Ten Pakistani Christians asylum seekers in Thailand were arrested yesterday from a place called Udom Suk. Among the arrested are a partially paralyzed
man and a pregnant woman, and there is fear in the community that their health will be compromised under the brutal conditions of the Immigration Detention
Centre, where 7 people have already died this year.
The arrested include a couple who left their two children behind in their room when the police came to arrest them. Apparently the couple could not
bear for their children to be kept under such torturous conditions.
Blame for their arrests is being placed on the increased boldness of the Asylum seeker/refugee community. It seemed to the community that the
provision of new UNHCR Identity/registration cards hailed a new period of asylum free of arrest. This false premise was exacerbated by certain
media groups that sent out confusing messages such as this one (click here). BPCA has
continued to warn the community that the cards are no ‘get out of jail free card’ and simply empower the UNHCR against repeat applications made by
rogues, through retention of easily retrievable biometric data. The cards provide only one benefit to asylum seekers in that they are smaller
and more durable than the original paper version.
The verification cards read as follows:
“The card-holder is a person of concern to the UNHCR, registered and documented pursuant to its UN General Assembly Mandate, and should not be involuntarily returned to his/her country of origin. Any assistance accorded to the card-holder is most appreciated.
Which seems to protect asylum seekers from deportation to their homeland and nothing more. A similar statement was included on the original paper
version too.
A poster in the Immigration Detention Centres across Thailand states:
‘Verification Card is not an ID Card formally recognised by the Royal Thai Government. It is NOT a work permit and it is NOT a visa.”
Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the BPCA, said:
“These arrests are a regression by the Royal Thai Authorities. After the BBC Documentary filmed by Chris Rogers for which the BPCA was involved in the planning and fixing of reporter Chris Rogers with victims, they initially seemed to have calmed their approach to these innocent asylum seekers and victims. Arrests had temporarily stopped and many women and children were emancipated by charities such as the BPCA who paid for the necessary bail – set at
£1000 a process itself said to be avaricious. Delays over applications for victims involved in the BBC documentary were a sad indication of their petty protectionism. Also banning charity representative and foreign family members access to victims underlined their attempts to simply preserve their reputation during a time when much media attention was being drawn towards them.”
He added:
“Whatever their reasons for these unwarranted arrests the simple fact is detention under the brutal and squalid conditions of the UNHCR, will only create health concerns that lead to further deaths. We call upon the Royal Thai Authorities to ensure that all the victims under their restrictions of liberty have access to medication and professional medical assistance whilst in custody.”
UNHCR Urban Verification notification.
UNHCR’s notification on lost cards.