Thailand Law Journal 2009 Spring Issue 1 Volume 12

Others who migrate to Thailand are drawn by the relative economic wealth of Thailand as compared to the lack of economic opportunities in Burma.

[I]t is hardly surprising that increasing numbers of Burmese, particularly members of border ethnic minorities, are migrating to Thailand.  Every day, Burmese leave to escape impoverishment and the lack of economic opportunity in their country, as well as looting, torture, forced labour, and rape by the Burmese military.  For most, the only option of migration is illegal flight over the closest border.  Concurrently, neighbouring countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and China are enjoying unprecedented rates of economic growth.  As there is an infinite demand for cheap labour in Thailand, Burmese people continue to flood across the border by the thousands. [FN73] The economic opportunities in Burma are so grim, and the lure of Thailand is so strong, that one young woman we work with in Burma regularly crosses the border to Thailand to work because of the lack of jobs in Burma. The irony is that she frequently pays more in border crossing fees than she makes in sale of trinkets to “wealthy” Thai tourists. Yet despite the loss of profit, her opportunities to make money on the Thai side are greater than the $2 per day she can expect on the Burmese side. While some may view this woman, and those like her, as voluntary economic migrants, they are in fact forced to migrate because of lack of economic choice or options in Burma. Even for those who are seeking improved economic opportunities and not fleeing direct abuse, severe economic hardship makes migration forced, not a choice. [FN74]

The forced and voluntary migration due to the human rights abuses in Burma, the lack of economic opportunities in Burma and the economic attraction of Thailand, combined with the lack of status in Thailand, make those who end up in Thailand vulnerable to trafficking or “voluntary” prostitution. Burmese women and girls, as well as men and boys, who flee to Thailand to escape abuse or economic oppression may find themselves trafficked in the process, both for sex and labor purposes. Childlife, a Thai NGO that works with trafficked and sexually-exploited children on both the Thai and Burmese sides of the border, demonstrates the relationship between migration from Burma and vulnerability to exploitation:

Most of the children in Childlife's project are from minority ethnic groups (mostly Akha) who live in both Thailand and Burma. Nearly all of them lived in the Burmese territory before leaving their villages due to the economic situation, human rights abuse, forced labour, violence and various other side effects of the war.

The war between Myanmar's army and the Shan South East (SSE) political party causes unspeakable suffering, especially for children.  Many of them have lost both parents and have no protection or support.  Some are misused by the army for trap searches or other extremely dangerous work.  Some earn money as drug couriers, as beggars, or in the sex trade.

Many drug-addicted parents are no longer able to take care of their children.  Kids leave their homes to try their luck in Thailand, the richer neighbouring country.  As a result, they are often lured into child labour, sex work, and theft.  They frequently become involved with drug trafficking, and often abuse drugs or other poisonous substances such as glue. [FN75]

1. Human Rights Push Factors

Human rights abuses, such as the ongoing civil war, militarization and the resulting poverty, as well as the use of rape as a systematic weapon of warfare, lead to migration from Burma and the concomitant vulnerability to trafficking.

The trafficking of women is also exacerbated by civil war.  The SPDC's fiscal policy, to expand the army at the cost of the development, has led to widespread poverty.  Women and girls, left with few employment opportunities, are either desperate to work or become commodities who will bring much-needed cash to their families or brokers.[FN76] The same report further states:

The phenomenon of trafficking, common to many developing countries where economic development is uneven, is intensified in Burma by civil war. Attempts to introduce liberalizing, open-market policies by the government of Burma in 1988 have been counteracted by the SPDC's action to nearly double the size of the armed forces over the past decade. The resulting economic crisis, in combination with the halt of international aid since the 1988 civil rights massacre and diversion of state funds away from the development of a social infrastructure, has forced the majority of the population to fend for themselves in whatever way they can.[FN77]

The systematic campaign of rape as a weapon of warfare is also directly linked to trafficking and sexual exploitation.  Women and girls use migration to Thailand as a way to escape the systematic rape and sexual abuse by SPDC soldiers. “[T]he well-documented brutality of the Burmese army is one of the primary reasons that women flee from rural areas to other countries.”  [FN78] However, many women and girls escape rape and sexual abuse by the SPDC only to find themselves facing abuse at the hands of Thai border and police officials or employers.

