Historic case sees stateless kids freed

Two stateless children, their mother and another member of their family were released yesterday after 20 months in detention in a landmark case.

It is the first time stateless children arrested in Thailand have been allowed to go free as the country moves toward a more humanitarian policy in dealing with refugees and asylum seekers.

The four, whose names are being withheld, were released on bail from the Immigration Detention Centre and can now legally live in Thailand while awaiting resettlement in a third country.

The four were arrested in May 2010 in Chiang Mai where they had settled after they migrated from Vietnam through Laos to Thailand in June 2008.

During their detention, they were reportedly faced with relentless persecution, harassment and discrimination during endless interrogations by government officials and police.

Their release was fought for by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which has launched a national campaign against the detention of children. The NHRC had appealed to the Thai Committee for Refugees Foundation and the Refugee and Stateless Persons Freedom Fund, which put up the bail for the four.

The family was given one million baht by Cognita, a United Kingdom-based private school group, so the children, a boy and a girl, can attend its local school before resettlement in a third country.

"We have been working together with other civil society organisations as well as national human rights commissions of our neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia to try to find some solution [to the stateless person issue]," said NHRC chairperson Amara Pongsapich.

She said contributions from civic societies and people from different countries show that many people around the world can join hands and work together for human rights.

"We strongly believe that education is the right of every child in society. With the release of this family, we want to assure their mother that we are here to assist her in developing the children's capabilities and help them lead educated lives in Thailand and hopefully when they resettle in the United States," said Annie Hansen, director of admissions and marketing of St Andrews International School, which will admit the children.

Founder and executive director of the Thai Committee for Refugees, Veerawit Tianchainan, said he hoped this will lead to a national strategy that will address gaps in national and international laws for stateless people, especially children.

"We hope this will be a good start because this year we are going to have a global campaign to end child detention which will be launched in Geneva, Switzerland in March," Mr Veerawit said.

Thailand is not a signatory state to the 1951 Refugee Convention, its 1967 Protocol, and the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Convention and does not have domestic laws related to asylum, refugees, and stateless people.

Share your thoughts

Discussion 1 : 28/01/2012 at 04:30 PM
Can someone enlighten me please. What has it to do with being a buddhist? Is this going to turn into a religious discussion? It is about this poor family. Now a happy family after all these months.I hope also that they will be a happy family for many years to come.
Discussion 2 : 28/01/2012 at 04:29 PM
heartie, disc 13, I admitted that I was too quick to be proud of being a Thai and a Buddhist because for the first time, the Thai authorities relented. However, raimund of disc. 8 woke me up to a wider picture of this humanitarian problem that I certainly do not have the right to be proud of. raimund was the only one who directly and constructively commented to my posting and not "people posted their replies to my comment" as perceived by you.
Discussion 3 : 28/01/2012 at 03:30 PM
aileen, discussion 10. there is a time and place to be proud of being Buddhist and Thai, but this is not the right time or the place. Maybe you should read the article again to understand why people posted their replies to your comment. I'm trying to be constructive here, so please don't take it the wrong way.
Discussion 4 : 28/01/2012 at 02:14 PM
Its time someone stepped up and addressed the plight of stateless people .Thai Chinese dont seem to have any problems .Indians in Sukhumvit no problem .How come its so hard to give someone who has generations of his living in Thailand an ID card ? This person would be a hero in my books .
Discussion 5 : 28/01/2012 at 01:54 PM
A few months ago, about 20 children of these undocumented refugees were rounded up by immigration police in front of their UN's school in BKK. The school was just over, so the timing was just perfect. Many churches and other good samaritans had to raise substantial amount of money, in order to bail them out. So, if you happen to be a Buddhist, there is nothing to be proud of.
Discussion 6 : 28/01/2012 at 01:04 PM
Discussion 8, Points accepted - nothing to be proud of.
Discussion 7 : 28/01/2012 at 12:56 PM
Why did the adults leave Vietnam? And did they come with any sort of documentation? I know for a fact that Thailand usually does not detain people who enter as refugees and asylum seekers, especially from Burma and Cambodia. But how do Thai authorities pick and choose which ones to detain? Is it based on nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, politics, money or what?
Discussion 8 : 28/01/2012 at 12:52 PM
Discussion 2 No reason to be proud of. It was Thai authority who kept them for 20 months. Without the help of the foreigners (guess they are not Buddhists)nothing would have changed. Suggest you have a walk down to immigration prison and have a look inside.You should also read the annual reports of NHRC.
Discussion 9 : 28/01/2012 at 12:49 PM
"It is the first time stateless children arrested in Thailand have been allowed to go free as the country moves toward a more humanitarian policy in dealing with refugees and asylum seekers." This is very good news & a nice accomplished of this government!
Discussion 10 : 28/01/2012 at 11:30 AM
Great story but sad to think that so many live like this. We are so lucky to be born where we are born but it would be great to see countries without borders and a planet that belongs to us all.
Discussion 11 : 28/01/2012 at 11:15 AM
I wish everything will come true for this family. To keep for so long in detention is not agood thing.How much does it cost per day all so, to keep these people in detention?
Discussion 12 : 28/01/2012 at 11:03 AM
Detention for 20 months is just too long for non-serious offences. The humanitarian policies should come first. Perhaps the relevant authorities take this case as a good example.
Discussion 13 : 28/01/2012 at 10:56 AM
It usually take about 50,000 Bahts to get each one of them out, however, they are still subjected to future arrests and fine. These refugees, many of them escaped Sri-Lanka Civil War, present lucrative opportunity for Thai Immigration Enforcement Agency to make money. I hope & pray that they will be able to settle down in peaceful countries somewhere.
Discussion 14 : 28/01/2012 at 10:36 AM
More proud being a Thai and a Buddhist.
Discussion 15 : 28/01/2012 at 10:06 AM
Nice story , heartwarming .

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