MAHACHAI, Thailand — Long a fighter against oppression inside Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi has used her first foreign trip in 24 years to fight for her countrymen suffering abroad — millions of economic migrants unable to work at home but vulnerable to exploitation elsewhere.
On Thursday, she pressed her concerns about the millions of Myanmar migrants living in Thailand in a meeting with the country’s deputy prime minister. And for a second straight day, she addressed throngs of migrants in Mahachai, a town southwest of Bangkok that hosts more migrants from Myanmar than any other place in Thailand.
“She can’t force the Thai government to do anything, but she can speak on our behalf better than anybody else,” said Win Aung, who lost his hand in an accident at a Thai-run shoe factory and is still fighting to obtain employer compensation for it a year and a half later.
“She’s the best hope we have for things to change,” the 31-year-old said.
Myanmar’s sputtering economy, in ruins after half a century of military rule and years of harsh Western sanctions, has forced millions of people to seek jobs abroad. Many crossed the borders illegally to work low-skilled jobs for long hours at pay below their Thai counterparts. They typically lack health and social security benefits too, and complain of not being paid on public holidays.
Still, many make more than they would back home, and despite the hardships are keen to be employed. Jobs are severely lacking in Myanmar, which lags far behind the rest of bustling Asia.
Thailand alone hosts about 2.5 million migrant workers from Myanmar, and they are believed to make up 5 percent to 10 percent of the Thai workforce. Most work in industries such as fisheries or construction, in garment factories or as domestic servants. Up to a million of them lack work permits.
On Thursday, Suu Kyi called on Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubumrung to ensure that Thai businessmen do not exploit her countrymen. She recounted familiar stories of abuse, saying employers confiscate passports and other documents illegally to prevent workers from quitting for better-paid jobs. She also complained of the inadequate treatment they receive when injured at work.
Chalerm acknowledged those problems exist but said “those who are registered to work legally will receive good welfare, like the universal health care scheme, and taken care of.”
