Burmese Migrants in Thailand

Burmese Migrants in Thailand http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html There are millions of Burmese living in Thailand. Many are political refugees fleeing Myanmar, home to one of the most corrupt, repressive regimes on the planet, a kleptocracy in every sense of the word. Others are economic refugees trying to make a better life for themselves in Thailand, which has a much stronger economy than Myanmar (Burma). Many live in the refugee camps that dot the Thai-Burma border but most live in the shadows in Thailand as undocumented immigrants. Working without papers, hoping everyday to avoid discovery and deportation back to Burma. These photos were made in the Burmese migrant community in Mae Sot, Thailand across the Moei River from Myawaddy, Myanmar. For more on the situation in Burma visit these web sites: The Amnesty International Myanmar page. Irrawaddy Magazine - a pro democracy magazine covering Burma and Southeast Asia. The New Era Journal - a pro democracy newspaper for Burmese emigres. (Much of this site is in Burmese but they have English pages.) The Bamboo School helps Burmese refugee children in Kanchanaburi province. The Thai Burma Border Coalition - a clearing house for information on refugees. The Mae Tao Clinic is an amazing hospital that helps Burmese refugees and migrants. These photos, and others, are available from ZUMA. Welcome to Thailand. Burmese migrants arrive illegally in Thailand on inner tubes called “Tiger Wheels” because of the distinctive stripes, which are actually handles passengers grip. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#0 c88335e9-a8af-48f7-8936-2907847d2e03 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesQ.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesQ.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_2">Welcome to Thailand. Burmese migrants arrive illegally in Thailand on inner tubes called “Tiger Wheels” because of the distinctive stripes, which are actually handles passengers grip.</p></div></div> Thai soldiers watch Burmese border crossers using the legal crossing point on the Thai - Myanmar Friendship Bridge. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#1 aa1dc819-9e3d-48d2-b569-5dc7bf4cd601 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesR.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesR.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_3">Thai soldiers watch Burmese border crossers using the legal crossing point on the Thai - Myanmar Friendship Bridge. </p></div></div> Say Say is the son Pado Mahn Shar, the General Secretary of the Karen National Union, Burma’s largest separatist group. Mahn Shar was assassinated by government agents on Valentines’s Day, 2008. Say Say, in front of the Karen flag, said the Karen struggle for justice would continue. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#2 292239fa-9dcd-49f7-9adb-49a886494ace http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesA.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesA.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_4">Say Say is the son Pado Mahn Shar, the General Secretary of the Karen National Union, Burma’s largest separatist group. Mahn Shar was assassinated by government agents on Valentines’s Day, 2008. Say Say, in front of the Karen flag, said the Karen struggle for justice would continue.</p></div></div> The shanties are on the Burmese side of the border. Migrants stand right on the border and sell smuggled cigarettes and liquor from their side of the line. Their customers line up on the Thai side. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#3 d1861737-c6b4-46bd-8e4f-ca50cec6683a http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesP.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesP.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_3">The shanties are on the Burmese side of the border. Migrants stand right on the border and sell smuggled cigarettes and liquor from their side of the line. Their customers line up on the Thai side. </p></div></div> A Thai immigration truck takes a load of migrants back to border for repatriation to Burma. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#4 c7347e8a-6f0c-4d8e-999e-6e5f519c7832 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesO.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesO.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_3">A Thai immigration truck takes a load of migrants back to border for repatriation to Burma.</p></div></div> A Burmese gemstone seller conducts business on a Mae Sot street. Gems are smuggled out of Burma and sold openly on the streets of Mae Sot. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#5 76dfda29-2b8b-4ba4-879f-4260860f6543 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesM.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesM.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_3">A Burmese gemstone seller conducts business on a Mae Sot street. Gems are smuggled out of Burma and sold openly on the streets of Mae Sot. </p></div></div> A Burmese noodle seller in the Burmese market in Mae Sot. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#6 9e806a71-14e7-4baa-abde-65ff2a246806 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesF.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesF.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_5">A Burmese noodle seller in the Burmese market in Mae Sot. </p></div></div> Like migrants everywhere, the Burmese have brought their culture with them. In this case, their teahouse culture. This is a small teahouse near Mae Sot. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#7 cb11ec7f-c1a3-4d6d-8256-228097bc0584 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesC.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesC.