A few tips for the Burmese paper-plane champ

In this story, an underprivileged boy cries himself to sleep every night because he is being denied permission to leave a kingdom to pursue his dream. However, before the gates of opportunity close for a final time, a knight in shining armour rides in to rescue him and sends him off on the journey to achieve his dream.

All we need now is that classic Disney ending: "and they lived happily ever after…"

The story of 12-year-old Mong Thongdee, a Thailand-born Burmese boy, is just the tip of the iceberg where Thailand and the problems about stateless children are concerned. In an era when everybody "tweets", and even the prime minister and Cabinet ministers regularly post messages on Twitter and Facebook, Thailand is still far behind in terms of its legal mechanisms in keeping up to the world's standard of fundamental rights.

Surely, the incident has reminded authorities that they have not done enough for those underprivileged kids - or look at it in another way, they have done nothing so far.

As for young Mong, he should have learned the following lessons while taking the rocky path to the Origami Aeroplane Contest in Japan:

l The quickest way to get a travel document is to pose with the kind and handsome Prince Charming - Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

l Just keep smiling and be yourself.

l Mr Prime Minister can be found at both Government House and Parliament, except you should be prepared to wait a long time if you catch him at the Parliament. This is because there will be so many chatterboxes ahead of you, and after all, the premier does have to listen to what these chatterboxes say in their "speeches" as "honourable" members of Parliament.

l The Interior Ministry is not a cruel organisation. All it is doing is upholding the law and making sure that other stateless people don't jump on the bandwagon and start making paper planes just so they too can win media attention.

l Even though your aeroplane is harmless and made with paper, some people like you, Mong, can pose a risk to national security.

l Are you a threat just because you're a boy with Burmese parents? Not really. Thai people have recently decided to closely scrutinise every single thing to see if it is a threat - be it a foreigner, a video link, pointless messages posted on Twitter or Facebook, or even the colour of your shirt.

l You don't have to be Thai to represent Thailand in a world contest. However, you need to be Thai to be given the permission to leave and return, even though you will be representing Thailand in the contest. (Note: Ignore this pointer if you have done the first one.)

l The media are friends not foes, so just do what they say. If you are lucky, they will help campaign for you. Many politicians have tried this trick before, but few have succeeded so far.

l You don't need to remember any of that rhetoric about human rights, so long as you remember that Section 17 of the Immigration Act authorises the Interior Ministry to give an alien residing in Thailand freedom to travel back and forth.

l Another law to remember is that the right to travel is enshrined in Article 12 of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), which Thailand is party to. In other words, Thailand is obliged to grant you travel rights.

l Thais worship heroes in any shape or form, so be sure you use this contest - especially if you come out as a winner - as an opportunity to become a Thai citizen. Just look at the way Thais have been trying to get golfing champion Tiger Woods to become Thai, even though there is not one single iota of Thai-ness running in his veins.

Now, Mong, as you take in all this information, just remember that the authorities will also be waking up to the real, unsolved problem regarding stateless children. As part of the international community, Thailand is obliged to deal with this problem, and failing to acknowledge and understand this predicament is really the biggest threat of them all.

So actually, son, you've done Thailand a big favour.

Take a bow!