HOMIT: Humans of Myanmar in Thailand

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06.26.2018, Mae Sot

Aye Thu is a 27 year old migrant from Yangon, currently living in a small Burmese community with her two brothers and parents. The area is structured in two rows of wooden houses running parallel across from each other, hoisted high up on stilts. This structure is to help with flooding from the rainy season, but when flooding does occur, water levels can raise as high as roof level. Both of her brothers sell electronic tools in the area, while she worked in a garment factory until recently.

As of fifteen days ago since this post, she quit her job due to the difficulty of legal document acquisition and discrimination from Thai coworkers against her and her fellow Burmese workers. She has been living week to week on 7-day visiting passes the Thai government provides to migrants, hoping to find a job for her to hold a work permit for long term stay. Since both of her parents are too old to work by Thai law, her brothers are the only source of income for the 5-member family. If they both make roughly 100 baht a day, they have make a habit of saving the same amount that they spend.

When Aye Thu was in school, her brothers supported her and paid her tuition. She graduated from university in Myanmar with a Bachelor’s in Chemistry after travelling back and forth from Thailand at 16 years old. Despite her qualifications, she is still considered a un-skilled worker. For a time, she taught Mathematics and Burmese in Thailand and would love to return to teaching. She would also like to live in Myanmar, but the income potential back home was not pragmatic to support a family. In fact, this has been the case since she was a child when her father worked alone in Myanmar to support their family, pushing her brothers to move to Thailand first in 2000. In Thailand, migrants all must work to maintain legal status, forcing migrants to spend much of their time and money on acquiring legal documents. MAP Foundation has aided and her family with obtaining and maintaining their immigrant status.

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06.26.2018, Mae Sot

On the outskirts of Mae Sot, we visited Cho Cho Lay, a 30-year-old migrant woman from Patay, Myanmar. Cho Cho Lay migrated to Thailand over eight years ago and started working in a garment factory soon after. She decided to leave Myanmar after high school for better pay and the hopes of better living conditions. After starting work, it became apparent that the factory was not willing to pay the 300 Thai Baht per day that was promised, giving the workers only 100 Baht (3.25 US dollars) for a full day of work.

Five years into working at the garment factory, Cho Cho Lay met her current husband who is nicknamed Obama for his appearance. The couple continued to be underpaid for their work for the next three years along with many other families, having little choice but to accept the violation of labor rights. About a year ago, many of the workers decided to finally confront the factory about the lack of payment and they lost their jobs as a result. After hearing MAP’s legal support through the Labor Rights for All (LRA) department on the radio, Cho Cho Lay and her fellow co-workers sought out help with the legal process of getting properly compensated for their work. During the legal process, most workers including Obama and Cho Cho Lay were out of work. During that time, the couple had a very difficult time covering living expenses, especially after Cho Cho Lay got pregnant. MAP was able to help provide them with food, shelter, and legal help, but they also had issues renewing the documents needed for them to continue to live in Thailand.

Additionally, Cho Cho Lay’s mother-in-law fell extremely ill, requiring Lay and Obama to travel back to Myanmar. During their re-entry back into Thailand, Cho Cho Lay was struck with immense pain and ended up giving birth to her daughter two months prematurely on the border of Thailand and Myanmar. Now two months old, the little girl is named Ne Cho Cho Nuay. Her parents are currently trying to get a Thai birth certificate for her but it is more difficult because she was not born in a hospital. Despite all of these obstacles, the workers recently won.

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06.26.2018, Mae Sot Nyine Nying Kyi is a 28 year old Burmese woman who moved to Mae Sot with her boyfriend 9 years ago. While most migrants are from Yangon, she is from Mawlamyine (Mon State). Before she came to Thailand, she had a boyfriend in Thailand and moved to Thailand to get married to him; however, that’s not the reason why she moved to Thailand. She met him through a friend who shared with her his number. At the beginning, her boyfriend was from Myawaddy, Kayin State (across from Mae Sot) and had relatives in Mae Sot, so they moved to Mae Sot.

