THAILAND ENDS DETENTION OF ALL CHILD REFUGEES, ASYLUM SEEKERS
BANGKOK— On a television set in a grim, overcrowded Bangkok detention center refugees closely followed Saudi woman Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun’s quest for resettlement, as the 18-year-old asylum seeker’s case spurred hopes of a major policy turn from Thailand—a country that does not recognize refugees.
Alqunun fled from her family to Bangkok, barricaded herself in an airport hotel room and staved off deportation with her Twitter feed, ultimately gaining refuge in Canada on Jan. 12.
Thai authorities were initially caught flat-footed by the young Saudi’s bold social media campaign.
Indefinite detention
But in the days since, they have promised to address some of the lingering issues of indefinite detention and deportation of asylum seekers.
On Monday, Thai authorities signed a memorandum of understanding to end the detention of all child refugees and asylum seekers.
It was welcomed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a “positive example” of the kingdom’s increasingly humane approach to the issue.
Rights groups have, for years, condemned Thailand for its hostility to asylum seekers—often trapping them on a carousel between detention and work in the black economy.
Waiting to be resettled
An estimated 900 adults remain in grubby immigration detention centers (IDCs) hoping to be resettled like Alqunun but fearing an endless extension to their months, or years, of limbo.
Nazir, a Pakistani-Christian in Bangkok’s biggest IDC, said he watched Alqunun’s case unfold on the news, discussing the twists and turns with his wife over the phone.
He shook his head in amazement at the “days” it took for Alqunun’s refugee status to be determined by the UNHCR before Canada stepped in with the asylum offer, while he has been locked up for several months.
“My wife is alone with my daughter outside ... they are very sad,” Nazir, whose name has been changed to protect his iden- tity, told Agence France-Presse.
No involuntary deportation
The kingdom wants that reputation to change.
But in the wake of Alqunun’s case, immigration police chief Surachate Hakparn has also vowed to recalibrate the detention policy, saying the kingdom will no longer deport anyone “involuntarily.”
Knocking the issue over to the UNHCR, which finds countries to resettle asylum seekers, Surachate says the agency must speed up its processes.
At the end of 2018 there were around 1,000 asylum seekers in Thailand compared to more than 7,000 in 2014.
Inside the Bangkok IDC the fast-tracking of Alqunun’s case has offered a glimmer of hope for change.
In Nazir’s case, he and his wife, Shamim, were granted United Nations refugee status three years after fleeing Pakistan.
The Saudi “case was so quick ... [I have] never seen [anything like it] before. She is very lucky,” Shamim said.