Although Thailand has hosted tens of thousands of Myanmar refugees in “temporary shelters” along the Myanmar border for more than three decades now, Thai authorities are often surprised to learn that there are other refugees in need of protection in Thailand.
Specifically, there are thousands of refugees hailing from all corners of the planet, including Somalia, Syria, Pakistan, and Vietnam, living quiet lives in Thailand’s urban centres. For a group of Christian Jarai (also known as Montagnard) refugees from Cambodia and Vietnam, their quiet life in Thailand became a nightmare on August 28 when immigration authorities raided a neighbourhood in Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok. The authorities arrested about 180 refugees, one third of whom were children, for being in Thailand without permission.
Senior government officials have stated that the fundamental rights of refugees, including protection from refoulement – forced return – will be respected through the establishment of screening processes. There is even talk about the possibility of a “humanitarian visa” for nationals of specific countries. The raid and subsequent arrest and detention of refugees in Nonthaburi demonstrates the urgency for these discussions to become part of Thai policy and practice.Ignorance in officaldom Most local government officials in Nonthaburi were unaware of who qualifies as a refugee or their need for international protection.
Nonthaburi officials cannot differentiate between a Jarai person, who has fled persecution in their home country and is unable to return, from an undocumented economic migrant. Many of these officials had never heard of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – the UN agency mandated to provide protection to refugees – or seen a UNHCR card that affords the holder the status of refugee. Almost none of the officials involved in the Nonthaburi raid had any idea how or why people from neighbouring countries could become refugees.