Since 2008, FED Migrant team has worked to improve Burmese prisoners’ situation in the Thai jails.

The Phang Nga province has two jails, one in Takua Pa and one in Phang Nga, the capital of the province.

In 2009, out of the 490 Takua Pa prisoners, 92 were Burmese, while out of the 400 Phang Nga prisoners, 60 were Burmese: the migrant population in these jails is not insignificant at all, but before 2008, when FED Migrant team started visiting them every three months, the Burmese prisoners’ situation was quite difficult in the jails of Phang Nga province.

According to Moe Wai, working for FED since 2008, the main problem has been and still is the language. First, during the trial, Burmese migrants would have to sign documents they do not understand as they are written in Thai language, which most of them cannot read nor speak. When they do not know either about Thai legislation, they sometimes do not even understand why they are being arrested. Second, in the prisons, Burmese prisoners do not always know about some special policies only published in Thai language, such as medical policies. So, in some cases, they just would not ask for medicines until their disease was so obvious that the prison officers noticed it.

Money is another problem Burmese prisoners had and still have to face sometimes. Because most Thai prisoners have family members or relatives around, they can get the little money necessary to buy what the jail does not always provide: hygiene stuff like tooth brush, soap, shampoo, etc. but also some extra food or cigarettes. For Burmese migrants though, the relatives are often more difficult to reach, either because they are still in Burma or in other parts of Thailand, or because they simply do not learn about the case, do not have a telephone and the prisoner might not know where they live exactly. Because Burmese prisoners could not get this extra money, some little traffic would appear in the jail with the Thai prisoners. According to Moe Wai, in charge of the prisoners’ issues, some Thai prisoners would sometimes ask the Burmese to do an extra work for them in exchange of a little money, to do them a massage or to wash their clothes for example. Such agreements appeared between the two communities, but it was not always fair, nor friendly.

Other problems Burmese migrants had to face in the jails were discrimination from the Thai prisoners, and carelessness from the authorities. Indeed, according to Moe Wai, authorities did not treat badly the Burmese prisoners, but they merely ignored and neglected them most of the time. Thai prisoners though, happened to be trying to give hard times to the migrants sometimes. They would for example work things out to give the Burmese more work to do. Some cases of sexual violence can happen sometimes, but they are mostly threats, and closely controlled by the authorities. No complains of acting out have been registered so far.

FED and the Migrant team started working with Burmese prisoners in 2008. Looking back at how it was before, they can not but notice the progress made. So many things have improved, from the trial to the cell.

The Migrant Team has three working main lines. The first one is about communication. FED Migrant team, now able to meet all the prisoners, knows them all: why they are there, for how long, and what they need. They can find the relatives and ensure communication between the prisoner and its family and friends. They can not only communicate, but now Burmese prisoners are able to receive a little money from their family, and do not have to traffic anymore with the other prisoners. FED Migrant team is also able to give all the information needed to the family: what happened, how is the judgment process going, what do their relative needs, etc.

The second working axe is about counseling and training. The Migrant team meets the prisoners and can counsel them personally about their judicial situation, but also about their situation in the jail, tackling health issues for example. Trainings are also given more collectively to the prisoners about these same issues such as health, or about rights and Thai policies.

The third working axe is about judicial help and translating. FED Migrant team helps the prisoners finding a lawyer who will defend them, and provide a translator. According to Moe Wai, once they have the opportunity to be defended and to understand the case, Burmese migrants who have been arrested have the same chance as Thai people. The problems generally occur before the trial. An example was given, of a Burmese worker employed by a Thai person. The worker was ordered to cut a tree and did it, without knowing that it was forbidden by the Thai forest law, and that he was likely to go to prison if he got caught. When he had to explain it to the policeman who saw him, the employer just denied having given the order. In these cases, the situation is generally complicated, and FED has to work hard with the lawyer to avoid the worker going to jail.

According to the Thai system though, some lawyers are specifically working for migrants’ cases, and most of the Burmese are provided translators. In a few minor cases, the translator was merely another Burmese prisoner who could talk Thai.

But it has not always been easy, and FED has not always been welcomed by the jails’ authorities. It has demanded a constant implication from FED Migrant team, to work to build better relationship with them. Because the authorities knew personally Moe Wai, it has been better throughout the years.

At the beginning, the rules were strict and the authorities did not like to let the NGO enter their prisons. FED could not go inside, and had to talk to the prisoners through the visiting rooms. During three years, FED Migrant team has advocated FED’s work for the migrant communities, presenting booklets and projects. Finally, the jail authorities have seen and appreciated this work, and FED has become a working partner to them. Especially, they appreciated it because they understood they had things to gain from it, as FED is not working only to encourage Thai authorities to understand Burmese prisoners, but also encourage Burmese prisoners to behave well and understand the authorities. Today, surprisingly enough, Takua Pa and Phang Nga jails annually send a letter to FED, to thank them for their great job.

And as for the prisoners themselves, they also noticed the difference. They know better the policies, can communicate with their relatives, and FED provides them some expensive medicines when needed. More important, they are better treated, both by Thai authorities and prisoners, and join more in the collective activities. And as futile as it can seem to us, now they can read Burmese books and a shelf is even reserved for it in the small library. Before FED intervened, the authorities forbade Burmese books, as they could not understand what they were about. Besides, FED provided both prisons a new TV, and regularly brings some food, Thai or Burmese.