This is not a life Burmese choose
Source : Maung Tint Tae, Melbourne (Bangkok Post)
Now that the hostage crisis has died down, the question that seems to arise is why did this happen? This is very complex.
Unfortunately this issue has been grossly simplified. There have been articles that simply blame Burmese illegal immigrants and refugees.
The vast majority of Burmese don't choose to live in Thailand. Few illegal workers would choose to take Thailand's worst jobs and be paid below minimum wages. Refugees don't choose to live in camps on the border, or spend time in the Immigration Detention Centre. The point is that there is no choice.
Thailand has shown a great deal of compassion to the estimated one million Burmese in the country. It is urgent now that this compassion be sustained.
Scapegoating Burmese immigrants will not solve any of the issues. For the majority of Burmese, deportation means imprisonment, torture or worse. The issue is dictatorship in Burma and a regime that commits mass crimes against its people.
The Thai media should never blame any nationality or marginalised group such as immigrants. This is just creating greater misunderstanding between Thai and Burmese, and inciting hatred. Readers deserve better journalism than this.