"Unemployed Southeast Asian Migrants in Thailand Struggle as COVID-19 Shuts Down Economy", 25 March 2020

As Thailand’s economy shuts down due to government efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus, migrant workers from neighboring Southeast Asian countries Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos have found themselves suddenly unemployed and scrambling to go home.

While some who remain in Thailand are struggling financially, others are trying to return to their home countries amid border closures and concerns that they could bring the virus with them…

Keo Sophat, a Cambodian migrant, told … that now that his Bangkok food stall is shut down, he is running out of money. He knows of about 20 other migrants who are in a similar predicament.

… “I’m in a bad spot right now. I have no money to pay the rent and my kids don’t have enough food to eat,” he said.

… Dy Thehoya, the head of Thailand’s migrant labor organization, told … that if Cambodians must endure prolonged unemployment in Thailand, many would be at risk of starvation.

… Meanwhile on Thailand’s border with Myanmar, thousands of migrant workers are returning home daily. Labor activists warn that they might bring the coronavirus with them and could infect their own families.

Karen National Media Correspondent Mann Myo Myint, told … that more than 10,000 people crossed the Myawaddy-Maesot No. 2 bridge into Myanmar … alone.

“At least 3000 migrants are returning [to Myanmar] daily,” said Mann Myo Myint from Maesot, on the Thai side of the bridge.

… Migrant worker rights groups estimate that some 2.2 million Burmese work legally in Thailand, with a million more undocumented…