Thailand

Injured Burmese Migrant Construction Worker Tied to Bed

Friday, 11 February 2011 15:12

Statement from the Building and Wood Workers International
Published in BWI Connect
4 February 2011

The Building and Wood Workers International is outraged to hear of the treatment of Charlie Tiyu, a Burmese migrant worker working in Thailand’s construction industry. Charlie’s hip was broken and his intestine burst from his stomach in a workplace accident on January 9 at Charoen Pokphand’s food processing plant in Pathum Thani’s Lat Lum Kaeo district. He was subsequently sent for treatment at the Pathum Thani Provincial Hospital where both the employer and contractor refused to cover his medical expenses. Due to his severe injuries Charlie was unable to leave the hospital to renew his work permit and was provided no assistance by his employer, his permit has since expired and all his identification documents have been lost. Charlie, despite not having any documentation on him when he was taken to hospital, said he had been a registered migrant since January 2010.

Due to a lack of documentation, the hospital reported Charlie’s case to the police, following which he was then taken into custody awaiting deportation. However, given the seriousness of his injuries he was transferred to the Police General Hospital in Bangkok where he was detained in a cell and chained to his bed.

Chained to a hospital bed with no escape: Trying to find work in Thailand can turn into a nightmare

Friday, 11 February 2011 15:01

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Published in Bangkok Post
3 February 2011

Burmese illegal migrant Charlie Tiyu is waiting on treatment for pelvic fractures and for an intestinal operation at Bangkok's Police General Hospital before being deported, probably in the next few months.

He is chained to his hospital bed. Mr Tiyu's case is only the tip of a huge iceberg. Thailand's humanitarian laws have not really served him well. The 25-year-old said he had crossed the border at Mae Hong Son 10 years ago to work in Thailand and had been legally issued with a temporary work card for nearly five years. A man called Kai in Pathum Thani's Lam Luk Ka district took him and other migrants to work at construction sites. About two months ago, he went to work for a new employer, Tara Rit-taeng of Nonthaburi, without informing authorities. Mr Tiyu said his migrant worker's health insurance at Thanyaburi Hospital in Pathum Thani expired on Jan 20.

On Jan 9, he had a serious accident at a construction site at Charoen Pokphand's food processing plant in Pathum Thani's Lat Lum Kaeo district when a concrete wall fell on him. The foreman of contractor NSU Supply Co, Veerasak Khamsri, sent him to state-run Pathum Thani Hospital. Mr Charlie's large intestine had burst from his stomach and his left hip was broken. The hospital said he could be discharged on Jan 25 but would need another operation on his intestine within two months. However, the hospital on Monday contacted police because he carried no identity card and could not pay his medical expenses of 70,000 to 80,000 baht. He was sent to the Immigration Police Bureau in Soi Suan Phlu in Bangkok, then was sent to the Police General Hospital for more treatment before deportation.

Illegal Burmese migrants: caught between hiding or becoming legal

Saturday, 21 November 2009 08:00

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MANY OF the estimated 2 million Burmese migrants currently living in Thailand can remember the mass deportation a decade ago. With the threat of another mass expulsion looming, migrant workers are exploring their options and hoping to avoid the panic, the desperation and the dangers of November 1999.