon, participants met with the Foundation for Education and Development (FED), Arakan Labour Campaign (ALC) and Yaung Chi Oo Workers’ Association (YCOWA). FED Mae Sot (the branch office of the headquarters in Phang Nga) promotes labour rights by providing support and training to migrant leaders, as well as providing information to migrant communities and vocational training. They also work to foster sexual reproductive health rights. FED’s Safe Schools program works with migrant learning centres for disaster preparedness. FED also runs its Global Initiative (GGI) working to eliminate human trafficking. Arakan Labour Campaign (ALC), established in 2009, provides education to migrants about human trafficking, human rights and labour rights. They also offer computer and vocational training, as well as a safe house for new arrivals, migrants facing labour rights abuses and health issues preventing them from working. ALC also collaborates with a
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number of NGOs, the Arakanese communities, and other ethnic communities originating from Burma/Myanmar in Mae Sot. Yaung Chi Oo Workers’ Association (YCOWA) has been established in Mae Sot since 1999. YCOWA provides a number of services to Burmese migrants in Mae Sot. They have a short-‐term safe house for migrants in emergency situations; vocational, gender rights and human rights training; they provide referrals for legal assistance; run a mobile clinic; and a nursery for migrant children. YCOWA also organises cultural and religious events. They also produce a journal once per month in Burmese containing information on rights and news disseminated among workers. Mae Tao Mai Village
Image: “Beyond ‘Tolerance’” participants meeting with a migrant community.
After meeting with the three organisations, the “Beyond ‘Tolerance’” group visited several different worksites and communities in Mae Sot. ALC accompanied some participants to Mae Tao Mai village, where Burmese families work and live in and around the garment factories. The first visit was to a convenience store where shop owner Mao Win Mah supplies goods to migrants working in a nearby factory. She had worked at the factory as a supervisor but quit to run her own business as a trainer for migrants, teaching sewing. It is difficult as a business owner in Mae Sot; the title of a Burmese-‐owned business must always be in the name of a Thai citizen. In addition, the business owner typically pays bribes to different police officers per month. Mao Win Mah herself pays three bribes per month, though she is documented.
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Mao Win Ma’s children attend a migrant learning centre for Burmese children. The eldest daughter previously attended Thai public school where she experienced discrimination. The Thai teachers delegated labourious tasks the Burmese students that kept them at school until late in the afternoon. When Mao Win Ma complained that her child was returning home too late, the teacher agreed to be more lenient in her assigned chores; however, that promise was eventually abrogated. Mao Win Ma’s daughter is happier now, where she feels equal among her peers. Next the participants visited the home and shop of Thein Myint, previously a factory worker and labour organiser. At the garment factory where Thein Myint worked, he earned 170-‐190 baht per day. As his employer made higher demand of the workers, he refused to increase the pay. When workers requested a raise of 20 baht and the employer refused, 500 out of 700 workers went on strike. Their demands were to be paid minimum wage, receive one day off per week and public holidays, compensation for overtime, to end the workday at 10pm, receive unpaid medical leave, and to be able to use the toilet without prior approval. The Labour Authority attempted to mediate negotiations by recommending that the workers concede to a 20 baht increase in pay (still below the minimum wage). After much negotiation, the workers’ demands were met. Two months after going back to work, Thein Myint and all the other organisers of the strike were laid off and after another six months the factory closed citing a loss in profits. All of the leaders of the strike were blacklisted, unable to obtain work in Mae Sot. The “Beyond Tolerance’” project seeks to uncover the effects social exclusion and social inclusion. During the Thailand visit, participants learned from migrants and partner organisations about the negative effects the social exclusion has on families and communities. The project aims to learn what improvements could be made to promote the social inclusion of migrants in destination countries’ societies, thereby improving the lives and wellbeing of migrant workers and their families.
