By ANDY HALL
The Irrawady
Around 2 million migrant workers from Burma, Cambodia and Laos currently live in Thailand. Many have underground lives. These migrants contribute greatly to the economy and remain an untapped source of cultural and spiritual vitality that can enrich and diversify Thai society. Instead, they are often viewed as commodities or a national security threat.
Many of these workers follow the river of life wherever it takes them. From poorer to richer lands, from less to more developed countries, from war to peace, from dictatorships to democracies, from old to new experiences, and —most importantly—from supply to demand.
Consecutive Thai governments have sought to manage irregular migration flows from neighboring countries into Thailand. Policy makers have considered primarily the short term needs of the economy, relying on yearly Cabinet decisions. So it was that work permits for more than 60,000 migrants, almost all from Burma, were set to expire in January before the Cabinet considered the issue.
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