An Interview with Abe Pearpha, Universal Birth Registration Manager of Plan Thailand

Q: What kind of problems do stateless children in Thailand face?

A: Stateless children struggle to access their basic rights, especially their right to education. Most cannot continue their education at the high school and college levels because their families cannot afford the tuition fees. And those stateless children who do graduate from college cannot get a job as they are illegal and thus do not qualify to work.
Some, in desperation, take up dangerous jobs – girls, for example, work in karaoke bars and boys in factories. Most, however, work in agricultural fields, often using chemical sprayers without any protection. Needless to say, this makes them sick. The hospital in Chiang Rai reported that more than 200 stateless people who had had check-ups there had high levels of chemicals inside their bodies.