Will these migrants in Ranong have a chance to vote on 7 November?

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Myanmar migrants struggle with HIV in Thailand
Reuters Alertnet
August 10

Ranong, Thailand – A few months after crossing illegally from Myanmar into
Thailand, former political prisoner Aung found out he was HIV positive.

His wife, Lei, was pregnant with their second daughter when he fell sick.
He had diarrhoea and could not eat. By the time he was diagnosed, he was
skin and bones and his CD4 count - white blood cells that attack
infections - was 26.

Most healthcare providers start life-saving antiretroviral drugs (ARV)
when CD4 counts go below 350.

"We didn't even have the money to go to the clinic. We had no one who
could help us, no parents or relatives," said Lei, sitting in their small
hut in a migrant workers' compound.

With her husband unwell, Lei got a job on a construction site just 45 days
after giving birth. Aung, employed on the same site, only stopped working
for a month at the height of his illness.

"With a newborn baby, I couldn't afford not to go to work," he said.

Lei has now discovered she is also HIV positive and the couple fear their
baby may be as well.

The family were referred to Marist Mission Ranong (MMR), a Christian
non-governmental organisation (NGO)working to improve health and education
for Myanmar migrants and their children.

Father John Larsen, head of MMR, told AlertNet: "One of the biggest needs
we see is for migrant workers struggling with HIV/AIDS" - families like
Aung's, who need to work every day to make ends meet and yet are unable to
do so because of their health.

MMR provides home visits and subsidises the cost of medication for Myanmar
migrant workers living with HIV/AIDS.

HIDDEN PROBLEM

Myanmar's military junta, which has ruled the country for nearly five
decades, has cracked down hard on political opponents and ethnic
minorities, forcing many to flee their homes.

Every year, thousands risk their lives to cross into Thailand, to escape
civil strife, political upheaval and economic stagnation.

There are thought to be up to 2 millions Myanmar workers in Thailand, many
of them illegal.

Aung, a former student activist, spent seven years in jail in Myanmar. He
has a university degree, but as a former political prisoner his
opportunities after his release were severely limited.

He and his family decided to flee while he was working at a palm oil
plantation in the southern port town of Kawthaung, where he likened
conditions to a prison.

Ranong, a lush provincial town, is a 30-minute boat ride from Kawthaung
and teeming with migrant workers from Myanmar.

Aid workers estimate there could be up to 200,000 Myanmar workers in
Ranong, more than twice the local population, with many more scattered
around the province of the same name. Many migrants in Ranong are from
ethnic minorities in southern areas of Myanmar who have faced
discrimination and repression.

In Ranong the migrants do low-pay work in fishing, seafood processing and
agricultural industries.

There are no official statistics on how many migrants are infected with
HIV/AIDs because most are fearful of going to hospitals or asking for help
due to their illegal status and lack of money.

"It is very difficult to know the numbers and how serious the situation is
and it can be frustrating because I don't think we're reaching enough
patients," Larsen said.

"My feeling is that we are not hearing about them enough because for most
of the people, it is a combination of fear and lack of education."

HIGH COST OF TREATMENT

Many turn up at the hospital or turn to MMR in the last stages of the
disease, when they are no longer able to work, Larsen said.

Aung and Lei are lucky. Both are now on antiretroviral drugs (ARV) paid
for by MMR. The monthly cost of medication, at around 2,400 baht (about
$80), is too much for the couple, who have a combined income of 200 baht a
day and are now expecting their third child.

The cost of HIV/AIDS treatment is also a burden to the local health
service, which has been funding treatment for 3,000 migrant patients but a
lack of funds is preventing them from providing the same service to
newcomers.

"They require constant care throughout the patients' lives and it can be
quite a strain on the hospital," deputy director of Ranong Hospital Pichet
Pitikuakoon said. "So we need to rely on NGOs like MMR to pay for that
because we can't pay for the cost of ARV for new patients."

MMR says its aim is to help migrant workers get better so they are able to
pay for the medicines themselves, allowing MMR to fund more patients for
treatment.

Lwin, a typical Myanmar migrant worker employed on a fishing boat for
months at a time, is an example.

Both he and his wife are infected and their 11-month-old son who died
recently was also suspected of having the virus.

But thanks to the scheme, Lwin is now fit enough to work again and is
paying for 75 percent of his ARV.

(Names have been shortened or changed to protect people's identities)

http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/60167/2010/07/10-134411-1.htm