A lot of things have changed since she’s moved to Mae Sot. In terms of family, she has a 9 year old daughter and an 11 month old son. In terms of the living situation, it’s gotten better because they can earn money and have a safe place to live. She got to know about MAP because they have legal assistance for workers who are unpaid and experience about labor right abuse. While her experience is not with labor right abuse, but a relative of hers is a MAP volunteer who explains the situation to her and Nyine attends some workshops. Nyine Nying Kyi also knows about MAP Foundation by listening to the radio. She heard about MAP radio through their listener panel and outreaches and loves listening to their music. Nyine Nying Kyi attends a variety of trainings: FED organizes workshops on education processes and MAP on labor rights, labor protection, and its effective outreaches. Her husband, however, does not attend the workshops.

She is a domestic worker with a kind boss. Nyine Nying Kyi works every day from 8am to 2pm for 200bt a day. The day we interviewed her, she prepared to go to work but took leave to meet us as guests from America. Her job is at a house and the house owner’s small food shop. She believes she has better pay because she only works half the day unlike others, so if she works quickly she can take rest. Nyine Nying Kyi also brings her son to work. Her husband is a Tuk Tuk driver. Other Burmese migrants she knows work as shopkeepers in the market who get paid 3000bt/month by Thai shop owners, much less than she makes. She likes that the community are friends that help each other, people from Myanmar who help each other, sometimes making food together in their free time.

Her biggest struggle is not having enough money - her family is very poor and could not afford for her to go to school so they came from Myanmar. Her parents have already passed away. Her father passed away when she was 3 years old so her mother had to struggle to support the entire family. They often did not have enough rice; while others often ate 2 meals a day, her family would only eat 1. Now, her daughter goes to Children’s Development Center (CDC) school where the Thai government pays for migrant children who then learn both Thai and Burmese. If the daughter goes to school for at least 10 years, the teacher can apply for the daughter's documentation. This 10 year trial process varies per a district. Her baby has a birth certificate.

Nyine Nying Kyi explains that the legal document process is confusing for her family, forcing them to often save up money for these changes. For example, the purple one changed to the red passport color. It was also said the blue book was too similar to the blue bank book so they also had to change colors back to the pink one. When they changed from the red book, they had to throw away the old documents and reapply through the new documents. She also only finds about documentation policy changes through her MAP volunteer relative.

Her husband had to extend his work permit, but since he does not have an official employer as a Tuk Tuk driver, he had to pay 8000bt. Immigration also said he did not report back for the 90 day check so the family had to pay an additional 2000bt. Currently, she has found out through the grapevine that they will be checked on July 1st by Immigration; however, it costs more than 6000bt to renew her documents. Thus, she has been using a border pass that allows her to stay 7 days before she has to return to Myanmar for its renewal.

The police will sometimes go to the shops to ask for different documents and number of people in their household. Once, when the police visited her house, the police urged her not to run away when she was simply washing her hands. When they asked her about how many people live in her house, her mother was alive. Alive 3 months ago, her mother had cervical cancer. The police asked many details about her patient status such as the type of cyst or stage of cancer. 2-3 days from the interview, the police had checked the home as well.

If Nyine Nying Kyi had more money or Myanmar had a better situation, she would like to return to Myanmar but right now, it’s not an option.

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2 years have passed since the GROW team met San Moe Oo, who has waited until September 2017 to get the metal brace off her leg. After that, she was required to do regular monthly check ups to ensure the healing of the bone was going as planned.

Around the end of 2017, there was a widespread, intensive registration check in Chiang Mai. MAP Foundation wanted to help her get proper documentation; however, as the Thai policies maintain Burmese migrants need to be working if they apply for long term stay, she could not maintain legal status of documentation since she was unable to find an employer.

San Moe Oo felt much of the difficulty of not having proper documents and a greater need for emotional support. Thus, she wished to be reunited with her family, returning to the Mae La Un refugee camp in February 2018.

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06.19.2018

Hkur Lu is a three and a half month old baby from the Shan province of Myanmar. Hkur Lu was born with jaundice, or yellow skin, which reflects issues with the red blood cells of a person. Hkur Lu’s family originally brought her to Thailand to seek medical treatment. The were originally at a different hospital that could not treat her condition. Therefore, she was moved to another Chiang Mai hospital. In addition, Hkur Lu was born with an oversized liver, causing the doctors to remove some of her liver to make it smaller. She recently had this surgery, and the family must stay in Chiang Mai to ensure she is healing properly. MAP Foundation, Thailand is helping with the medical costs from the treatment as well as the procedure through its Crisis Support program. MAP is also helping the mother find a place to stay in Chiang Mai while they are waiting for the baby to heal properly. The situation for the family is complicated because Hkur Lu’s mother came into the country without proper documentation. This documentation problem has caused access to medical care to become more difficult.

