Originally Posted by
Brad the Impala
As I understand it, it is Thai Government policy to discourage the millions of Shan in Burma from coming to Thailand. Those, 200,000?, who have been accepted as legal refugees, are required to remain in refugee camps. Other Shan, in Thailand illegally, are considered to be economic migrants, and liable to deportation.
Thailand's first responsibility is understandably towards it's own nationals, and to make it easier for Shan in the country illegally to remain, would be to encourage further migration. In the great world of human tragedy, of course we would like all the peoples of Burma to be treated better both within and without their country, and we all have our own favourite causes. However it is easy to imagine what problems could be caused by a further significant influx of refugees, or economic migrants.
The Shan are not being persecuted, they are being treated like all the other economic migrants from Laos, Cambodia and Burma. As such they are very vulnerable to unscrupulous employers or policemen, but I think that even those moved by their situation are naive not to be aware of the larger picture. That includes not believing everything that you are told by an illegal immigrant, who has been told it by a corrupt policeman extorting a bribe.