Refugees to Thailand

In the past many of the people from the Karen, Karenni and Mon ethnic groups whose homeland was next to the Thai-Burma border crossed over into Thailand to avoid the fighting and to try and make a new life for themselves in Thailand.

Refugees on their way to Thailand carrying all of their possessions on their backs.

Some of these people entered UNHCR refugee camps but most of these people became "migrant workers" accepting any kind of work that would support them and their families.

Most of these migrant workers did not have residence permits or work permits and so they were not entitled to the same legal rights and protections that Thai citizens had.

Recently the Thai government has tried to improve this situation by offering work permits to all migrant workers and this process is still underway.