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Bangkok, Thailand- When the first case of COVID-19 was found in the border town of Mae Sot in Thailand in April last year, *Hnin Hnin was able to keep her migrant children’s school open, spend her morning as usual, and draw words and games on it for her five-year-old The student looks at a big white board.
At that time, the number of infections and deaths remained in the single digits. Hnin Hnin, a teacher from Myanmar, was cautiously optimistic that the epidemic would end soon. Her school is operated with assistance from a local charity organization and has received a large amount of donated food, hygiene products and masks.
But a year later, the outbreak caused by the highly contagious Delta variant caused infections in factories in the area to spiral upward, the hospitals were overwhelmed, and the provinces along the Thai-Myanmar border were blocked for a long time, and Hnin Hnin’s school was forced to close.
“A lot of people are starting to die,” she told Al Jazeera. “A lot of my friends have died. It spread very fast, and now many areas in Mae Sot are infected.”
When Hnin Hnin’s friend and her teacher and colleague fell ill with COVID-19 in July, the virus broke out very close to home. When her condition worsened, her friends tried to go to the hospital but were refused-they said they did not have a bed for her. When she tried to ask for help to reach her home, no one came.
“She didn’t get help from the Thai government,” Hnin Hnin said, adding that paramedics only responded to calls from Thai nationals. Hnin Hnin’s friend finally passed away at home at the end of July.
“She is just one of my many friends who are sick.”
‘The real solution’
The latest wave of outbreaks shook Thailand, pushing COVID-19 cases to nearly 1.3 million, and the recorded death toll exceeded 13,000. Thailand reports at least 15,000 cases every day, with an average of about 175 deaths every day-while last year’s figures were few cases per day and very few deaths.
With the proliferation of COVID-19, organizations working at the border said that thousands of immigrants and more than 90,000 refugees there are facing a series of challenges, such as not being able to access health care related to the coronavirus. Experts say that as factories and workplaces are closed again, their livelihoods are also threatened, which has a knock-on effect on the mental health of many migrant workers.
Hnin Hnin now faces the possibility of closing the school for a few months.
“With the blockade, people started to lose jobs and money,” Hin Hin told Al Jazeera. “At first we relied on donated money, but it has been used up.”
Hnin Hnin used to earn about 3,000 baht (100 US dollars) per month. But now, she can hardly afford enough food. She feels responsible for the students and is worried about their safety, hoping that they will not encounter trouble in class.
“I really hope that migrant workers’ schools can start as soon as possible,” she said. “Because now many children are forced to work or live on the streets.”
On March 18, 2021, Thai border guards patrol the Myanmar border in Mae Sot, Thailand [File: Soe Zeya Tun/ Reuters]
Myanmar migrant workers register for testing at a COVID-19 clinic in Pathum Thani, northern Bangkok, on January 10, 2021 [File: Lillian Suwanrumpha/ AFP]After a surge in cases in several factories in late June, the authorities in Mae Sot imposed COVID-19 restrictions on the area. According to the Bangkok Post, more than half of the workers (452 people) in the three factories were confirmed to have COVID-19 that month. After the factory broke out, the governor of the region ordered the closure of these three factories.
Then in July, local authorities imposed a night curfew on the surrounding Da province, banning people from leaving their homes after 8pm. The Post also reported that migrant workers are not allowed to move between districts unless permission is obtained from the head of the Mae Sot district.
In addition to the increased restrictions, Hnin Hnin’s community has almost no access to vaccines, exposing them to the virus. When the Thai people around her began to vaccinate, she wondered why her entire community was excluded.
Al Jazeera has repeatedly requested government spokespersons on the issue of border immigrants not being able to obtain vaccines. No official responded.
“The lockdown contained COVID-19, but the immigrants did not receive any financial assistance to survive those periods when they lost their income. Vaccines are the real solution,” said Braham Press, head of the MAP Foundation, a non-governmental organization , Aimed at enhancing the capacity of Myanmar immigrant communities living and working in Thailand. “However, for immigrants, access to any vaccine is problematic. A small number of immigrants let employers provide vaccination, but most people have to pay for the service.”
Bram said that without adequate protection and income, the current situation is damaging the mental health of immigrants. He added that many migrant workers have been heavily in debt, trying to survive the previous wave of economic shocks.
‘Worry about my family’
Thailand is the source, destination, and transit country of the immigrant population in Southeast Asia. According to data from the International Organization for Migration, the kingdom has four land borders with Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. Today, an estimated 4 to 5 million immigrants from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and other regional countries work in Thailand. Refugees and displaced persons are also constantly crossing the Myanmar border in search of safety. The coup in Myanmar on February 1 brought a new wave of people fleeing the country.
With the increase in COVID-19 cases, nine camps along the border are also facing lockdowns. This is accompanied by restrictions on movement, affecting the flow of resources such as food and medicine.
* Lily is a 23-year-old refugee who is now working in Mae Sot. She said she is worried about her family in Umpiem Mai refugee camp where she grew up.
“I am worried about my family. I hope they can get vaccinated because they are older and my mother has a chronic disease,” Li said. “She is not in good health. My parents can’t go to work, sometimes they don’t have money to buy food. I send money as soon as I have time.”
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) stated that immigrants and refugees must be fully included in the government’s COVID-19 response, including treatment of the disease and its vaccine distribution plan.
“COVID-19 affects everyone, and Thailand’s POC (persons of concern) has the same risk of contracting and spreading the virus as the local population,” said Morgane Roussel Hemery, Deputy External Relations Officer, UNHCR. “The POC may be particularly vulnerable because they may face the challenges of meeting basic needs, obtaining information about COVID-19, and obtaining hygiene products or medical support.”
In June, Thai authorities closed and cordoned off more than 600 construction camps in Bangkok, where more than 80,000 migrant workers live. They were not allowed to leave their homes and were effectively imprisoned. After COVID-19 clusters were discovered in immigrant communities, government officials raised safety issues.
“Most immigrants get paid every day. If they don’t work, they won’t get paid. For some people who are locked in the factory compound, they may get some food support,” said Shah, executive director of the Border Alliance. Lee Thompson said that the organization provides food, shelter and other forms of support to refugees from Myanmar. “For others living outside the compound, the situation is more difficult. If they have family members to take care of, the burden will increase.”
The decision to isolate large numbers of migrants has led to widespread distrust of the authorities, and many migrant workers said they feel they have been abused by the Thai government.
In Mae Sot, Hnin Hnin is worried that her students will not be able to receive education and that more people may die without vaccines and medical care.
“The problem is, if you are Thai, you can get the vaccine for free,” she said.
“For immigrants, even if we pay, we can’t get it. I think some people will die if they don’t get any health care services.”
Additional reporting by Linn Let Arkar.
For privacy and security considerations, the names of all immigrants have been changed to protect their identities.
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