THAILAND

RIGHT TO PLAY OF CHILDREN IN MIGRANT WORKERS’ COMMUNITIES IN THAILAND

IN AMPHOE MUANG, AMPHOE PHRA PADAENG, SAMUT PRAKARN PROVINCE, AND AMPHOE MAE SOT, TAK PROVINCE, THAILAND

BY KHEMPORN WIRUNRAPAN, PRASOPSUK BORANMOOL, KRONGKAEW CHAIARKHOM, SRIBUA KANTHAWONG

The past 30 years saw flows of neighbouring nationals migrating into Thailand from Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao PDR to seek paid employment. Some of the migrants came through legal channels; others have been smuggled in; some of them are victims of trafficking. Migrants create living quarters and many came with their children. While many children of migrants are born on Thai soil, these children live their whole lives in crisis as some of them do not possess nationality papers resulting in profound problems of statelessness, lack of access to education, health care and safe environments. Their basic right to play, among others, is deprived.

This study covered three target areas: one in Mae Sot (Tak Province) and two in Samut Prakarn Province (Tai Ban in Muang district and Samrong in Phra Padaeng district). In this article, the research team shares findings on the patterns of play found amongst children in these communities. They were observed to use general and special coping mechanisms to meet their need to play.

Play is important in the view of children. They told the research team that they have fun and happiness with play. Play makes them healthy and strong. Play helps them in their growth, makes them friendly, open and free. Around their living quarters children want to have a large space, access to nature, friends to play with, happiness, and freedom to learn.

When we play, we are happy and we enjoy ourselves. (Children aged 6-10)

If we enjoy playing, we will enjoy studying, too. Playing is as important as studying. (10 year-old, Tak province)

The play of children in three study areas was found to be limited, however, and full of obstacles and challenges. The groups having the least chance to play are: • children under six years of age who have to accompany their parents to work or are locked up at home while parents are at work • child labourers who have to work hard for long hours and have little time to play or are too tired to play • girl child labourers have to tend to domestic chores; social norms force the girls to become adults more quickly than boys, thus no time to play • some children with disabilities are kept at home because of shame • married girls are expected to behave like adults so they cannot play • children whose parents expect good school performance from them are under pressure and have less time to play.

Obstacles and challenges to children’s access to play include: • parents not allowing children to play far from home or outside of home (reasons include not feeling safe because they did not have legal documents for immigration, they could not speak Thai) • risk of abduction • physical areas and environment that are unsafe causing drowning, car accident, poisoned by venom animals (snakes, centipedes or scorpions) • unhygienic living quarters with standing water, chemicals, trash etc, • working children have less time to play • early marriages and teen parents taking away the childhood.

Against all odds, migrant children have ways to cope and play in every day crisis situations.

General coping mechanisms include children sneaking out to play in places prohibited by adults - children can do this very well since their parents are often not around.

Most children are aware of unsafe places because the places are strictly prohibited by adults. However, the prohibited places are the places they like to go most. It is challenging and exciting to explore so they will secretly go there often. Those places are often places with water, for example, river, river banks, ponds, canals, waterways or waste water pipes.

My children loved to sneak out playing at the dock. No matter how many times I say no or how hard I punish them, they will go anyway. I don’t know what to do. When I asked them, they will change the subjects. I don’t have time to look after them because I have to work. (One mother)

When I played near the (deep water) basin and caught frogs, I was cut by a broken glass because there are plenty of them embedded in the sand. (A boy age 11)

It is a lot of fun to play at the deserted salt factory. We chase one another and climb on the salt bags. If adults approach, we would hide. When they leave, we will start doing it again. (A boy in Saphan Pla age 7)

For child labourers who have to work, they have less time to play so they secretly play while working in a factory when their employer is not around.

I secretly drum plastic buckets when the boss is not around. These plastic buckets are produced in the factory. I also secretly eat some snacks. (A boy aged 17, Saphan Pla Community)

Otherwise, children accept the limitation and play only at home or with whatever toys or objects they can put their hands on or with what is allowed.

I have to help my parents doing housework, getting water, washing clothes and cooking before I can play so when I come back from school, I will finish my housework as fast as I can so I can have more time to play. (A child in Mae Sot age 10)

“Forced to be home, they invented toys from bamboo found in the community. Out of the bamboo, they made piggy banks or human-size wooden shoes. They used bamboo for their cooking games such as making French fries or other simple meals, using real kitchen utensils. In this way, they learned how to cook real food. In case when their parents are not home, they would look after their little siblings and played with them at home.”

Children turn to technology such as watching television, becoming absorbed in smart phones or playing computer games at a game shop.

In the parents’ view gadgets such as smart phones help to keep their children home where they felt they were safer. They bought them smart phones and could keep in touch with their children when they left them on their own to go to work. The parents believed their children would be saved from danger in this way. They call the children regularly to check what their children are doing and if they are safe.

