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Mon Information Service 2.5.1995
- Subject: Mon Information Service 2.5.1995
- From: ojasti@xxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 02 May 1995 13:27:00
MON INFORMATION SERVICE MAY 2 1995
1. WE LAI, A REFUGEE BABY VICTIME. MON REFUGEE BABY SEPARATED.
2. ACTION CALL "COMPASSION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROFIT"
*********************
1. WE LAI, A REFUGEE BABY VICTIME. MON REFUGEE BABY SEPARATED.
" Woman refugee jailed, separted from ill baby "
A woman has been locked in jail and separated from her des-
perately-ill baby following a raid by police in Mon refugees residing
at a Bangkok temple, relief sources said yesterday.
We Lai, an eight-month-old baby girl, was listed in serious
condition at Lertsin Hospital, they said. She was diagnosed as suffering
from pneumonia, malnutrition and other complications after spending seve-
ral days at the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) on Suanplu Road.
Relief sources described the conditions at the jail as "almost intole-
rable",with temperatures soaring to 43:C during the day.
We Lai, her mother Naing Bai, and 12 other Mon refugees were
arrested during a raid on Wat Prok in Yannawa District on April 19,
and were subsequently sent to the detention centre, according to the
Mon National Relief Committee (MNRC). The baby was reportedly showing
signs of illness at the time.
Although Naing Bai's husband is Thai, he is said to suffer from
mental illness and is unable to support the family.
We Lai and her five-year-old brother are Thai citizens, but Naing
Bai does not have a residency permit, according to the relief agency.
On Tuesday, April 25, Naing Bai was sent to a jail in Kanchanaburi
on the first leg of her deportation, sources said. We Lai was noted to have
a high fever and was breathing with great difficulty.
The baby was rushed to hospital after immigration authorities
thoroughly checked her documents, the sources said. She was then placed
in oxygen and in a mist tent to assist her breathing.
"She has been fighting for her life ever since," a relief
official said. A private charity had offered to pay for the medical
services.
We Lai's condition was reported to have stabilized yesterday and
doctors believed she would live. But Phra Wongsa Pala, Chairman of the
MNRC, called for her to be reunited with her mother, at least until the
baby gets better.
"I think this case would shock most Thais if they knew of the
situation," Phra Wongsa said.
"The authorities should reconsider the situation and allow the
mother to return to Bangkok, at least until the baby is discharged from
hospital."
Lt Col Jonglak Wongsaked, an officer at the Suanplu detention
centre, told The Nation he was recently contacted by relief officials an
was sympathetic to the baby's plight.
However, he was alerted to the situation only after Naing Bai had
left the IDC and there was now little he could do to help.
Also arrested at Wat Prok of April 19 was Maung Kyan--a Mon who
lost both arms and both eyes in a landmine explosion 10 years ago--along
with his wife and two children.
Maung Kyan recently underwent a cornea transplant operation to
restore some of his vision, but relief officials feared his condition
would deteriorate because of the unsanitary conditions at the detention
centre.
They said that because Maung Kyan had been officially listed as a
"person of concern" by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, he
and his family had been sent to the Maneeloi camp for Burmese refugees in
Ratchburi where he should be able to recover. Naing Bai, however, does
not have such status.
MNRC officials said there had been repeated raids on Wat Prok of a
general crackdown on refugees and illegal immigrants from Burma who are
residing in Thailand.
They said the crackdown was intended to pressure Mon separatists
in Burma to sign a ceasefire with the ruling State Law and Order Res-
toration Council (SLORC).
This would allow a pipeline planned to transport natural gas from
Burma to Thailand through Mon-held territory to be built and secured,
they added.
"What Thai authorities are doing to the Mon refugees today is
directly connected to Thailand's agreement with Slorc for the purchase of
natural gas--it's as simple as that," said Phra Wongsa.
Thai authorities, however, said they were merely enforcing the
Immigration Act.
********************************
The above article, which appeared on the front page of The Nation
newspaper, a major English language daily in Bangkok, was accompanied
by a large coloured photographs of the baby on oxygen and in a mist tent
in Lertsin Hospital.
As of this moment, the baby's mother has not been allow to return.
*******************************
2. COMPASSION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROFIT.
The Overseas Mon Young Monks Union, The Mon Student Organisation, The
Mon National Relief Committee, as well as several international NGOs are
calling for affirmative action.
You CAN help! Call your nearest Thai Embassy or consulate and ask that
the baby's mother be returned. At the same time express your concern for
the safety and well-being of Mon and Karen refugees in Thailand.
It is also suggest the candle-lite vigils in front of Thai consulates
would be another appropriate expression concern. The theme of such
action should be 'compassion is more important than profit.'
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