Hungry and Weak; Burmese Migrants Deported

April 10, 2008

Lawi Weng, HURFOM :

More than one hundred Burmese migrants arrested in Sanghklaburi, Thailand yesterday have been deported to the Thai-Burma border at Three Pagodas Pass this morning according to an eyewitness who visited the Sanghklaburi jail.
The Burmese migrants captured in Sanghklaburi were kept in jail overnight.

“The jail was overcrowded with people. There was no free space. They could not sleep, but just lay on the concrete floor. There was no food either. This was why the police released them earlier than planned,” said an anonymous source.

“Many people were happy because they were released from jail and knew they would return to Burma soon. Outside the jail, they said goodbye and gestured to the police guards while being loaded into the trucks that would deport them from Sanghklaburi,” he added

Most people were from Karen State, in Kyaik Mayaw township. They were Mon people who were unemployed and looking for work in Thailand.

The migrants were arrested during the night on April 9th, following a raid by Thai army border guards in the forest. This raid followed a tip-off to guards regarding the whereabouts of those later arrested. All migrants arrested, including some women and children, had been hiding inside the Thai forest, approximately one kilometer from Three Pagodas Pass.

“The migrants ran out of food four nights ago, and were very weak. Several of the women could not stand on the trucks, so police had to bring in a second smaller truck to transport them,” said an eye witness.

Deported people have been offered to the Burmese authorities on the Thai-Burma border at Three Pagodas
Pass.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News