Resource information
There are an estimated 1 million illegal immigrants from Burma and other neighboring countries working in Thailand. Migrant
workers from Burma come from a variety of geographical locations and ethnic groups and work in several different industries
and service sectors in Thailand. There are both push and pull factors at work when people make the decision to migrate to
Thailand. The pull factors include the close geographical location of Thailand to Burma as well as the demand in Thailand for
cheap labor. The push factors include the poor state of the Burmese economy and massive human rights violations that occur all
over the country. Many workers have come to Thailand to escape the demands for forced labor and in their home states and
divisions. In the case of the more than 300,000 Shans working in Thailand, the majority of them have fled from human rights
abuses that include forced labor, forced relocations, arbitrary arrest and rape, but are denied refugee status by Thailand and
therefore are considered illegal migrants...
