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Mae Sai, Thailand
The 12 boys and coach of the Wild Boars youth soccer team rescued from a cave in northern Thailand last week share a feature with many clubs European professionals idolized by their teenagers: They are a multiethnic and cross-border crew.
But while the stars of the great European leagues, whatever their origin, can claim fame and fortune, some of the Wild Boars can not even count on a permanent home.
Three of the players – Mongkol "Mark" Boonpium, 13, Adul Samon, 14, and Pornchai "Tee" Khamluang, assistant coach Ekapol "Ake" Chanthawong, 16 and 25, are stateless, living in a limbo that imposes serious restrictions not only on their upward mobility, but even their right to travel outside Chiang Rai, the northern province of Thailand.
It's no coincidence that four of the thirteen Thai citizens, head coach of the Wild Boars, Nopparat Kanthawong, help out in an interview on Sunday. Of the 70 to 80 boys in the four age brackets of the team, about twenty are stateless.
The test of the cave should help shed light on the issue of statelessness in Thailand. Mr. Nopparat hopes that this will advance the sporting ambitions of his players.
"I would ask the media to highlight the situation they are facing," he said. "All the kids who join the team, they all want to be professional football players, but they could not do it if they do not have nationalities."
He explained that the most egregious problem is that if stateless players want to travel outside the province, whether for personal business or soccer competition, they must get a pass with official permission. Getting a passport to meet the invitations of various European clubs to watch them play is even more important.
There are 488,105 stateless persons registered in Thailand, according to government statistics. According to the International Observatory on Statelessness, the actual number of stateless persons could reach 3.5 million. The group says that stateless people in Thailand are unable to vote, buy land, seek legal employment, work in certain professions, or travel freely.
Northern Thailand, whose porous borders have long been a boon to migrants, refugees and traffickers, is a melting pot of ethnic groups, including Akha, Lahu, Lisu, Yao, Shan, Hmong and Karen. In neighboring Myanmar, border areas are dominated by minority ethnic groups, but underdevelopment and conflict make opportunities scarce. Some people flee for their lives in Thailand; others are simply looking for a better life.
This is not necessarily an uncomfortable transition. There are established communities of minority groups on both sides of the border, and Thailand generally adopts a laissez-faire attitude.
Adul's parents sent him from Myanmar to Thailand to get a decent education, which is impossible in his country. , which is plagued by armed conflict and instability. He is a star student, and a bit of a celebrity to be the only anglophone among the 13 trapped in the cave. "We found that in many cases, those who emigrated here and those who fled the dangerous situations to come here can not return to their home country," Angkhana Neelapaijit of the National Human Rights Commission Thailand man said on Monday. "They have clear intentions to establish their residence here, even if they were born in neighboring countries but have children and a residence here, at least the rights of the children of those families should to be protected. "
Citizenship must enter a verification process to prove that they have Thai parents or were born in Thailand. The process can be difficult and complicated, she added, as public servants also need to be vigilant about the many fraudulent and corrupt methods used to obtain citizenship.
Activists say the naturalization process is too difficult. who have never been documented in their home country and who are outsiders with regard to local Thai authorities. Navigating the paperwork is at best difficult, and corruption is a danger
In late 2016, the Thai military government accepted a plan that about 80,000 stateless people would be eligible for citizenship
. in Thailand to relatives belonging to minority ethnic groups, registered by the Ministry of the Interior and having lived in Thailand for at least 15 years, or be born in Thailand to foreign residents and have graduated from university.
Nopparat says that he is particularly desirous Stateless Boys who were saved from the cave