Children also have special coping mechanisms which include improvised play and improvised musical instruments, increasing risks in play thus increasing fun such as using fantasies or risky types of play.

“There were areas in the community where children were restricted to enter and to play. However, the more they were prohibited, the more they wanted to play in those restricted areas. They would sneak into places such as construction sites. They would climb into a wood warehouse. They would jump into delivery trucks in the parking lot. When adults approached they would run away for a while and come back to play soon after.

When children played in areas that were dangerous and prohibited or when they had no other choice, they would create play formats such that they changed hazardous areas into a fun place. For example, they would imagine the areas to be an adventure park where they ran away from beasts or where they fought as warriors.” (Extract from Case Study, sand port, Samut Prakan Province) The risky play was observed to fall into two patterns:

• Actual risky play and increasing the risk in play using imagination. This applies mostly to boys but some girls do play in this way. There were playing places where children liked to go such as river bank or deserted building. These places were prohibited by their parents but there were no other places else to play so children looked for a less risky place and imagined it to be more dangerous, for example, climbing into a truck bed in parking lot. • Imagination play. It gave risky and thrilled feeling, for example, playing which is related to ghost or spirit like Spirit Board that children saw on television programmes and played it often. The questions these children asked would be related to their fear of any accidents in the community and what their parents were worried.

Sample Ghost Play

A child lies down in the middle, surrounded by his friends. He pretends to be taken by a ghost. His friends try to communicate with the ghost by asking the child the following questions.

Q: Who are you?

A: My name is…

Q: How did you die?

A: I was hit by a car (or I drowned, etc.)

Q: Will you haunt us?

A: Yes.

Everyone would run away. Or if the answer is no, children would keep asking.

Lessons from the Thailand study promoting right to play

The research found that safe play spaces are an important issue for communities where high-risk factors are present. Play space should be creatively designed so that they respond to the play needs of children of all ages and social status. Play could serve as therapy for children with limited access to play.

Parents must give more importance to play and could form groups of volunteers which function as a family network to resolve or prevent problems of children playing in hazardous and dangerous conditions. Furthermore, appropriate play and access to such play should be created for girls or teen mothers so that they could find their own freedom and realize their full potential. It may be possible to identify empowered migrant communities that have good management; and, in such communities, outside organizations could lend support to community members and promote access to play for their children.

It has been observed that children’s access to play is increased in school but teachers have to be skilful in organizing play for children. If employers see the importance of play and provide play space in migrant communities, it would help increase an access to play for children.

Community child care centres could be a magnet for local government agencies such as municipality and public health offices, to come and support. Various children organizations have policies and funding sources that are not accommodating the work to promote children’s access to play. Both factors have contributed to the work being interrupted and to the inability of the players to scale up the initiative.

Last but not least, promotion of cultural space in the community could help migrant workers to see the potential and possibilities to integrate play space as part of their livelihoods. These cultural spaces should be aligned with their way of living and that promote their sense of self-worth and dignity, as well as their true participation.

As for policy recommendations, the team conclude from this research that Thailand should have a clear policy regarding support for migrant persons under 18 years old. Such care provision should be age appropriate and service providers should define clear policies and roles. The right to play of migrant children should form part of the policy towards migrant workers in Thailand. It could be integrated in the well-defined education and public health structure. Furthermore, the right to play should be one of the topics to be highlighted in Thailand’s report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Study details

The study was conducted through literature review (which revealed a lack of study in this area) and in-depth interviews with 97 children (47 girls and 50 boys) in three age groups 6- 10, 11 – 14 and 15 – 18 years old. IPA data collection tools were used in the field research. In addition, the study used other methods such as field visits to observe children’s play, interviews with parents, and interviews with community volunteers, government officials and children organizations’ workers. The duration of field work was three months from December 2016 to February 2017.

The field research reveals that crisis in labour migration, insecurity in migrant workers’ lives and hard work to make ends meet have resulted in the lack of time for parents to look after their children and the children’s opportunities to play. Most workers live in crowded and unhealthy conditions. Many of them lack legal status and are illegal migrants. Due to these factors, parents often prohibit children to play outside of home or of community. They do not gather in groups to do any activity and fear of attracting the attention of authorities (police) is a large issue. They avoid having any conflict with Thai people. As results, parents block the chance of children to experience a great variety of play.

RESEARCHERS AND SUPPORT TEAMS

Senior Researcher

Khemporn Wirunrapan - Child and Youth Media Foundation (CYMF)

Researchers

-Foundation for Child Development (FCD) Prasopsuk Boranmool Krongkaew Chaiarkhom Sribua Kanthawong

Field data collecting team Weerapong Kangwannavakun Pattamawan Phutbuanoy Chanta Tang Burmese interpreters Su Htet Lwin Nan Pawk Mai Max Hnin Hgwe Zin

Translators Tanyakorn Feichtinger Kusumal Rachawong Narumol Ruenwai Chongcharoen Sornkaew Varoonvarn Svangsopakul Chitraporn Vanaspong