• Burmese
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion Guest Column

Remembering Kraisak Choonhavan—a Friend to Myanmar Laborers and Refugees in Thailand

Htoo Chit by Htoo Chit
June 18, 2020
in Guest Column
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0 0
A A
Kraisak Choonhavan opened numerous schools for the children of Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand.

Kraisak Choonhavan opened numerous schools for the children of Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand.

6.3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

After Myanmar’s military regime staged a bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy uprising in August 1988, many of the country’s democracy activists fled to the Thai border.

As armed conflicts intensified in ethnic areas over the years, war refugees and economic migrants also left for Thailand, which became a base for Myanmar’s democracy activists, ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), political parties, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and exiled news agencies.

Myanmar democracy activists and EAOs based in Thailand must engage with Thai military and civilian officials. Kraisak Choonhavan, who died of cancer on June 11 at the age of 72, was one such official, but he was different from the others. Despite his upper class background, he dedicated his life to tackling the issues of Myanmar war refugees, migrant workers and human rights. It is fair to say that he was known by every Myanmar democracy and human rights activist based in Thailand.

RelatedPosts

Thai ex-PM Thaksin Due in Dock for Royal Defamation Case

Thai ex-PM Thaksin Due in Dock for Royal Defamation Case

July 16, 2025
129
Two Myanmar Migrants Still Languish in Thai Jail Over Min Aung Hlaing Protest

Two Myanmar Migrants Still Languish in Thai Jail Over Min Aung Hlaing Protest

July 14, 2025
448
Myanmar, Thailand Ramp Up Cooperation on Border Issues

Myanmar, Thailand Ramp Up Cooperation on Border Issues

July 4, 2025
1.6k

Out of respect, Myanmar activists based in Thailand addressed him as “Saya”. The only son of former Prime Minister and General Chatichai Choonhavan, he was educated in Britain, France, Switzerland and the United States. He was well known in Thailand as a lecturer, political party leader, senator, environmentalist and activist.

Kraisak was long a staunch supporter of the causes of democracy and human rights in Myanmar, and was never hesitant to voice that support, both inside and outside the Thai parliament. Thanks to him, the Thai people, including business owners, political parties and military officials, learned about ethnic issues, refugees, human rights and political problems in Myanmar.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Kraisak Choonhavan.

His faith was strong, though his heart was tender. Despite his high social status as an educated member of the Thai senate, he stood up for the vulnerable and underprivileged. And he was so approachable. His door was always open to visits from democracy and human rights activists.

His efforts on behalf of Myanmar migrants in southern Thailand in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 is engraved in my heart. Among the thousands of people killed in Thailand by the tsunami were hundreds of Myanmar migrants. Though the Thai and foreign survivors received proper help from the Thai government and their respective embassies, thousands of Myanmar migrant workers were arrested and sent back to Kawthoung on the Myanmar border. Thousands more were forced to hide in rubber plantations and forests, struggling to survive. One migrant whose leg was injured in the tsunami had to have the limb amputated, as he dared not go to a hospital for fear of being arrested.

When I told Kraisak about it, his heart went out to all Myanmar migrant workers. Immediately, he made phone calls and sought help from the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand. Thai police stopped arresting the migrant workers and aid was arranged for Myanmar tsunami victims.

Kraisak Choonhavan with a portrait of his mother drawn by his father.

I shared many unforgettable moments with him.

In 2000 I founded the Foundation for Education and Development (FED)—previously the Grassroots Human Rights Education and Development Committee—in the border town of Sangkhlaburi in Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province to assist Myanmar migrant workers with issues relating to education, health and labor. Like other illegal Myanmar organizations in Thailand, the FED ran into numerous problems and troubles.

There were frequent confrontations with Thai authorities and businesspeople, and in some cases, FED officials were arrested. So, I decided to officially register the FED with the Thai government so that it could be based inside Thailand and help Myanmar migrant workers and provide long-term support for refugees along the border.

For an NGO to register in Thailand, it must have Thai citizens on its committee. We therefore requested Thai activists with whom we had ties—and who were interested in the causes of democracy and human rights in Myanmar and were willing to help us—to serve as FED committee members.

Though Kraisak and I were known to each other, I was reluctant to ask him to join the FED because of his family background, reputation and social status.

