Human Rights Watch found this practice to be prevalent in the town of Mae Sot near the Myanmar border, where people refer to Myanmar nationals as “walking ATMs.” Myanmar nationals, living under the constant threat of deportation that could put them at grave risk, restrict their movements to stay out of sight of police and other authorities seeking to exploit them. Most of the Myanmar nationals who spoke to Human Rights Watch were in the process of applying for or renewing a migrant worker’s card, commonly known as the “pink card.” This is the main document available to Myanmar nationals in Thailand that provides a legal status. Myanmar nationals said that whether renewing their documentation as a migrant worker through a “regularization window” – a specific period during which the Thai government allows undocumented migrant workers to regularize their legal status – or applying for the first time, they relied on a broker to handle the process and paid, often exorbitant, fees to purchase the necessary documentation and manage the convoluted process.
Author: Human Rights Watch
Published at: 2025-07-14 23:00:00
Still want to read the full version? Full article