Many survivors decided to flee to Thailand after being raped.  However, the lack of recognition of Shan refugees in Thailand means these survivors have no protection, no access to humanitarian aid or counselling [sic] services.  They are thus vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking and are in constant danger of being deported into the hands of their abusers.[FN79]

Some have been forced to the conclusion that since sexual abuse is inevitable, they may as well be paid for it.  In the words of one Burmese sex worker in Thailand: “Victims often think that since they have already lost their virginity, it is better for them to work as a prostitute than being a sex object for soldiers, for they could earn money and send back to their parents in Burma.”[FN80] This is a dilemma that no one should have to face.

For many Burmese women, the “choice” to enter the sex industry is precipitated by the dire economic conditions in Burma, conditions created and exacerbated by the repressive regime. In any event, their participation can in no way be deemed willing, as all these women are presented with a false choice: engage in sex work or risk dire poverty, physical harm, or death, either at the hands of their agents or by the Burmese military. [FN81]

2. Economic Push Factors

The militarization, mismanagement, and corruption by the SPDC have caused a dire economic situation in Burma.  The majority of the population is impoverished and an estimated 25% of the people are living below the poverty level. [FN82] Many are forced to migrate internally and externally to find a livelihood. The “internal conflict in Burma has led to a devastated economic environment, creating fertile conditions for the trafficking of women on a widespread basis.” [FN83] According to one 2002 report on the situation of women in Burma, “[t]rafficking of girls and women is one of the most serious outcomes of poverty in conflict areas in Burma.” [FN84] Girls are forced to leave school to earn an income to support their families. Less than one-third of girls who enroll in primary school complete it, resulting in increased vulnerability to trafficking into exploitative work, including sex exploitation and other abuses by employers. [FN85]

[FN73]. Images Asia, supra note 52, at 19.

[FN74]. Somwong, supra note 67. See also Grace Chang, Redefining Agency: Feminist, Anti-imperialist Responses to Trafficking, Keynote Address at the Women's Studies Center, Chiang Mai University Regional Seminar: New Voices from the Mekong Region: Women in the Public Arena (Nov. 7, 2005) (arguing that virtually all migration today has economic, military or psychological coercion at its root).

[FN75]. Childlife Maesai, The Situation, http://www.childlife-maesai.org/home/the_situation.html#top (last visited Apr. 6, 2006).

[FN76]. Shadow Report, supra note 48, at 4.

[FN77]. Id. at 30.

[FN78]. Images Asia, supra note 52, at 14. See also Jam Juree, Peace Way Foundation, Trafficking: The Realities for Burmese Women, Burma Issues Newsletter, Nov. 2003, available at http:// www.burmaissues.org/En/Newsletter/BINews2003-11.php (“The oppressive polices of the SPDC (combined at times with demands made on them by ethnic armed groups) force many women to flee Burma to ensure their own physical safety and to improve the economic security of their family.”).

[FN79]. Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) & Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN), License to Rape: The Burmese Military Regime's Use of Sexual Violence in the Ongoing War in Shan State, Executive Summary (2002), available at http://www.shanland.org/resources/bookspub/humanrights/LtoR/index.html/view? searchterm=licence%20to%20rape.

[FN80]. Images Asia, supra note 52, at 17.

[FN81]. Situation of Women from Burma, supra note 64, at 5 (citing CEDAW art. 6).

[FN82]. Suwitra Wongwaree, The Lives of Burmese Women under Labour Conditions in Thailand: A Case Study of Burmese Women Labourers in a Clay Factory in Thung Dok Sub-district, Song Phi Nong District, Suphanburi Province, Presentation at the Women's Studies Center, Chiang Mai University Regional Seminar: New Voices from the Mekong Region: Women in the Public Arena (Nov. 7, 2005); U.S. CIA, supra note 61.

[FN83]. Shadow Report, supra note 48, at 27.

[FN84]. Id. at 36.

[FN85]. Nang Lao Liang Won, supra note 52.

This article is published with the kind permission of Christa Foster Crawford. The article originally appeared in Cardozo Journal of Law & Gender, Summer 2006 issue.