Background
Throughout 2002 large numbers of people continued to leave
Burma to seek work abroad. Approximately ten percent of Burma’s population
migrates to other countries, according to a report Migration, Needs, Issues
and Responses in the Greater Mekong Subregion 2002, by the Asian
Migrant Center. People leave Burma for a number of reasons. Rampant inflation, a
deteriorating economy and general lack of employment and educational
opportunities are factors that cause many people to emigrate. In addition to
these hardships, many people living in rural areas are forced to pay heavy taxes
to local officials and the military and to sell a large percentage of their
crops to the government at below-market prices. For these reasons, many Burmese
view their migration as less of a decision than an economic necessity.
Photo By: Maesai Grace Church
Maesai Grace Church holding the community health training for Burmese Migrant Workers
Ethnic minority people living in civil war zones often have
no choice about emigrating, as they are forced to flee their homes to avoid
brutal campaigns of violence against them by the Burmese Military. Every year
thousands of people flee across the border, primarily into Thailand, to escape
these human rights violations which include mass forced relocation, arbitrary
arrest, torture, rape, and extra-judicial killing. Some of these people are able
to seek asylum in refugee camps in Thailand and Bangladesh, however many of
those fleeing human rights violations are not recognized as refugees by the Thai
and Bangladeshi Governments. These individuals are left with the choice of
trying to enter refugee camps illegally or else trying to survive as migrant
workers.
Photo By: Maesai Grace Church
Awareness Training of Migrant Education Program
Migration from Burma is facilitated by the fact that 7 of
Burma’s 14 States and Divisions share borders with neighboring countries. In the
west, Burma borders Bangladesh and India, in the north and northeast China, and
in the east Laos and Thailand. In a 1999 report by Save the Children UK,
Small Dreams Beyond Reach: The Lives of Migrant Children and Youth Along the
Borders of China, Myanmar, and Thailand, the authors note that in the past
ten years the largest flow of migrants in the Mekong region has been
concentrated along the borders of China, Burma and Thailand, with Burmese people
making up the largest percentage of the population migrating. The report goes on
to note that while China, India, Bangladesh and Thailand have collectively
reported hosting over two million Burmese migrants, the actual population of
people from Burma living in these countries is likely to be much higher. However
it is extremely difficult to obtain accurate estimates as to the number of
Burmese working abroad, as many are illegal, and the population as a whole is
highly mobile. In addition, some migrant groups are ethnically similar to
indigenous populations of neighboring countries, making them difficult to
identify as non-natives.
Photo By: Maesai Grace Church
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