Heard two stories several weeks back that has had got me thinking. Sad stories about people desperate for a better life, desperate for the chance to work hard and provide for their families.
Story #1 A Thai tourist bus was stopped near Ayuthaya Thailand only 1.5 hours from Bangkok. When the police stopped the bus they arrested 52 Burmese nationals who had entered Thailand illegally. Each person had paid 25000 baht to be transported to Bangkok by people smugglers, that is around $1000 CAD, a fortune for people without jobs Many, probably most of the 52 people would have had to borrow the money. Now they still do not have jobs, and also face criminal charges and have a huge debt to be paid off.
Story #2 A large vegetable truck was stopped and inspected just outside of Mae Sot by 1 of the 3 police check points on the highway heading from Mae Sot (border area) and Bangkok (city of 14 mlllion plus where the jobs are). The police searched under the vegetables where they found 52 Burmese people hidden in dangerous, near suffocating conditions. Everyone was arrested.
All these people wanted was jobs, the chance to work and better their lives. They, will take lower paying jobs no one else wants, they will take great risks (smuggling deaths are fairly common) and go in into great financial debt (the chance of physical and sexual abuse), simply because they want to work.
After meeting so many Burmese in the dump, and making so many friends, I keep thinking of the faces, the lives that were hidden under the vegetables in that truck. How much harder it must be for them now that they were arrested. They will head back to Burma and no doubt try again.
Note* I was told that it was likely the Thai police/immigration who had taken earlier bribes (Story#1), that most likely turned the people in (betrayed them). The bus had almost made it to Bangkok, so had somehow got past at least 3 police highway checkpoints. They would have had to bribe multiple people to get that far.