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06.19.2018 When the GROW team first walked into the hospital alcove of the 67 year-old woman named Kham, we confused her for a nurse because she was so energetic as she tried to bring us seats and make us comfortable. We were all impressed by her kindness from the very start. Kham migrated from Shan state in Myanmar to Chiang Mai years ago to live with her grandson. After his parents divorced, the young boy was given to Kham who became his permanent caretaker. The two moved to the outskirts of Chiang Mai where Kham’s grandson could attend school. However, last year, Kham noticed a change in her face and quickly found that a non-cancerous tumour had been growing on the left side of her jaw. Soon after being diagnosed, Kham had an operation to remove the tumour. Although she still has to pay other medical bills, the doctor that operated on Kham didn’t charge her for the surgery. She has been in the hospital for two months and still has months to stay to be treated with light therapy to prevent new growth and heal the area of her jaw that was affected. This will require seven more rounds of treatments that could last weeks because the doctors only perform when Kham is strong enough. While these treatments are necessary for Kham to heal, she explained that her 12 year old grandson must stay home alone while she is at the hospital. Since she has been unable to work, Kham cannot pay this months rent and is worried about finding money to continue to send her grandson to school. Fortunately, neighbors have been helping to feed her grandson and MAP has been giving transportation support. Gaew Chai also explained that they come to visit Kham often to give her support since she has little family to visit. (at Chiang Mai, Thailand)

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For the first time, the GROW team visited the same patient two years in a row. All migrants fight to maintain their identities culturally and individually, but Tun is a migrant who struggles uniquely with amnesia from a motorbike accident over a year ago. He has forgotten his age and his relatives, forcing him to stay at the hospital overnight outside with mosquitoes hovering. Unfortunately, when the hospital contacted MAP Foundation, Thailand to help with his homelessness, MAP’s Emergency Shelter had already been lost to funding issues. Last year, we visited Tun at Nakornping Hospital with Crisis Support coordinator Gaew Chai to provide him with a small amount of 300-400bt. Since then, Crisis Support has been visiting Tun outside the hospital where patients’ relatives sleep overnight. Every month, RFA comes back and provides the same amount of money to cover hygiene and food costs. Other MAP teams like CHE occasionally give Tun items like pants. Gaew Chai often shares Tun’s story with friends and strangers to collect small change to provide extra money for Tun as well. But it’s more than just money and material items Gaew Chai and MAP Foundation shares with Tun. Today when we visit patients along with Tun, Gaew Chai passed on a package of Lactasoy to each patient and brought a smile along the way. After he exchanges words with Tun, Gaew Chai playfully engaged in a game of left arm wrestling with Tun - and Tun wins! Even though Tun’s entire right side is paralysed, there is a twinkle in his eyes from the strength that remains in his left side. Still, Tun sometimes senses an unease. As we were about to depart the food court, he added that he’s struggling. When Gaew Chai asks him to elaborate, he says “nevermind.” We nod, bend a little bow, and leave, knowing that our likelihood of seeing him a third year is high and thus disheartening.

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La Tun

06.18.2018

As soon as we walked into the bustling hospital room, La Tun broke out into a huge smile. La Tun is a 33 year old migrant from the outskirts of Shan state in Myanmar. He worked as a painter in Ayutthaya until he was accidentally electrocuted on the job in July of last year. The electric shock left him with multiple burns, no hands, and exposed bone on his shin that stops him from using his left leg.

Following the accident, La Tun traveled to Chiang Mai to be with his sister and get the medical treatment that he requires. His sister now cares for them both by working on a farm to plant and sell trees. Since July of 2017, La Tun has had to make frequent hospital visits that will continue until he is fully healed. Luckily, La’s former employer covered 75 percent of his hospital bills following the accident because the employer had a wife from Shan state.

