Migration
Informal migration for labor
Anti-Myanmar hate speech flares in Thailand over virus
“Wherever you see Myanmar people, shoot them down,” read one Thai comment on YouTube after a surge of coronavirus cases among workers from Myanmar. The outbreak, first detected at a seafood market near Bangkok, has prompted a flare-up in such online hate speech as well as ...
Reporting by Shoon Naing in Yangon; Writing by Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Sam Holmes
Covid Infections, and Blame, Rise Along Southeast Asian Borders
The border between Thailand and Myanmar is more than 1,500 miles long, much of it thickly forested. Myanmar has suffered runaway transmission of the coronavirus. Thailand, so far, has not. But over the past couple of weeks, at least 19 Covid-19 cases in Thailand have been ...
Hannah Beech
Cops nab 58 illegals bound for the capital
Fifty-eight illegal job-seekers from Laos were caught on the banks of the Mekong River in Khong Chiam district as they were preparing to travel to Bangkok yesterday. Capt Nathawat Wichakul, commander of Ubon Ratchathani’s Mekong Riverine Unit (MRU), said a combined security force intercepted a white ...
NILA SINGKHIRI
‘I have to do this’: Myanmar garment workers forced into sex work by Covid
When Hla, 19, tried to go back to work seven months ago after having a baby, there were no jobs. Hundreds of garment factories in Myanmar had closed after western fashion brands cancelled orders due to the pandemic, leaving thousands of women jobless. As lockdown gripped Yangon, ...
Lorcan Lovett and Nay Chi Nway
Thailand: Migrants Could Benefit from Moves to Ease COVID-19 Restrictions
Migrant workers in Thailand who could not return to their home countries because of the COVID-19 lockdown have lost jobs and suffered financial hardship during the pandemic, but could soon see their outlook improve as the country starts to reopen. Thailand has long been a regional ...
Nontarat Phaicharoen
Migrant workers’ unemployment may hinder disease control
As the Thai economy is heavily impacted by government attempts to control the COVID-19 outbreak, experts believe that the situation for migrant workers may contribute to the epidemic. Proper policies and employment support are needed to set things right. It has been 2 weeks since Rachen ...
Yiamyut Sutthichaya
Covid-19 measures leave Southeast Asia’s migrant workers exposed, lay bare their living conditions
Job loss, crowded quarters and reduced access to healthcare are among the issues foreign workers face. Advocacy groups say the pandemic can only be controlled with an inclusive approach that protects every individual’s rights to life and health. The spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus among Singapore’s migrant ...
Neo Chai Chin
Thai lockdown sparks exodus of 60,000 migrant workers: ministry official
About 60,000 migrant workers living in Thailand have fled the country since authorities shut malls and many businesses at the weekend to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a Thai interior ministry official said on Wednesday. Thailand’s latest measures have left many without jobs and prompted ...
Panarat Thepgumpanat
Lao Migrants Fleeing Poverty Defy Dangers to Work in Thailand
Lao workers, many of them young and some still in their teens, have poured in growing numbers this year into neighboring Thailand, braving exploitation and unsafe work conditions in search of employment to help support families back home, sources in the Southeast Asian nation say. Many ...
NGO Urges Tightened Restrictions on Influx of Chinese Nationals to Cambodia
Cambodia should tighten restrictions on the influx of Chinese nationals to the country, according to a local rights group, which says the community is responsible for rampant violent crime and loose ethics that are contributing to the downfall of society. Many Chinese nationals living in Cambodia ...