After the 2nd-semester examination result was announced, we found that Au can still maintain her good grades like she used to in the previous semester which is one of the criteria for the continuation of sponsorship apart from being a well-behaved, honest, responsible, public-minded, and dedicated student. To ensure that the parents are aware of their daughter’s accomplishments, so we visited her family for a regular follow-up and general discussion. During this visit, we followed up on the parents’ employment situation, income, expenses, and other difficulties they faced in their daily lives. We discussed with her parents the importance of providing support for their kids correctly so they can continue showing and improving their potential. Also, we continued helping the parents fight their financial stress by taking care of the kids’ school expenses as we always did in the past.
One significant concern was also discussed during this visit which was the civil registration of Au. She is 14 years old and holds a student identity document issued by the Ministry of Education called registration of G code student. This type of document is usually issued to migrant students whose parents are holding passports from Myanmar. It helps their parents live in Thailand more comfortably in terms of working, traveling, and accessing healthcare services but not for the kids. Au was raised in Thailand since she was a little girl, and she should have at least obtained a Stateless Person card issued by the Ministry of Interior to non-Thai national students who didn’t have any identity documents from 2005 to 2011. Unfortunately, she missed that great opportunity because her parents lacked knowledge and didn’t realize it would later become a problem. Those migrant students who were not born or don’t have strong evidence to prove their birth in Thailand will still be able to obtain Thai citizenship by naturalization process after they graduate from higher education in Thailand if they are holding Stateless Person cards. Unlike those who hold G code documents like Au, she has to apply for a passport from Myanmar like her parents did while having no desire to return to Myanmar. Especially returning to Shan State where fighting among ethnic armed groups, border guard forces, and the Myanmar army often break out. The conflict has been continued for over 75 years and no sign of peace in the near future.
Some might wonder what is the matter for Au holding a passport like her parents. In fact, it does matter because she will face many difficulties and limitations living in Thailand for the rest of her life even if she graduated from college. According to Thai Immigration law, she needs to work in the field specified by the law only which is very less choices and lower wages when compared to Thai nationals. For healthcare, she needs to buy health insurance in order to get access to medical services. Also, racial discrimination is one of the problems she has to live with in the future. Students or foreigners from Western countries or some Asian countries will not experience it except for those who are from CMLV countries. However, the legal advisor of Kwah Dao provided legal advice to the parents and Au on solving this problem in every possible way and suggested Au focus more on her studies for now. Even though she was disappointed with some unpleasant situations, she was still motivated and energetic to fight for a better future.