Now, Crisis Support helps to provide transport to and from the hospital and hopes to eventually get La Tun prosthetic hands. He can also be provided with a wheelchair for a relatively low price, but it would be extremely difficult without hands. Due to the poor condition of his leg, La Tun explained that he would rather have it amputated so he could get a prosthetic alternative, cheaper than an arm prosthetic. However, the doctor turned down his request, saying that the leg was healthy enough to remain. Even now, La Tun is getting better and he has learned to do many everyday tasks like eating even with his injuries. Once he has fully recovered, he hopes to go back to being a painter here in Chiang Mai.

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06.23.2018

**the name of the migrant has been omitted for privacy purposes and out of safety concerns**

Two months ago, a migrant was in a horrible motorbike accident, causing his neck to break and leaving his lower body and hands paralyzed. The man had been admitted to the hospital for over a month, leaving on May 17th with over 60 thousand baht in medical bills and more to come. Upon returning to his home, the man found that his boss wants the family to move out of the complex because of his poor health condition, lack of payment, and loss of documents.

After leaving the hospital, the man’s wife had needed to cut down on how much she worked so she could take care of his medical needs which left them with very little income. With so little money coming in, the family struggles to pay rent, renew their immigration documents, and even get the migrant to the hospital for the checkups that he needs. MAP employees have been visiting the couple frequently to see where MAP can help. Having done a few outreaches with this family, MAP is now helping transport the man to the hospital and has talked to them about options to try to get money for food, medical supplies, treatments, and rent.

Although their future is uncertain, the man’s wife is currently considering sending him back to Myanmar so relatives may take care of him while she works and sends money back to him. Many barriers must be crossed before he crosses the border, including finding a family member to take care of him, finding enough money to send him, and figuring out how to return without up-to-date documentation. Despite this uncertainty, MAP will continue to provide support to the family to the best of their ability.

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05.31.18

Aht is a 45 year old migrant migrant from the Shan province of Myanmar who came to Thailand to escape the civil wars in Myanmar and to seek treatment for an accident that resulted in paralysis from the waist down when he was 24. His injury has left him unable to work consistently. Though Aht cannot walk, he gets around in a wheelchair and, after refurbishing it so that he could use it with his disability, he also uses his old motorbike to travel from his home to Chiang Mai when he needs to come to Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai University Hospital for various treatments. After hearing about MAP from other Burmese migrants, Aht reached out for help. Since then, MAP has advocated for Aht and helped pay for his treatments, which includes his most recent surgery. During this hospital visit, Aht needed to have skin grafts placed on his abdomen and his hips because his intestines and hip bones were exposed as a result of severe pressure sores. Aht’s procedure was completed about two weeks ago, and he should be discharged from the hospital after his grafts have had sufficient time to heal, in about one month. The total cost will come out to be about 100,000 baht; however, MAP has been aidiing Aht through funds from the crisis support agency to reduce hospital costs and put Aht on a payment plan. #GlobeMedStories #GlobalHealth #HumansOfMyanmarInThailand

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Sai Kham

05.24.2018

Sai Kham is a middle-aged Burmese migrant who was brought to Nakornping Hospital after being injured in a motorcycle accident on his way to work. He shattered his knee and needed intensive surgery. After a month long recovery process, he was improving, but still unable to walk without help. MAP was called to help decrease confusion because Sai only speaks Burmese. There was further confusion because he was giving inconsistent information about his home address and where his documents to stay in the country are supposedly located. Sai also claimed that he had family in the area; however, during his month-long stay in the hospital, he had not received any visitors. This, along with the other inconsistencies in his stories led the staff to wonder if he had a serious head injury or if he was lying to protect himself and/or his family.

Unfortunately, this situation is not uncommon in Thai hospitals that treat Burmese migrants because the migrants are often worried about the possibility of deportation. This worry delayed Sai’s discharge, along with the fact that he needed to commit to a payment plan that would require him to pay about 100,000 baht to cover the stay and procedures.

