Representative of the Deputy Minister of the Labor Ministry, migrant workers’ issues expert, Akhurak Khonjarak, and academics with expertise in labor affairs (including Thailand lawyer council members) all attended the meeting and shared their respective experiences.

Thailand's Labor Union secretary stated, "Thailand is a permanent committee member of the UN Human Rights commission. This recognition of the respect for human rights is acknowledged throughout the country. But right now, the Thai government abuses Human Rights in respect to Burmese migrant workers which, is a bit worrisome. If the UN learns of this bad news, the gratitude expressed towards our country will be thrown into the gutter.”

“I would like to warn the Government and their servants against creating a Thailand that is associated with Human Rights violations. If the countries that import Thai commodities know that Thailand has abused labor rights and they boycott imported Thai products, Thailand's economy has to worry" he said.

Secretary of Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) and an organizer of the meeting said that, "The media should give correct information to people. Last week it was reported that the ATM in Maha Chai gave a Burmese language option, the library set up by Burmese migrant workers used Burmese languages and the shops selling Burmese goods used Burmese writing. Photographs were taken of Burmese who went around without wearing dress and only wearing longgyi. The report and photos were meant to send the message that Burmese people occupied Maha Chai. I think that these kinds of things are simply inappropriate. For example: Why haven’t they written that the Chinese occupy other places where things are written in Chinese? Why haven’t they written that the English occupy places where things are written in English?  What reasons are there for wanting to oppress Burmese?”

Representative of the Deputy Minister of Labor Ministry said, "After 20 years of rising corruption, those kinds of facts are difficult to change quickly. The Thai Government is trying to recognize what they can do for migrant workers. Injustices take place at the bottom level. There has been corruption, discrimination and human rights abuses. We know that but it is difficult to change suddenly. The Government, civil servants, the organizations in attendance, and the public all need to be cooperative for change to occur. In comparison to earlier, I think that attitude of Thai people towards Burmese is better. They understand at certain levels but it is not perfect everywhere. We have to do our best".

A foreigner from one of the NGOs cited that, "In Thailand at least 1000 people are arrested daily and asked at least 3,000 baht each. This is not a small amount. In Maha Chai there are daily arrests. Thai police or hooligans seek out those that are presumed to be migrant workers so that they can demand money. Sometimes they are murdered or raped. Some people are very cruel to migrant workers who have come to work hard for jobs. I would like to encourage dismissing this bad behavior".

Thousands of people enter Thailand daily and they pay about 15,000 baht each. NGOs that attended the meeting suggested that this large amount of money encourages corruption. Sein Htay from HRDF who helped to organize the meeting advised, "Over here we have to report to the Government. I would like to ask Burmese migrant workers to understand your work, to know the place you live and apply to known organizations located near your area. I encourage this because if you are facing problems and you don't know your job or don't know your place, we need to start at the very basic level and it takes time. So, I would like to say that you have to know your responsibilities".

Burmese teams formed by Bangkok based migrant workers reported, "Before the temporary passport process, pink colored labor identity cards issued in 2009 allowed for an 8 month stay. But, the Thai Government charged fully for one year so it meant if 300,000 migrant workers had the work ID, then the Thai Government illegally took from 100,000 migrant workers. This year the temporary passport, which was supported by two companies, persuaded migrant workers that they should also hand the passport over to a third-party company. So, Burmese migrant workers have faced different kinds of cheating by the brokers who force the workers to pay too much. The cost of attaining a temporary passport, applying for a work permit, an extension, and all follow up activity depends on brokers and but is always a lot of money. Migrant workers, especially those who have legal documents, should enjoy protection by law. Thai Government should take responsibility for this".

The meeting took place at the Meeting hall of Thailand's National Human Rights Commission Office, at the Thai Government headquarter compound (located 50 km north of Bangkok). It ran from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. There was a press conference before the meeting.

More than 100 participants joined to the meeting from; Thailand's labor ministry departments, Thailand's lawyer council, ILO, IRO, Thai Human Rights organizations, Thai-Burma workers' organizations, NGOs and migrant workers from Chiang Mai and Bangkok.