Migrant Workers From Myanmar and Cambodia Finally Gain Public Recognition in Bangkok

For a country which hosts over two million migrant workers from Myanmar and at least half a million from Cambodia, they remain mostly invisible in Thailand. This is partly due to physical similarities, but also due to the fact that they are rarely acknowledged publicly as an indispensable part of the Thai economy, performing hard but low-paying work in the seafood, construction, and service industries, among others.

A small but significant step towards rectifying that will take place this Saturday, when a large mural painting belatedly acknowledging the contributions of migrant workers will be inaugurated in one of Bangkok's most affluent neighbourhoods, in an alley between Thonglor Soi 9 and Soi 11.

The mural itself is far from small, measuring 10 metres high and 12 metres wide.

The artist team was led by Paris-based Burmese artist Chuu Wai, who has experience painting murals across Europe—including Zurich, Toulouse, and Marseille, and also India. Two Myanmar artists based in Bangkok also contributed: Sai Chit Min and Khant Win (YG).

While the project was initiated by SEA Junction—a Bangkok-based non-profit organisation that aims to promote a better understanding of Southeast Asia—in partnership with the International Labour Organization's Ship to Shore Rights programme, which is funded by the European Union, and other partners including Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), it was Chuu Wai who scouted for the location. Her search eventually led her to the wall of Thonglor House Music Bar and Restaurant, owned by the generous Khun Jiab who will look after the mural for the next two years.

Earlier, at several other locations, property owners asked how much she would pay to use the space.

"So I said, 'No, no. It's public art,'" she told Khaosod English on Tuesday evening, as the mural was 99 per cent completed. "I almost gave up."

While migrants from Myanmar are scattered across many countries in the region, including Singapore, South Korea, and Japan, the artist said Bangkok is the preferred location. After all, Thailand hosts the largest number of migrant workers from the repressive country outside Myanmar, with estimates, including both registered and undocumented workers, likely approaching three million.

"If I have to talk about migrant workers from Myanmar, I have to choose Thailand. Thailand is the most interesting," she continued in English, with a hint of a French accent after the years she spent there. "There are a lot [of migrant workers] and a lot is going on. I want to bring Thai people and migrant workers closer together. Many people will be walking past and seeing this mural."

The mural depicts 13 migrant workers — 12 from Myanmar and one from Cambodia, two babies, and a dog. All are based on real migrant workers whom the artists spoke to, discussing how they would like themselves to be represented in the mural.

"They face a lot of difficulties. They want people to put themselves in their shoes. They are not coming here [to Thailand]...