Thai government forces migrant workers to make temporary passports while Burmese officials cash in

September 29, 2009

WCRP: On July 15th, the Thai-Burmese governments agreed to implement a new temporary passport system. The temporary passports were designed to legalize Burmese migrant workers however SPDC troops in Mon State have been demanding additional funds and threatening imprisonment to those who can not afford to pay.

In August, a 25-year-old woman from Kaw Ka Bain village, Southern Burma, working in Mahachai, Thailand, travelled to Myawaddy, Burma, with 4 friends to apply for temporary passports.

In order to receive a temporary passport, an applicant must go through a verification process which requires personal information and their family’s address.

The women and her friends each paid the required 3,000 kyat fee for their temporary passports. While in the passport office, the SPDC requested an extra 2 million kyat from each person, threatening imprisonment in Insein if not paid immediately.

Neither the woman nor her friends could pay the additional amount. The group was then held in the passport office for one week while the SPDC went to their parents’ houses and tried to extort the money.

A villager from Kaw Ka Bain explained the extortion attempt in their village, “The SPDC said ‘if you don’t give us 2 million kyat your daughter will have to go to jail for 5 years.’ The woman’s parents are so poor so they could not give the money …the woman is now in prison with 4 of her friends.”

The woman started her 5 year jail sentence in August. Her release is contingent on her parents paying 2 million kyat. “The headman of the village tried to talk to the SPDC and ask for her release but his request was ignored” added the villager from Kaw Ka Bain

The woman’s parents sell chickens in Kaw Ka Bain but only earn enough to provide for their daily intake. They tried to borrow the 2 million kyat but no one would help them. The parents of the woman’s friends could not afford to pay for their children either.

In other instances the SPDC has also been collecting money from women and villagers in surrounding areas.

In one instance, a 25-year-old male villager from Anan Village, Thanbuyzayat Township, made a temporary passport in Myawaddy and only paid the required 3,000 kyat fee.

However, the villager explained to WCRP, “A 23-year-old woman from Anan village, who works in Mahachai…applied for her passport in Myawaddy…and the SPDC went to her parents’ house and took 140,000 kyat…”

Before the SPDC collected the 140,000 kyat they announced to Anan villagers, “People who work in Thailand…are illegal, if you don’t give the money we can send your children to prison.”

According to the temporary passport office in Myawaddy, about 500 people per day file for temporary passports. Most of the them are Mon and Burmese that travel from Bangkok

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News