Gaew Chai, the representative from MAP, explained that many people do not pay off the contract because they cannot afford it, and there is little legal action taken against those who do not pay. Due to the inconsistencies in the stories, the possibility of a head injury, and Sai’s inability to pay for his hospital bills, this case is filled with ambiguity. Despite the ambiguities, Gaew Chai has been advocating for Sai by talking to the hospital about decreasing the medical costs, acting as a translator between the hospital and Sai, and trying to find Sai’s family and home so that he has someone and somewhere to return to.

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05.28.2018 In late May, a migrant family from Myanmar brought their four month old daughter into a hospital for treatment of an unknown illness. Her lips were dark and her skin clammy, but doctors found that she did not have a fever. Though the family had visited the hospital to get help, the inspection the doctor did was extremely brief, and they moved on quickly to work on a case that they deemed more important. Before leaving, the doctor assured the parents that the baby was in good health and that she was most likely just tired. An intern at MAP explained that hospitals in Chiang Mai are often understaffed. Many individuals at a disadvantage, but migrants experience further barriers to proper care that extend beyond monetary setbacks. Due to this trend, many migrant families are not provided with the necessary medical attention they seek. Babies are especially overlooked since they can be so difficult to diagnose. Soon after the hospital visit, the baby passed away from an unknown cause, leaving her family heartbroken and confused. Both the parents and their long-time employer wanted to know the cause of death and to see if the hospital had any role in misdiagnosing their daughter. On the day of the funeral, hospital representatives went to the temple to answer any questions that the family had and to help identify the cause of death. MAP Foundation, Thailand was called in by the hospital for crisis support to come to the funeral as a conduit for communication in case any language barrier existed. However, the father was fluent in Thai and was able to easily talk to the hospital representatives. After talking amongst themselves, the baby’s father decided not to charge the hospital but still wanted to know the cause of death. The funeral was rescheduled for another day, and the baby was taken back to the hospital in order to determine her cause of death. The baby’s death was sudden and tragic for the community. However, it is clear that the family was not given help and support from the hospital in their time of need, which comes from a deeper problem that is rooted in the hospital system itself.

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Having spent 15 years with MAP Foundation, Toom Mawk Harn strongly advocates for the power of knowledge as the MAP Multimedia (MMM) Director. Before coming to Chiang Mai in 2000, Harn remembers listening to MAP Radio in Yangon. He became a volunteer for the NGO by day and market vendor by night two years later, working on HIV education and the Shan Media Project (now MMM). Although he has since left the HIV project, he is still passionate about educating migrants, now on a wider array of topics from documentation to medical services. His favorite part of directing MMM is broadcasting on Radio Thailand twice a week so that accurate and updated information reaches the greater migrant community. His other responsibilities include collecting program data, overlooking activities, and writing reports.

Harn believes the constant policy changes and impracticalities hurt migrants the most. They often seem effective on paper yet are impossible in reality due to time constraints or documents been burnt down with former migrant homes from military attacks. Still, he remains optimistic for the future of migrants in Thailand by promoting education to the migrants, his son, and himself. Even in his free time, Harn reads history books, keeps up with current events, and teaches his 3-year-old son English.

Harn is resigning from his position in August and is hoping to continue his university education and work for another NGO in the future. While he is leaving MAP Foundation, he believes his time spent here broadened his skill set and perspective of the world as it’s dissolved his former discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS and transformed him into an advocate for all. We are sad to see him go, but wish him the best of luck in continuing his love for knowledge and people!

Photographed by GlobeMed at Emory

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Ying Horm is the Women’s Exchange Program organizer and the case manager on gender based violence (GBV) at the MAP Foundation. The Women’s Exchange Program was created in 1999 as a safe space where Burmese migrant and refugee women of different ethnicities and backgrounds come together to share their experiences and learn from each other; today, there are 20 locations along the Thai-Burma border where the meetings occur. Some of Ying Horm’s work responsibilities include: organize Women’s Exchange meetings in 12 areas around Thailand; communicate and assist in GBV cases that involve working closely with the police, hospitals, the children’s protection department and the migrant workers; broadcast a radio program every Friday on women’s health issues and current migrant policy in Thailand; and provide legal counseling through MAP phone calls. She left Myanmar 13 years ago because the civil war in her village created poor economic situations in which she could not find a job after high school or hope to go to university. After coming to Thailand and working various jobs, in which she suffered unfair labor treatment, Ying Horm decided to work at MAP and use her language skills in order to help other migrants that have been mistreated as well. She has been working at MAP for about 7 years. She also believes one of the biggest obstacles grassroots organizations face misunderstandings about progress, since new migrants arrive in Thailand every day that are in need. Ying Horm hopes to see a women’s trade union one day, and she wants to continue raising awareness about migrant policy and women’s rights. When she’s not working, Ying Horm enjoys spending time with her twin sons, and she’s currently pursuing a university degree.

