Millions of Burmese women migrate into Thailand each year to form the basis of the Thai agricultural and manufacturing workforce. Un-documented and unregulated, this army of migrant workers constitutes the ultimate 'disposable' labour force, enduring gruelling working conditions and much aggression from the Thai police and immigration authorities. This insightful book ventures into a part of the global economy rarely witnessed by Western observers. Based on unique empirical research, it provides the reader with a gendered account of the role of women migrant workers in Thailand's factories and interrogates the ways in which they manage their families and their futures.

This work gathers stories of the lives of Burmese migrants in Thailand, who fled their native country to escape the repressive military regime. The author offers a harrowing picture of a powerless group caught between two evils, merely seeking to eke out a living under adverse conditions. Since the repressive military regime (SLORC - now SPDC) seized power in Burma in 1962, the Burmese people have suffered untold repression and increasingly intolerable living conditions. For many, the flight to Thailand has become a saviour, not just to earn money on which to live,

How Immigrants Contribute to Thailand’s Economy is the result of a project carried out by the OECD Development Centre and the International Labour Organization, with support from the European Union.

Includes statistical tables, graphs and chronologies.

This textbook describes and explains the complex reality of contemporary internal and international migrations in East Asia. Taking an interdisciplinary approach; Tony Fielding combines theoretical debate and detailed empirical analysis to provide students with an understanding of the causes and consequences of the many types of contemporary migration flows in the region. Key features of Asian Migrations: Comprehensive coverage of all forms of migration including labour migration, student migration, marriage migration, displacement and human trafficking Text boxes containing key concepts and theories More than 30 maps and diagrams Equal attention devoted to broad structures (e.g. political economy) and individual agency (e.g. migration behaviours) Emphasis on the conceptual and empirical connections between internal and international migrations Exploration of the policy implications of the trends and processes discussed Written by an experienced scholar and teacher of migration studies, this is an essential text for courses on East Asian migrations and mobility and important reading for courses on international migration and Asian societies more generally.

This book is the product of a collaborative effort involving partners from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America who were funded by the International Development Research Centre Programme on Women and Migration (2006-2011). The International Institute of Social Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam spearheaded a project intended to distill and refine the research findings, connecting them to broader literatures and interdisciplinary themes. The book examines commonalities and differences in the operation of various structures of power (gender, class, race/ethnicity, generation) and their interactions within the institutional domains of intra-national and especially inter-national migration that produce context-specific forms of social injustice. Additional contributions have been included so as to cover issues of legal liminality and how the social construction of not only femininity but also masculinity affects all migrants and all women. The resulting set of 19 detailed, interconnected case studies makes a valuable contribution to reorienting our perceptions and values in the discussions and decision-making concerning migration, and to raising awareness of key issues in migrants’ rights. All chapters were anonymously peer-reviewed. This book resulted from a series of projects funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.