More than 30,000 Burmese have been detained at the Immigration Centre in Mae Sot over the past two weeks, an informed source said yesterday.The detainees – unregistered workers seeking to return home because of flooding in and around Bangkok – have complained about lack of food and water, as well as overcrowding.

Groups that support migrant workers say they are flocking back to Burma at a vast rate. About 1,000 people a day were leaving Mahachai in immigration trucks after paying Bt2,400 each for the trip to Mae Sot, activist Andy Hall said yesterday.

By The Nation
Published on November 1, 2011