Cave boys highlight citizenship struggles in Thailand

HONG KONG — Three of the 12 boys who were rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand last month have been granted Thai citizenship, along with their coach, the latest turn in a drama that captivated the world.

The move by Thailand’s military government is a stroke of luck for the boys, who play for a youth soccer team called Moo Pa, or the Wild Boars.

But it also highlights how common statelessness is in their landlocked corner of Southeast Asia, an impoverished region where a lack of citizenship routinely deprives people from ethnic-minority groups of basic rights. The three boys and their coach are members of the Shan minority, local news media reports said.

“For the Moo Pa team, it’s a really fast track” to citizenship, said Puttanee Kangkun, a specialist on human rights in Thailand for Fortify Rights, an advocacy group. But the process typically takes years, she added, and many stateless people in Thailand face restrictions on where they can work and travel.

“Basically, they are not considered as Thai,” she said.

The Wild Boars play in the northern town of Mae Sai. That is near a region at the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. The area is a sanctuary for members of ethnic militias that have long pushed for autonomy from the Myanmar government.

The 12 boys and their coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, were rescued last month after more than two weeks trapped underground.

Twenty-eight children and two adults, including Ekkapol, were awarded citizenship by local authorities Wednesday. The three young Wild Boars were Mongkol Boonpiam, 13, Adul Sam-on, 14, and Pornchai Khamluang, 16.

“We are very, very happy,” Inn Khamluang, the father of the 16-year-old, said Thursday in a brief telephone interview. He said that his son was born in Mae Sai and that the family submitted citizenship paperwork three or four years ago.

Local officials could not be reached for comment.

On Wednesday, the chief of Mae Sai district, Samsak Khanakham, said that the boys, who were all born in Thailand, had not received special treatment.

“You were given citizenship because you are qualified,” Samsak told their coach, according to video footage posted by Thai authorities. “It doesn’t mean you were given it because you were stuck in the cave.”