Desire and Permitted Movements of Person in Bangkok, Thailand: Reasons and Consequences - Coursework Example

Migration: desire and permitted movements of person in Bangkok, Thailand –reasons and consequences Introduction The phenomenon of migration encompasses several issues: some of these issues include Asylum, international trades, cross-border partnerships and so on. This report would be looking into the Asylum aspect of migration as it happens in Bangkok City, Thailand. The history of Thailand indicates that most of Thai people currently living in Bangkok now are migrants themselves; they came from towns and villages near and far to find homes in the new city 1. Therefore, they are not new to the incident of migration themselves: and this could have been responsible for the way the country handles the migration of other Asians into the country from other Asian nations like Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, China and Afghanistan. This report would consider the statistics of asylum seekers in Thailand according to the main nationalities and compared the total figure with other countries. Explanations about the desired and permitted movements in Bangkok would be looked into, and their reasons and consequences. 1. BBC, ‘Timeline: Thailand: A Chronology of Events’ (Asia-Pacific History 2008) accessed 28 February 2009. Rates of Acceptance of Asylum Seekers in Different Countries According to the United Nations, the numbers of refugees accepted by Thailand in the year 2005 is indicated below are as follows: Asylum applicants in Thailand during the year 2005--main origin (main nationalities during 2005) 2 Origin 2005 Myanmar 46,378 Cambodia 317 Lao Peoples Dem. Rep. 165 Nepal 100 China 67 The majority of refugees or asylum seekers in Thailand are from Myanmar. The political instability that has wrecked the country as the military Junta held on to power to prevent the democratic forces to operate has often resulted in the country being isolated by the rest of the world; hence, the country’s economy suffers and leads its citizens to seek for solace in Thailand. Commenting on the scanty number of asylum seekers from Cambodia and Laos may arise as result of frosty diplomatic relationship between the two countries and Thailand. Nepalese and Chinese Asylum seekers are always small in number because of their choices to seek abode in somewhere else, which is economically better Thailand. 2 . United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNCHR), ‘UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2005 online resources’ accessed on 28 February 2009 Comparing the acceptance of asylum seekers or refugees by Thailand with the other nations as shown in the chart 3 below, one would realize that Thailand has not opened its doors to many refugees as expected, because of its strategic location in Asia. The chart above revealed that Thailand even absorbs fewer refugees than Pakistan, Iran, Tanzanian, Chad and other countries it is economically better than. 3. Institute of Race Relations (IRR), ‘IRR Refugee Statistics 2005’, http://www.irr.org.uk/statistics/refugees.html accessed on 28 February 2009. Desired and Permitted Movements in Bangkok, Thailand The desire of every refugee in his/her country of host is absolute admission and integration that would necessitate unrestricted opportunities to carry out the following activities: Employment opportunities: It is the utmost dream of refugee to be able to secure a job with which he/she could earn a sizable income to take care of himself/herself and other members of family, if he/she is married. Business activities: Most refugees aspire to start their own small-scale business and utilize their skills or knowledge acquired from their countries. This is a first step to self-determination for some refugees. Access to health and other social benefits: Refugees often look up to the host nations for complete access to health and other social amenities without discrimination or denial. Education: The refugees as well as their children would like to have access to educational facilities, so as to produce kids that would be educationally competitive in the new environment they have found themselves. Several well-meaning organizations have stood up to fight for the actualization of the refugees’ desire. In U.K, Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees has organized several seminars and workshops that would enlighten the public about the significance of letting refugees enjoy enough freedom. The Centre has fought on different occasions for disabled asylum seekers and other refugees 4, realizing that giving them freedom would make their lives better. Permitted movements of asylum seekers in Bangkok What level of movements does Bangkok grant the refugees? The answer to this question may be simple: limited movements. The reason for this is not far-fetched: Thailand has never signed the United Nations Conventions on Refugees, hence the country’s clampdown on refugees, mostly Rohingyas4 from Myanmar whose movements are strictly controlled in Bangkok, as well as in other parts of the country. Sometimes, Thai police unleashed series of violence on these refugees in order to restrict their movements. This action has caused several outcries from Human Rights watchdogs worldwide, most especially the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. 4 Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees (ICAR), ‘ICAR Report November 2008’ accessed on 28 February 2009 5 Head Jonathan, ‘Jolie concern at Rohingya plight’ (BBC news 2009) accessed on 28 February 2009. Consequences of restricted movements of refugees in Bangkok Restricting the movements of refugees often has general consequences to both the host country and the refugees. In the case of Thailand, this incident has created a negative public perception of the refugees among the citizens. Most Thai citizens look at the refugees, mostly from Myanmar as unwanted, filthy intruders on their country’s psyche. This mutual distrust between the host citizens and the refugees has always led to disaffection between the two groups. On the side of the Thais, they refuse to integrate the refugees, to the extent of not giving jobs. Economically, Thailand stands to lose from unutilized workforce. And for the refugees, they seem to retaliate against their host by taking to crime and other heinous activities in Bangkok and other towns in Thailand. Their recourse to crime may have been born out of the desperation to find a source of livelihood for themselves and their children, if they have any. Conclusion From the foregoing, it is obvious that restricting the movements of refugees has both far-reaching implications for both the host country and the refugees or asylum seekers. 6 A Dworkin and S Gascoigne, ‘Hitting back’ Guardian (25 November 1999) accessed on 28 February 2009 Bibliography 1. BBC, ‘Timeline: Thailand: A Chronology of Events’ (Asia-Pacific History 2008) accessed 28 February 2009. 2. United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNCHR), ‘UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2005 online resources’ accessed on 28 February 2009 3. Institute of Race Relations (IRR), ‘IRR Refugee Statistics 2005’, http://www.irr.org.uk/statistics/refugees.html accessed on 28 February 2009. 4. Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees (ICAR), ‘ICAR Report November 2008’ accessed on 28 February 2009 5. Head Jonathan, ‘Jolie concern at Rohingya plight’ (BBC news 2009) accessed on 28 February 2009. 6. A Dworkin and S Gascoigne, ‘Hitting back’ Guardian (25 November 1999) accessed on 28 February 2009 Read More