Migrant Workers Lost Jobs
after a Landlord’s Plantation Business Ceases
Nae Non, Independent Mon News Agency
About 133 Mon and other
ethnic migrant workers from southern
Burma lose their employments in Kanchanaburi Province
of Thailand after a land dispute happen in Thai landlord, Seal Hook’s rubber
plantation.
Thai
government’s Forestry Department is planning to confiscate all of these lands
belonged to the landlord, as the officials found the lands have no legal
document, the landlord himself took the lands from ordinary farmers in the area
and it is also against the law if a Thai citicen
belong a plot of lands which is over 500 Rais (or 333 acres), said a local
source.
The
Thai government officials and army rounded in the plantation area on July 4 and
took the lands on July 5, said a Mon migrant worker. He said that they stick a notice paper on the
trees and notified that ‘no one has the permit to cut tree, collect rubber sap
and take the woods’. If someone is
founded guilty, he/she must be imprisoned for two years terms.
A
local logging business also explained, “The (forestry) officials accused that
the landlords and his subordinates cut trees from Thai soil and sneaked into
The
forestry officials now confiscate about 3000 Rais (~ 2000 acres) of land and he still belongs
another 6000 Rais (4000 acres) of lands
in
“This
landlord took every free plot of lands in 1988 when I was working for him. We have to paint the trees with color that
recognized to be his lands”, said Nai Mon, a retired Mon resident in the border
area.
Because of this dispute, 133 workers that supporting
59 migrant families suddenly lost the employments. As most of
them are day-labourers and working in the situation
of hand-to-mouth, they faced serious difficulties for survival.
“Now,
we have no employers. We don’t know
where to go. May be they (the
authorities) will drive us from here. We
have no place to stay”, said a 42 years old worker Nai Tun
Aung.
“The
worker leaders told us to not move from here as he was ordered by the landlord,
and to keep quiet. But if they forced us
to move, we will face much difficulties”, said Nai Pyay,
a 49 years old Mon worker.
Another an
excited and disappointed worker, Nai Blai, “if we
have to go from here, it will be in much difficulties. Our children are at
school. We also newly founded Mon
workers association to help each other.
But we will be likely to separate each other”.
Thousands
of ethnic people from southern part of
Thai
government’s Labour Ministry also extended for one-year work permit to migrant
workers from
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