Thousands of Burmese workers 'reverse migrate' back to their uninfected homeland amid coronavirus pandemic
- 4 years ago
Footage shows thousands of Burmese workers 'reverse migrating' back to their uninfected homeland amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The immigrants labourers had all been working across northern Thailand for higher wages but as the pandemic worsens, with 177 confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, they have downed tools and fled.
Thousands of them were seen queuing this morning (March 17) in Tak province to cross the Thailand-Burma border back to the former British trading outpost, which so far has no declared cases of Covid-19.
One of the labourers said his factory had closed because of the Covid-19 scare and he hoped to return when the situation improves.
He said: "I will stay in my home town until the coronavirus situation is better and I will come back to Thailand looking for work again because the wage here is still much higher.
"Most of us did not want to leave but the virus is spreading so quickly that the companies we work for are temporarily shut down and we have no work."
He added that there still are many Burmese workers who are staying as their employers were still open.
He said: "The rest of us who still have a job chose to stay despite the situation getting worse. They will continue to work until their firms are closed."
Burmese officials have introduced measure to quarantine their citizens who are returning from high risk areas.
The country has also imposed new rules banning and restricting travellers from China, South Korea and parts of Europe due to the coronavirus pandemic, the British foreign office said last Sunday, warning against all but essential travel there.
The immigrants labourers had all been working across northern Thailand for higher wages but as the pandemic worsens, with 177 confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, they have downed tools and fled.
Thousands of them were seen queuing this morning (March 17) in Tak province to cross the Thailand-Burma border back to the former British trading outpost, which so far has no declared cases of Covid-19.
One of the labourers said his factory had closed because of the Covid-19 scare and he hoped to return when the situation improves.
He said: "I will stay in my home town until the coronavirus situation is better and I will come back to Thailand looking for work again because the wage here is still much higher.
"Most of us did not want to leave but the virus is spreading so quickly that the companies we work for are temporarily shut down and we have no work."
He added that there still are many Burmese workers who are staying as their employers were still open.
He said: "The rest of us who still have a job chose to stay despite the situation getting worse. They will continue to work until their firms are closed."
Burmese officials have introduced measure to quarantine their citizens who are returning from high risk areas.
The country has also imposed new rules banning and restricting travellers from China, South Korea and parts of Europe due to the coronavirus pandemic, the British foreign office said last Sunday, warning against all but essential travel there.