IMMIGRATION

Third of Burmese fail to return home

SUPAMART KASEM

TAK : Nearly one-third of the Burmese who entered Thailand through Mae Sot district this year did not return to their home country.

The provincial immigration office reported that 298,847 Burmese nationals crossed from Myawaddy to Mae Sot district over the Friendship Bridge in the first half of this year, and 86,517 had not gone back.

In May and June alone, a total of 29,150 Burmese people did not go back through the same checkpoint.

The two-month period coincided with the disaster caused by Cyclone Nargis, which devastated the Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon in May.

Provincial immigration chief Pol Col Tassawat Boonyawat said some of them might have crossed back through other checkpoints or outside normal channels. Others might have overstayed their border pass and faced being arrested and deported.

"Illegal immigrants will remain an issue so long as the two countries differ economically and politically. We don't have enough funding, manpower or equipment to properly guard the border, which is more more than 500 kilometres long," he said.

In the first six months the province deported 72,124 Burmese who entered Thailand illegally, worked without a permit or overstayed their border pass.

A border security officer, who asked not to be named, said most illegal Burmese were fleeing economic hardship at home.

He attributed the rise in illegal Burmese to the government policy to bring long-term illegal residents into the house registration system.

Deputy district chief Kowit Kruewong said the project, approved by cabinet in January 2006, was aimed at addressing the unresolved status of those living in Thailand prior to January 2005.

Village heads and kamnan would list the name of eligible residents in their communities and present the list at a public hearing by September, before seeking the Interior Ministry's approval.

"Illegal immigrants may submit an application, but they must pass a strict screening process," he said.

The education office responsible for Mae Sot area said foreign students in five border districts rose from 7,000 to 10,000 after the cyclone struck Burma.