Bangkok a haven for Asian migrants

By Kate McGeown
BBC News, Bangkok

From early childhood, Bo knew what she wanted to do with her life - leave her Burmese village and cross the border to Thailand.

Migrants are constructing Bangkok's many new buildings

"There are no jobs and nothing to do where I come from. My only option was to move here," said Bo, who arrived in Bangkok at the age of 18.

She is far from alone in her desire to come to Thailand.

The government estimates that 2.3 million migrants are now living in the country - though given the difficulties of documenting illegal workers, the actual figure could be much higher.

Many are based in the capital, Bangkok, which is rapidly becoming known as one of the world's major hubs for migrant workers.

Some are skilled professionals - mainly from Western countries, Japan, China and India. Given the relatively inexpensive cost of living, they can live at a standard of luxury that is beyond their reach back home.

But the vast majority are from Thailand's poorer neighbours - Burma, Laos and Cambodia.

According to Supang Chantavanich, at the Asian Research Centre for Migration in Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, these migrants are Thailand's "invisible" workforce - the people who build Bangkok's many new skyscrapers as well as cook, clean and work in the fisheries and rubber plantations.

I'm still afraid, all the time, that I'll be found and sent back Bo

Unlike in the West, where migrants are often accused of taking jobs away from local people or draining the public purse by living off social security, there is a broad recognition that migrant workers in Thailand have an important role to play.

"These people are cheap labour, and a lot of employers see them as very hardworking," said Chris Lom, from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

"There is also very little evidence that they're taking jobs away from Thais, because the jobs they're doing aren't the kind of jobs Thais want anyway."

But despite the evident benefits, migrants can often be the first people blamed when things go wrong.

Burmese communities were frequently accused of looting in the aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami, despite little evidence. According to Mrs Supang, outbreaks of dengue fever are also often blamed on migrants.

'Like a slum'

With no minimum wage, and no protective legislation, life for unskilled migrant workers is far from easy.

Mrs Supang recently visited a Bangkok construction site which is almost exclusively staffed by Cambodians, who have been living for years in temporary shelters with no adequate system of sanitation.

Many young girls from northern Thailand end up as sex workers

"Living standards there are very basic - it's like a slum," she said.

Illegal workers have an additional problem - trying to avoid being sent back to where they came from.

"The police caught me once, and took me to the border, but I managed to escape back to Bangkok," said Bo, who works as a live-in maid.

Despite these problems, the vast majority of migrants choose to stay in Thailand - mainly for economic reasons, but also, in the case of the Burmese, because of the repressive military regime back home.

"I am still afraid, all the time, that I'll be found and sent back," said Bo. "But if I am, I'll just come straight back here."

Another challenge facing all migrants is assimilation into the Thai lifestyle.

According to Mr Lom, Lao nationals find this the easiest, as their culture and language is the most similar to that of Thais.

As is the case throughout the world, migrants to Thailand also bring their own cultures with them.

Mrs Supang spoke of attending a Khmer wedding at the construction site she visited, and different parts of Bangkok reflect the different migrant communities: there is a vibrant Chinatown and even an Arab quarter.

Many people are eager to leave Burma for Thailand

"When I left Myanmar (Burma) I thought I'd never experience the Burmese way of living again," said Bo. "But I've seen people from every part of the country here, and I've learnt a lot about my own people even though I'm not there anymore."

'Overwhelmed'

In many ways, the bright lights of Bangkok can seem just as alien to the huge waves of people from the poorer areas of the south and the north-west of Thailand, as it can to Cambodians or Burmese.

"When I first came here, I was overwhelmed," said one girl from the region of Isaan. "It was nothing like I'd experienced before."

The girl, who did not want to give her name, is a sex worker in one of Bangkok's many brothels and nightclubs - a common place of employment for young girls arriving in Bangkok.

"I didn't feel there were any other jobs I could do when I got here," she said.

"I was new to Bangkok, I didn't know the city and I didn't know how to find any other work."

Various organisations are trying to change this - so that the city's new residents have the information they need to make informed choices.

"We're trying to propose a hotline so that people can call if they need help," said Mrs Supang's colleague Premjai Vungsiriphisal.

"It would also be good to give people information on how, where and when they can get work, as well as details on how to protect themselves."

It seems a sensible approach to take. Like it or not, migrants are becoming an increasingly important part of Bangkok's social fabric - and ensuring they fit in will not only help the migrants, but will also help everyone in Thailand live peacefully together.