ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By SAW YAN NAING | An estimated 100 Burmese illegal migrant workers in Mae Sot are being arrested daily by Thai authorities and hundreds have fled to hide in the jungle, according to a labor rights group in Mae Sot.

Mae Sot, a border town opposite Myawaddy, Burma, is home to an estimated 100,000 Burmese migrant workers, most of them illegal. About 40,000 are legally registered, according to the Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association.

Moe Swe, the head of the Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association, said between 100 and 150 Burmese migrant workers have been arrested each day since early December. Others have left the city to hide in the jungle, he said.

“They hide in the jungle for two or three days, and if the situation improves, they return to work,” Moe Swe said. “If they hear that there will be a raid, they flee again

“Now, illegal migrant workers are not able to work everyday, and it is hard for them to make a living,” he said.

Recently, about 3,000 Burmese workers were laid off due to the global financial crisis and an estimated 500 returned home, according to the labor rights group.

Many migrant workers only earn enough money to provide for their daily food. If they are arrested and sent back to Burma, they usually re-enter Thailand.

Thai authorities regularly launch crackdowns on illegal migrant workers in Mae Sot at the end of each year.

There are about 1.5 million legal and illegal Burmese migrant workers in Thailand.