Stateless citizens plead for citizenship

These girls, part of Grandma Yeed's sprawling family, lack access to education and healthcare because they do not hold a Thai ID card. They are now living a naked life.

Her first son decided to end his life as no employer dared to hire someone stateless. The second son followed suit, as his girlfriend's family rejected him for a similar reason.

"My father is indeed a Thai. He moved from Udon Thani and met my mother. They had children, but like many poor men, my parents didn't bother to report the births. So none of my brothers and sisters have birth certificates and we have been denied all rights that other Thais enjoy," Yeed said pathetically.

No one in her family  including more than 10 children and grandchildren - has an ID card. Without the card, she cannot get bank loans or special financial assistance from the government. The only document she has is a noncitizen's certificate. The family survives partially on food from a nearby temple and petty jobs, while their shack is built on land belonging to a relative.

Yeed, now 60, was in Bangkok last week as a case from a social network whose main objective is to return Thais their citizenship.

People who lack nationality like Yeed find it difficult or impossible to engage in activities that citizens take for granted. Funded by Chumchonthai Foundation, the network, based in Ranong, Chumphon and Prachuab Khiri Khan - the provinces bordering Burma - estimated that about 20,000 Thais are living without citizenship. These people have been living in the country for at least 30 years.

Due to the difficulties, some have decided to convert to Thai for ID cards with full knowledge that citizenship under these circumstances could be revoked for national security.

In the latest development, the National Security Council will propose to the new government an amendment to the citizenship law, giving Thai citizenship to children born in the Kingdom of refugee parents.

Returning them citizenship would confirm permanent rights for these Thais, who have no access to any social programmes recently launched, said Thirawuth Senakham, a cultural studies lecturer at Walailak University, who recently completed a paper on the refugees and presented it to the audience last week.

"They are living a naked life. They have no right to have rights. Though being Thai, they have no access to anything - education, healthcare or work. Everything requires an identity card. Before, the difference was not this huge. But social programmes like the universal healthcare scheme has widened the gap between Thai nationals and these refugees," Thirawuth said.

The problem started when Thailand lost Tawai, Tanaosri and Marid to Britain but residents on the land did not leave when the areas were ceded to Burma.

One of them is Suthin Kingkaew, 42, chairman of the refugee network. Born in Marid, he only moved out in 1993 when wars in Burma spread into the area. He sought registration as a Thai but waited six years for an interview. Then, he was told to convert to Burmese first before registering as a Thai. During the time, he had to hold the noncitizen's paper, which brands him a Burmese. Though speaking Thai fluently and knowing Thai culture, officers did not believe that he was Thai.

"We're not exiles, but our land just left us. Are we not Thais now? Now, I don't carry the identification paper that says I'm Burmese. When visiting important places like Government House or the Royal Thai Army, I show them my Boy Scout ID card," he said.

Living in Thailand, his relatives have been harassed but, even after physical attacks, they could not seek police help because of the lack of an ID card. The government should quickly return them their citizenship and during the investigation into their nationality, a substitution card should be issued so that all receive better treatment, he said.

Yeed also recalled that because of a lack of citizenship, her grandchild even dared not to go to police when she was raped by her boss. Thanks to assistance from nongovernmental organisations, she won compensation from the employer.

Education is also a problem, as it is compulsory but officers are not that cooperative with the children of the refugees.

Yeed's daughter, Nisachol Chukaew, 14, said she gets teased by friends at school as she holds a birth certificate that brands her as a Burmese, after the doctor at the hospital where she was delivered assumed that her nonThai parents were Burmese. She said her parents could not even speak Burmese and from birth, Thai was the only language she could speak.

"I study in Mattayom 2, but I don't think I can finish higher than Mattayom 3. Without citizenship, I don't know for sure how long I'll stay in school and how I can find a job," she said. She is one of the refugees who do not want citizenship conversion. She considers herself a Thai and she is eligible to hold authentic Thai citizenship.

Thirawuth said some of these refugees have finished bachelor degrees, thanks to financial assistance from private organisations, which also help put these students into universities. However, he is unsure how long this support would last.

"If it dries up, how will these people continue with their lives? It's urgent they get their citizenship back," the lecturer said.