ASSESSMENT OF SOCIAL PROTECTION MECHANISMS FOR STATELESSNESS: A CASE STUDY OF ROHINGYA PEOPLE IN THAILAND

Abstract

Rohingya people have been counted as the most vulnerable group of people in this region. Thailand as its border close to Myanmar becomes the strategic place of Rohingya for settling and also for waiting to go to Malaysia. In legal term, Rohingya immigrants in Thailand are recognized firstly as the ‘illegal immigrants’. In fact, there are various groups of Rohingya living in Thailand who are different in living condition, social circumstances and status staying both under and without Thai authority control. These varieties have affected to the different social protection that each Rohingya group in Thailand can gain. Based on qualitative method, this thesis uses in-depth interview to Rohingya respondents, key informants interview, non-participatory observation, case study and documentary research related to Rohingya in four different circumstances in Thailand. The fieldwork research was conducted in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathumthani and Mae Sot district in Tak province. This thesis intends to examine how far Rohingya people in Thailand have been protected against the vulnerability of being stateless by social protection mechanisms. The purpose of this thesis is to explore and compare social protection of Rohingya in different circumstances in Thailand include Old and New Rohingya urban migrants, Rohingya trafficked persons and Rohingya displaced persons in temporary shelter. This thesis illustrates that Rohingya in Thailand can be categorized in four main groups include ‘Old Rohingya’ urban migrants, ‘New Rohingy’a urban migrants, Rohingya trafficked persons and Rohingya displaced persons in temporary shelter. ‘Old Rohingya’ refer to Rohingya who arrive Thailand before 2006 and most of them can speak Thai fluently. ‘New Rohingya’ refer to Rohingya who have just arrived Thailand in 2013 to 2015. Mostly, they came by boat and struggled in human trafficking cycle. For Rohingya trafficked persons, most of them have arrived Thailand as the similar route as ‘New Rohingya’. They have been justified as victims of human trafficking by Thai authority. For Rohingya displaced persons in temporary shelter, they mostly used to be ‘Old Rohingya’ urban migrants who voluntarily move to live in temporary shelter as they believe that they can gain quicker process of refugee status obtaining. To analyze the status of Rohingya people by using social protection concept, it has been found that, in promotive measures, all Rohingya groups gain the basic needs in different way. Rohingya trafficked persons obtain the regular basic needs from Thai authority. On the other hand, Rohingya displaced persons in temporary shelter who mostly are the unregistered displaced persons need to fulfill especially food by themselves. For transformative measures, Rohingya in all four groups still have the ability to raise their voice to protect their rights and negotiate with other related actors. For protective measures, there is just Rohingya trafficked persons who have been relieved the deprivation regularly. On the other hand, Old Rohingya and Rohingya displaced persons in temporary shelter have been relieved their deprivation by the assistance of both formal and informal protection providers. For preventive measures, this thesis demonstrates that ‘Old Rohingya’ urban migrants in Thailand obtain financial protection and medical insurance as similar as Thai citizens more than others Rohingya groups, but they regularly lack of saving money. At the end, ‘New Rohingya’ urban migrants have become the most vulnerable Rohingya group in Thailand.