No way home for Myanmar migrants stuck in Thai limbo 4 years after coup usurped Aung San Suu Kyi

Four years after a coup, Myanmar remains in a civil war, driving thousands to seek refuge in Thailand, where they struggle to survive with little hope of returning home

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A Myanmar migrant worker looks out her flat window in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00am, 1 Feb 2025

Fleeing the economic ruin that followed the coup, and the threat of conscription into a military they loathe, Myanmar exiles in Thailand say that their safety comes with a new set of problems, including risks of extortion, labour abuses and missing crucial years of education.

Saturday marks four years since Myanmar’s generals seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, tipping the country into civil war and crippling the economy of what was already one of Asia’s poorest nations.

Millions have fled their homes, as refugees from violence or as economic migrants seeking work, often joining the bottom rung of the labour ladder in neighbouring countries.

The “exodus” of Myanmar’s youth, according to the United Nations, pushed 3.7 million young people into migrating to Thailand by 2023, escaping war and a conscription order requiring both young men and women to serve in an army that is facing significant losses.

But Myanmar migrants in the kingdom have told This Week in Asia that they live in legal purgatory – unable to go home, or set down roots in Thailand.

Young migrants often undertake perilous and expensive journeys through illegal channels, experts say, bribing officials and paying brokers to crowd into trucks, all in search of work, shelter, and a chance to rebuild their lives.

A Myanmar migrant worker learns Japanese at a makeshift school inside a fellow Myanmar worker’s flat. Photo: AFP