Photographed by GlobeMed at Emory

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“My favorite part of working at MAP is that I became the one who can help other migrants now by being able to use the experience and knowledge I gained.”

Sai Kaew Kae Sur has been working at MAP for 17 years in a program called Crisis Support. MAP’s crisis support provides aid, such as help navigating governmental and healthcare systems, translation, and home visits, for migrants facing crisis. Kaew Kae moved to Thailand 20 years ago because of the poor economic, social, and political situations faced in Myanmar. In the past, Kaew Kae received MAP support as a patient, so he started volunteering at MAP to help other migrants, and eventually became part of the MAP staff after MAP received funding for health cases. Some of his responsibilities at MAP include: to provide legal counseling to migrants and patients, arrange for patients to be accommodated in hospitals and receive proper procedures, facilitate communication for patients, and broadcast healthcare issues and policy on the MAP radio program. According to Kaew Kae, one of the biggest obstacles MAP faces is insufficient funding and a limited budget, so there is only so much Crisis Support can do to help migrant patients. Moreover, he says migrants in Thailand face obstacles, such as inadequate access to information concerning health care access, patients’ rights, hospital rules, and travel rules as well as other migrant policy. Kaew Kae is well-known and trusted among migrant communities in Chiang Mai. He believes the most important things he does are raising awareness about migrant and health care issues and inspiring confidence and support networks among communities. Kaew Kae hopes to keep working as long as MAP is running, since there are always new migrants and patients in need every day. 

Photographed by GlobeMed at Emory

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Pictured above are Nai Boy, 26, and his four-year-old daughter. Ten years ago when his parents divorced, Nai Boy left Myanmar and came to Thailand to find a job and have a better life. On New Year’s of 2015, he was in a motorcycle accident and was not able to be compensated since his motorcycle did not have any warranty. After his accident, Nai Boy was admitted to the hospital for 4 months, and was told he would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Every two weeks, he must get his urine bag changed at the Hang Dong hospital, and he occasionally goes in for physical therapy. Nai Boy is no longer able to work, so his wife supports the family and pays rent, school fees, and her husband’s medical fees. MAP helps provide transportation and translation services for Nai Boy during his hospital visits. Despite everything, his daughter gives him hope and she is the apple of his eyes.

Photographed by GlobeMed at Emory

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“The most difficult part was being trapped in a room desperately thinking about how to escape but having no one to help or trust.”

Pictured above is 48-year-old Goa Aun-Mi, a Burmese survivor of human trafficking. Eight years ago he worked in Moe Doa while living with his wife and their two children. His family was experiencing financial troubles, so he discussed with his wife about finding a better job; his wife suggested he go to Bangkok with a man she knew. At the time, his wife was having an affair with a broker, and they both decided to sell her husband into human trafficking in order to earn 12,000 baht (about $340). When he left with the broker, he was trafficked into a fishery in the Simon Moe market. After the broker was paid the sum, Goa Aun Mi was locked in a room and kept there for a month since he refused to work for them. Later, another broker bought him out for 40,000 baht (about $1,1333) to hire him to be a cook on a boat. He worked on the ship for about a month, and after gaining their trust, he planned his escape. When they arrived at a village, he ran away in the night. He ran for five hours, mainly on railways, so that they would not be able to catch him. He’s been in Thailand for 12 years and works in agriculture in Mae Sot. As a free man, Goa Aun-Mi goes back to his village every year and has the opportunity to visit his children. When asked about his wife, he was not particularly open to answering; however, he seemed happy when recalling visiting his children. Overall, he had a serious personality, but gladly shared his story with us. Goa Aun-Mi omitted details about abuse and pain. He has been through a lot, but he still has the courage and motivation to keep on fighting.

Photographed by GlobeMed at Emory