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_3">Like migrants everywhere, the Burmese have brought their culture with them. In this case, their teahouse culture. This is a small teahouse near Mae Sot. </p></div></div> A Burmese woman and her child look away from a TV set playing a video smuggled out of Burma. It was a video of the October, 2007, crackdown on the monks and showed the monks being beaten by Burmese soldiers. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#8 96732d8e-ed1c-4334-8a4d-2d2fc739eaef http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesB.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesB.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_6">A Burmese woman and her child look away from a TV set playing a video smuggled out of Burma. It was a video of the October, 2007, crackdown on the monks and showed the monks being beaten by Burmese soldiers. </p></div></div> Men reading a Burmese emigre newspaper in Mae Sot. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#9 b99c7038-66a7-4592-a569-cdf087f70cf6 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesD.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesD.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_5">Men reading a Burmese emigre newspaper in Mae Sot. </p></div></div> A garment factory owned by a Thai man that employs Burmese migrants. They work 13 hours a day and make less than $5 a day. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#10 bebe6f94-d289-46b5-9b3c-1bae47ee199d http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesG.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesG.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_3">A garment factory owned by a Thai man that employs Burmese migrants. They work 13 hours a day and make less than $5 a day.</p></div></div> A worker in the garment factory. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#11 9a221400-0b97-4ef4-a032-0d7bdf0bf7d4 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesH.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesH.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_5">A worker in the garment factory. </p></div></div> A garment worker eats his lunch alone in the living space he shares with six other workers. The factory owner provides the housing and bribes Thai immigration authorities to stay off his property. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#12 9893cbe2-8d0b-4fd5-b28c-2fe347ffd876 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesE.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesE.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_3">A garment worker eats his lunch alone in the living space he shares with six other workers. The factory owner provides the housing and bribes Thai immigration authorities to stay off his property. </p></div></div> The poorest of the poor live and work in the Mae Sot dump. This man was reading a paper while comforting his child. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#13 e6050617-c04a-43f2-a9ca-8b1fea55feb6 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesI.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesI.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_7">The poorest of the poor live and work in the Mae Sot dump. This man was reading a paper while comforting his child. </p></div></div> Burmese migrants pick through garbage looking for items they can sell in Mae Sot. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#14 91a612f6-81b5-4bc7-9668-cac1a5e3d955 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesJ.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesJ.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_7">Burmese migrants pick through garbage looking for items they can sell in Mae Sot. </p></div></div> The children of the garbage pickers have their own school next to the dump. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#15 51fd742f-7bee-497c-ac66-24decf86f6b7 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesK.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesK.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_7">The children of the garbage pickers have their own school next to the dump. </p></div></div> Burmese farm workers plant corn on a hillside about 20 miles from Mae Sot. One farm worker said if it wasn’t for the Burmese the Thais wouldn’t get anything made or planted. About 100,000 Burmese live illegally around Mae Sot. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#16 82ed7202-42f9-466c-9e04-dce41685d4fe http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesL.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/BurmeseRefugeesL.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_4">Burmese farm workers plant corn on a hillside about 20 miles from Mae Sot. One farm worker said if it wasn’t for the Burmese the Thais wouldn’t get anything made or planted. About 100,000 Burmese live illegally around Mae Sot.</p></div></div> This Burmese child is two years old and weighs about 12 pounds. His parents brought him to the Mae Tao clinic, run by Dr. Cynthia Maung, a Burmese exile, hoping the boy could be helped. http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand.html#17 128193f0-b5bc-4cf8-8f6d-a6164ffe8018 http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/Malnutrition.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/kurtzjack/jacks_joint/Burmese_Migrants_in_Thailand_files/Media/Malnutrition.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_203_113"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="paragraph_style_3">This Burmese child is two years old and weighs about 12 pounds. His parents brought him to the Mae Tao clinic, run by Dr. Cynthia Maung, a Burmese exile, hoping the boy could be helped. </p></div></div>