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APPENDIX A
Thailand Visit Agenda
“Beyond Tolerance” -‐ Working hand-‐in-‐hand to promote the social inclusion of migrants and their families Location: Bangkok, Rayong province and Mae Sot distric, Tak province Host organization: FAR (Rayong province), MAP Foundation (Mae Sot district) Program for the Thailand visit (20 – 26 March 2016) 20 March, Sunday Time Agenda Venue AM Participants arrive and check in Personal Development
Centre (PDC), Bangkok
14:00-‐17:00 Project partners meeting *introduction *overview of the project *briefing about the Thailand visit
evening free 21 March, Monday Before 7:00 Participants check out the PDC 7:00 Participants travel to Rayong 2 vans will leave the
PDC at 7am 10:00-‐12:00 Welcome & introduction of participants, by
MMN & FAR *Overview of migration situation in Eastern region and Rayong province, Thailand *Sharing strategies to provide assistance to migrants and to promote the rights of migrant workers, and lesson learned
FAR drop in centre/HIV Testing Centre, Rayong
12:00-‐13:00 Lunch 13:00-‐15:30 Field visit
Group 1. visiting the docked fishing boats area Group 2. visiting the fishing related community (repairing fishing nets, cutting fish)
Muang district, Rayong
15:30-‐16:30 Visiting the weekend market, which is popular among migrant workers in Rayong
16:30-‐18:00 Visiting the construction site *meeting with migrant construction workers *visiting migrant workers who received healthcare services from Rayong hospital
18:00 Participants check in at the Rayong City Hotel Rayong City Hotel evening free
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22 March, Tuesday Before 8:30 Participants check out the hotel Rayong City Hotel 8:30-‐10:00 Visit to Migrant Children School by LPN
*visiting school for migrant children organized by LPN Visiting the fishing related community (migrant families, cutting fish)
Klang district, Rayong province
10:00-‐10:30 Travel to the FAR drop in centre 10:30-‐11:30 Visiting FAR drop-‐in centre and sharing by
representative of migrant workers on social security issues
FAR drop in centre
11:30-‐13:00 Lunch 13:00-‐14:00 Visiting healthcare outreach program for
migrant workers, provided by Rayong hospital in collaboration with FAR
14:00-‐15:00 Wrap up/reflection on field visit and return to Bangkok
15:00 Leave for Bangkok, check in at the PDC, Bangkok
PDC, Bangkok
evening free 23 March, Wednesday 9:00-‐16:00 Project strategy meeting PDC, Bangkok evening free 24 March, Thursday Before 9:30 Participants check out the hotel PDC, Bangkok 9:30 2 vans leave the PDC to the Don Muang airport
12:20 Participants take a flight from Bangkok to Mae Sot (Nok Air: DD8122)
Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok
13:30 Arrive at the Mae Sot airport Mae Sot 14:00-‐15:00 Lunch and move by vans to the MAP office 15:00-‐16:30 Briefing at the MAP office
*setting context for migration issues in Mae Sot
MAP Mae Sot office
16:30-‐17:00 Move by vans 17:00-‐18:30 Visit migrants in agricultural site
Dinner with migrants
20:00 Move to the hotel, check in 25 March 2016 Before 8:30 am
Participants check out the hotel
8:30 Vans leave the hotel
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9:00-‐11:00 Visit to the Mae Tao Clinic *9:00 -‐ 9:45 am -‐ meeting with Mae Tao Clinic staff, Burmese Migrant Teacher Association staff (in MTC Library) 9:45 -‐ 10:20 am -‐ visit around MTC ( lead by Khun Wai) 10:20 -‐11 am -‐ visit CDC school and New MTC (Lead by Khun Wai)
Mae Tao Clinic Library CDC school New MTC
11:00-‐11:30 Move to the Young Chi Oo (YCO) Workers’ Association’s office, settle in
By vans
11:30-‐12:30 Introduction by Arakan Labour Group, YCO, Foundation for Education and Development (FED) *sharing on key issues, the main groups of migrant workers the respective groups work with, their strategies. *also each group will give a brief intro to the field visits they are leading.
Young Chi Oo Workers’ Association’s office
12:30-‐13:30 Lunch at YCO 13:30-‐18:00 Field visits
Groups 1: Factory, accompanied by the Young Chi O Workers Association team Group 2: Factory, accompanied by the Arakan Labour Group team Ggroup 3: Agricultural site accompanied by the Foundation for Education and Development
evening free 26 March, Saturday 9:00-‐11:30 Wrapping up meeting
*reflection *confirming the work plan for upcoming events/project
11:30-‐12:30 Participants check out the hotel 12:30 Leave for the airport 13:00-‐14:00 Lunch near the airport 14:00 Chiang Mai team leave by a van
Sopheap’s departure
15:40 Departure of the remaining participants Mae Sot Airport
