ASIA/THAILAND - “No to the closing of Catholic schools and centers for immigrant children,” civil society says

Bangkok (Agenzia Fides) – The Thai Catholic community has, among its top priorities, the task of promoting solidarity, of assistance, and education for children from immigrant families who come to Thailand from the nearby nations who are suffering a more difficult political-social situation, for example Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. The children are also often victims of trafficking in human persons, organized by crime groups, and find protection in the Catholic institutions, where they can regain their dignity and grow on a human, cultural, and spiritual level.
As Agenzia Fides learned from the Church in Thailand, the new Governor Wanchat Wongchaichana of the Province of Ranong (southern Thailand) – a territory on the border with Myanmar – has announced that he will soon close all the centers and schools that care for immigrant children, to fight against illegal immigration. There are a total of 96 institutions, many of whom are run by Catholic religious orders.
The announcement has led to a massive protest among local civil action groups, organized by human rights groups, Church movements and associations, and religious working at the service of the immigrants.
The Jesuit Refugee Service, which is very active in the area, has warned that this initiative could lead to an increase in trafficking of minors, child soldiers, and prostitution of minors, with great damage to the community of Rananog. In the centers run by the Jesuits, there are over 800 Burman children, mainly of Mon ethnic origin, between 5-14 years of age.
Everyone is hoping that the governor's announcement will not become law and that the fight against illegal immigration may not take its consequences on the lives of children. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 17/09/2009)