However, Kraisak nodded willingly when his close colleague, the US documentary producer Jeanne Marie Hallacy, asked him to chair the FED.

And he did not lead the FED in name only, but played a major part in designing the organization’s policies for sustainable development. He also built up local and international contacts and helped raise funds. The FED became the first Myanmar NGO to register in Thailand.

For children, he had a genuine love. I once witnessed him fly into a rage upon learning that children of undocumented Myanmar migrant workers in southern Thailand were being denied schooling and security rights.

Kraisak Choonhavan and U Htoo Chit.

The FED today bears witness to his leadership, under which it developed to promote the rights of Myanmar migrant workers and provide education for their children.

He believed that the Myanmar migrant workers charged in the Koh Tao and Ranong murder cases were unfairly prosecuted, and used his contacts to help the defendants get whatever assistance was possible. He helped arrange meetings with officials of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand at his house.

Kraisak was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2015. His passing last week was reported in both local and international media.

This article is a tribute and expression of gratitude to Kraisak, who dedicated his whole life to the causes of democracy, human rights, ethnic war refugees and migrant workers from Myanmar.

Rest in Peace, Kraisak!

U Htoo Chit is the executive director of the Foundation for Education and Development, which supports Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand.

You may also like these stories:

How Will Millions of Myanmar Migrant Workers Vote in the 2020 Election?

Long Way to Go but Marching to It: 20 Years of Pushing Political Reform in Myanmar

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Human RightsLaborMigrationThailand
Htoo Chit

Htoo Chit

Similar Picks:

Myanmar Junta Arrests Thai Condo Buyers, Realtors as Currency Crashes
Business

Myanmar Junta Arrests Thai Condo Buyers, Realtors as Currency Crashes

by The Irrawaddy
June 4, 2024
27.7k

Monday’s arrests follow reports that Myanmar has become one of Thailand’s most lucrative markets for selling condos since the 2021...

Read moreDetails
Reluctant Exiles: Another ‘Life or Death’ Exodus From Myanmar
Stories That Shaped Us

Reluctant Exiles: Another ‘Life or Death’ Exodus From Myanmar

by Brian Wei
April 8, 2024
22.1k

The latest exodus of reluctant exiles from Myanmar comprises young people forced to leave everything behind to escape becoming frontline...

Read moreDetails
Five-Star Casino Resort on Myanmar Tropical Island Runs Out of Luck
Burma

Five-Star Casino Resort on Myanmar Tropical Island Runs Out of Luck

by The Irrawaddy
February 6, 2024
19.3k

U Kyaw Lwin ran his casino resort on the visa-free island for more than 10 years before facing arrest in...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Youth Exodus Feared in Wake of Junta’s Conscription Law
Burma

Myanmar Youth Exodus Feared in Wake of Junta’s Conscription Law

by The Irrawaddy
February 15, 2024
15.7k

Activists warn of increased labor rights violations in Thailand and human trafficking as young people flee to avoid mandatory military...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Enforces Rule Requiring Migrant Workers to Remit 25% of Pay
Burma

Myanmar Junta Enforces Rule Requiring Migrant Workers to Remit 25% of Pay

by The Irrawaddy
August 5, 2024
15.1k

Those working in Thailand under a govt-to-govt scheme who fail to remit 25% of their pay via the formal banking...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar General Jailed Over Humiliating Battlefield Defeat Near Thai Border
Burma

Myanmar General Jailed Over Humiliating Battlefield Defeat Near Thai Border

by The Irrawaddy
July 16, 2024
12.3k

Brigadier-general sentenced to 14 years in prison over his division’s hasty retreat from a base protecting Myawaddy to safety beneath...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
The place where the body of the murdered GAD clerk was found in Kyaukphyu Township / Lei Wadi Kula Rakhita Philanthropic Association / Facebook

Another Low-Level Administrator Killed in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

A portrait of Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi  made from a collage of images of 7,500 people to celebrate her 75th birthday. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

Recalling a Birthday Marked in Silence

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

1 week ago
1.3k
What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

1 day ago
990

Most Read

  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Moves into Nawnghkio Outskirts

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar and Russian Regimes Push Indian Trade Corridor to Bypass Western Sanctions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.