The Myanmar junta’s recent activation of the national conscription law could trigger a mass exodus of young people to Thailand, warned labor rights activists.
Many young people are preparing to leave military-ruled Myanmar after the regime recently made it mandatory for the country’s young people to serve in the military. Labor rights activists say many of them would prefer to move to neighboring Thailand.
“I heard young people over 18 are preparing to leave Myanmar by any means. Consequently, there will be more illegal migrant workers in Thailand. There will be more labor rights violations when there are more illegal migrant workers,” said U Htoo Chit, executive director of the Foundation for Education and Development based in southern Thailand.
Myanmar’s human capital shortage will worsen due to the exodus, he added. “The human capital shortage is not a new problem in Myanmar, but it will worsen, and it will become more difficult to find basic workers in Myanmar,” he said.
The conscription law stipulates that all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 have to serve. The age range for people with special expertise, such as doctors and engineers, is extended to 18-45 for men and 18-35 for women.
The duration of military service is said to be no longer than two years, but those who are called up as technicians are required to serve for up to three years. Compulsory service can be extended by up to five years during a state of emergency, such as the current one.
The regime on Tuesday formed a national-level 18-member body to oversee implementation of the conscription law. The central body will form recruitment branches at the regional, state, district and township levels. Evading conscription is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The regime said it would recruit 5,000 people, mostly men, in the first intake scheduled in April.
The 2021 coup has already triggered a massive brain drain, and the conscription law would cause another wave of migration, creating opportunities for human traffickers, said U Htoo Chit.
Since the putsch, hundreds of thousands of people have left the country in search of better job prospects. Major destinations include Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Korea.
There have been rumors that the regime is arresting young people from their homes or while traveling. The regime has also imposed restrictions on domestic air travel. U Moe Gyo, chairman of the Joint Action Committee for Burma Affairs based in Mae Sot, Thailand, said: “I don’t want to urge the people either to leave or to stay in the country. It is their life, and I’d like to urge them to decide quickly and take action.”
Since the activation of the conscription law on Feb. 10, many people have been enquiring about the cost of migration to foreign countries, job prospects and academic opportunities in foreign countries on Facebook groups created by Myanmar expats.
The law has triggered concerns among young people and their parents, and many are planning to work or study abroad, some young people in Yangon said.
“I was dismayed when I heard about the law. We have been suffering injustice, and we could do nothing. I don’t want to serve. I will think about how to avoid it. The regime will surely do things to prevent people from leaving the country. If I can leave the country, I will definitely try to leave,” said a 29-year-old man from Yangon’s Yankin Township.
It is estimated that there are as many as 5 million licensed and unlicensed Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand. About 400,000 licensed migrant workers have left Myanmar in the three years since the February 2021 coup, according to labor rights activists in Thailand.
