The cave rescue highlights the fate of stateless people in Thailand

MAE SAI, Thailand (Reuters) – On the Thai side of the mountainous border with Myanmar, where 12 boys and their football coach were rescued from a flooded cave last week, thousands of people were killed. stateless people live stuck between countries without access to certain basic rights.

All boys and their 25- year coach, who make up the football team 'Wild Boars', will be released from the hospital next week after a three-day rescue that evoked international relief and joy.

Although wild boars are now considered in this country of Southeast Asia as national treasures, four of them are technically stateless. However, at least two of the boys are already at the stage of obtaining citizenship.

"I feel very well that the history of the Wild Boars Cave has brought this issue to light," Tuanjai Deetes, Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission, told Reuters Thailand.

"We must put more emphasis on this national and international field.There are still many stateless people."

According to official statistics, 486,440 people are registered as stateless by the government Thai, of whom 146,269 are, like three of the wild boars, under 18 years of age.

There are several groups whose people have crossed the region over generations, across the open borders in the isolated hills between southern China, Myanmar and Laos, and in the ethnic patchwork of north of Thailand.

The Chiang Rai border province, at the northern tip of Thailand, has long been an entry point for illegal migrants, smuggling and drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle region which overlaps Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.

But these are the best economic conditions. Richer Thailand who have most attracted families on the other side of the border.

Once in Thailand, they have the right to basic education and health care, but face travel restrictions, do not have access to financial services and can not get married or buy goods.

"While progress has been made, stateless people in Thailand continue to face challenges in accessing some of their basic human rights," said Hannah Macdonald at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"Examples include restrictions on their freedom of movement, health care, access to financial services, the ability to marry and own property or land."

Somsak Kanakham, head of the Mae Sai District Office, where the boys were trapped in the cave, said his office was ultimately just following Thai law.

"I understand why, for reasons of human rights, we all want to solve this problem," he said. "But it's an issue that concerns national security."

"MAJOR CHALLENGE"

The number of people in limbo is underestimated by official data because many are not yet registered as stateless.

In Mae Sai District alone, there are more than 27,000 cases of stateless persons in the process of applying for Thai citizenship.

"The last time the Government has investigated this village in 2011. There are now more than 210 new people, "Tuanjai told Reuters in the village of Prachao Tum Jai, 8 km from the cave, where about 400 people live from the tribe". Dara-ang ".

Most villagers, who earn their living by growing pineapple and rice, do not have Thai nationality, and more than 200 of them are not even registered as stateless, said Tuanjai.

"The main challenge is the migration model.There is a lot of movement and lack of information about the registration process."

Stateless people who can prove that they have lived in Thailand for at least 10 years can apply for citizenship, which takes about six months to be processed, said Vitat Techabun, general director of the Children and Youth Department of Thailand.

But Tuanjai says that "exploitation by officials" who demand bribes to facilitate applications for citizenship has sometimes hindered this process.

Mae Sai district chief, Somsak Kanakham, said his Office is associated with civil society groups on the issue to ensure more transparency and fight corruption.

Wild Boars coach Ekkapol Chantawong, 25, is a member of the minority Tai Lue, one of the no many groups in the region. He hopes to become a Thai citizen, a friend and a relative told Reuters last Thursday.

Aree Tarn, 35, another stateless Tai Lue who lives in Chiang Rai City, and his son struggle to obtain citizenship. Despite the age of 11 years of his son, he has the same technical status as a "migrant worker", that is, he lives temporarily in Thailand, the country of his birth.

"Many of us have been applying for citizenship for years but we do not have it," said Tarn while she was queuing up with friends for free bags of rice at a fair organized by a Buddhist temple.

"We can not technically buy land, so we have to use other people with Thai nationality to buy land for us," she said. "I just want my son to really own our house."