Papers

• Ageing and transnational care: Growing old and getting care of retirees from the Global North in Thailand Kwanchit Sasiwongsaroj Mahidol University

  The growth in ageing population is occurring in almost every region of the world and has already become a global trend. Besides serious financial challenges, an important consequence of this megatrend is long-term care for this ballooning age-group with longer lives. Recently, the new mobility trend of international retirement migration (IRM) has become increasingly widespread. More and more “empty nesters” from the global North, including Japan, are choosing to relocate to warmer or cheaper retirement destinations in Southern Europe and Southeast Asia. Thailand is one of the popular IRM destinations in the region. Rapid population ageing in Thailand in tandem with the continuing influx of migrants of relatively advanced age to Thailand in recent years and concurrently with national policy to be a hub for medical and wellness tourism, the demand for old age care has increased noticeably. This paper seeks to unfold current situation of the use and demand of aged care services among Thais and foreign retirees. The availability and standard of aged care were also explored. In addition, the Thai features of (a)symmetrical resource distribution of aged care in the global commodification of care were discussed.

• Enhancing ASEAN Community Educational Cooperation through a Thailand-Indonesia School Partnership Program: Policy and Practice Ampa Kaewkumkong Institute of East Asian Studies, Thammasat University Kwanchit Sasiwongsaroj Mahidol University Sirima Thongsawang Chulalongkorn University Thithimadee Arphattananon Mahidol University

  The school partnership program between Thailand and Indonesia set an agenda in response to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) citizenship and twenty-first century adaptation to the global context. This study examines conditions for a Thailand-Indonesia school partnership program, implemented according to ASEAN Community educational cooperation policies. Mixed methods research was done, with quantitative research collecting data by survey questionnaire and qualitative research gathering information from in-depth interviews; school visits and observation; and documentary analysis. Stakeholders from central authorities and schools were selected by purposive sampling. Results were that Thai pilot schools had a moderate level of practice overall. Context performance was at a high level, while input, process, and product evaluation were at moderate levels. Challenges in promoting policy implementation included: 1) central authority lack of consistency in implementation, insufficient budget allocation, and lack of monitoring and evaluation continuity, with rules and regulations unconducive to arranging certain activities; 2)absence of operational continuity after practitioners were transferred between schools and retirement of personnel; 3) coordination between central authorities and schools, and between Thai and Indonesian schools; 4)practitioner knowledge and understanding of policy implementation and skills required for practices, especially English language and information and communication technology (ICT); and 5) influences from external situations, especially the 2014 change in government which altered the impetus of educational policy, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to suspension of ASEAN Community activities.

• Leaving Myanmar to Thailand: Migration Routes and Risks Sirima Thongsawang Chulalongkorn University

  Migration has a role in development where unequal distribution, in the place of origin and labor shortages, in the destination persist. The migration of Myanmar workers is a catalyst for growth through remittances to develop the home community, while they are a crucial labor supply in response to the shortage of labor in Thailand in the Thai seafood processing industry. The push and pull factors match. As such, Myanmar migrants are the largest group of foreign workers in Thailand. However, the migration process from Myanmar to Thailand has become challenging terms of migration safety. Moreover, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the unregulated and uncontrolled migration along the Thai and Myanmar borders has been intensified because illegal border crossers were reported as the causes of the second wave of the outbreak in Thailand during August 2020-January 2021. The paper aims to identify migration routes from Myanmar to Thailand, both legal and illegal. The paper also analyzes risks affecting mobility along Thai and Myanmar borders. The research for this paper was carried out using qualitative methods- interviews and secondary data analysis. The findings show that selected routes of migration mostly depended on the agents or brokers’ decisions. Illegal migrants explore natural borders available extensively or unknowingly use counterfeit documents, while others licitly go through a border check-point. The prevalent risks that impact a safe migration involve the administration from the home to the host country, brokers, and migrants’ limitations of language, knowledge of transportation from Myanmar to their worksites, and the job hunting experiences.

• Symbolic Violence and Ambivalent Identity: Migrant Children from Myanmar and their Education in Thailand Thithimadee Arphattananon Mahidol University

  Migrant workers from Myanmar constitute the largest number among the 4 million migrant workers in Thailand. Many of them brought along their children and many gave birth to children while they are in the country. According to the government’s policy, children of migrant workers are entitled to receive public education. Some migrant parents enrolled their children in government schools. Some opted for education provided by learning centers whose curriculum are similar to that of Myanmar. Still, many migrant children do not receive any form of education. As the education provided by the government schools is regulated by the state, by focusing on this type of school, we can grasp the ideology and values that the state wants to pass on to students. Migrant children who enrolled in government schools revealed that they faced with racist remarks. They were blamed as unhygienic and prone to transmit disease. The placement of migrant children in government schools do not match with their developmental stages; it is common to see 12-year-old migrant students studying in the same class with their 6-year-old Thai classmates. These incidents are considered as symbolic violence. Using data from previous research projects conducted between 2018-2020, this paper sheds light on the forms of symbolic violence that migrant children faced in Thai government schools. The paper argues that the symbolic violence causes ambivalent feelings among migrant children towards their identity and tremendously affects their life chances.

Abstract

Keywords

• Governance
• Healthcare
• Migration
• Regional Integration
• Thailand