SOCIETY: In Thai Town, Burmese Take Little Comfort as the Majority

By Marwaan Macan-Markar Reprint | | Print |

Marwaan Macan-Markar

MAE SOT, Thailand, Sep 26 2003 (IPS) - Once again, the Burmese who people this border town have a reason to fear the nights. On Thursday evening, a female migrant worker from Burma was raped and killed close to a garment factory here.

This comes in the wake of another female worker being raped and murdered while she was on her way to have dinner on Aug. 31. Thanda Hlaing’s body was found three days later near a lake on the edge of Mae Sot.

For those Burmese who are willing to be interviewed, there is little mystery around who the perpetrators of such violence and more are – a section of the Thai population who live in this town a few kilometres away from the Thai-Burmese border.

”They have ranged from teenage gangs, some security guards belonging to the factories and local mafia types,” says Min Naing, a Burmese who runs a tea shop in a desolate part of Mae Sot. ”These attacks have forced Burmese to be careful when going out at night, even if they have legal documents to live here. Many prefer not to go out after dark.”

Others, such as a Burmese rights activist who spoke on condition of anonymity, have been given harsh reminders of how hostile the nights can be due to incidents ranging from the shooting in the forehead of a migrant worker, assaults, the sexual harassment of women, cases of rape and extortion.

The Thai media have exposed some of these abuses, including the rapes of Burmese women and the assaults of Burmese men.

But come morning, Mae Sot blooms with another image – that of a trading post alive with a mix of ethnicities and cultures. In the public market full of open stalls with fresh vegetables, a variety of meats and even eels in buckets, Thais and Chinese mix with Indian-looking Burmese and Karens.

On the narrow streets that cut through this town, the Burmese tongue is as audible as the Thai language, while some shop fronts have names and prices of their goods in Thai, Chinese and Burmese.

Complementing this image is the presence of five Burmese Buddhist temples, which are a marked contrast to the Thai temples, due to their white walls and more austere appearance. Most Thai temples, on the other hand, have decorative features and richly textured exteriors.

In the five mosques that cater to this area’s large Burmese Muslim population, the sermons delivered during the weekly congregational prayer on Friday afternoons alternates between Burmese and Thai. However, the mosques’ imams or prayer leaders are all Burmese.

This polyglot is what makes Mae Sot unique, says Dave Coughlin, a Canadian who runs a restaurant here. ”It is a typical border town in one way, with a rich mix of cultures.”

Numerically, however, the Burmese who live and work here have an overwhelming edge over the Thai citizens. According to some estimates, there are close to 100,000 Burmese compared to some 40,000 Thais.

This Burmese majority ranges from recent arrivals, such as the tens of thousands of illegal and legal migrant workers, the hundreds of political activists and exiles, those who have crossed the border for business and Buddhist monks, to those who lived here for decades.

”This is rare for Thailand, having so many Burmese present,” says Aung Aung, a history graduate from the University of Rangoon who has been living here since 1988. ”There are aspects of life here that make me feel at home.”

Aung, himself, does his bit to give a taste of the familiar to his countrymen. He runs a bookshop where the latest publications from Rangoon, including novels and Burmese comics, are available. Those interested in buying the mouthpiece of the military government in Burma, ”The New Light of Myanmar’, an English-language weekly, will not be disappointed either.

For long-time Burmese resident U Chit Shwe, who came here in 1970, the Burmese character that gained visibility in this town occurred during the last 10 years. ”When I arrived here, Mae Sot had few concrete buildings and the Burmese were not as many.”

He attributes the shift to the political turmoil that took place in Burma since 1988 – the harsh crackdown on pro-democracy activists, the construction of the Friendship Bridge linking Mae Sot to its neighbouring town in Burma, Myawaddy, and the crumbling Burmese economy.

”By the mid-1990s, there were many signs that the flow of people from Burma was increasing, despite the problems they had to get here legally,” he adds.

But having the weight of numbers in their favour has not translated into the Burmese community feeling they will be free of abuse in this town.

”This uneasy relationship and tension between the Thais and Burmese has always been here,” Shwe affirms. ”The Thais always feel they are on top and the Burmese are at the bottom, because it is their country.”