#thaïlande

Why Medical Tourism Is Drawing Patients, Even in a Pandemic - The New York Times
▻https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/travel/medical-tourism-coronavirus-pandemic.html

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In recent years, while still on her ex- husband’s health insurance policy, she had received hormonal treatments to ease the pain so she could go about her daily life. But since her divorce last year and the coronavirus restrictions placed on the beauty industry in March, those treatment costs have become prohibitive, especially with no insurance.“There is no real cure for endometriosis, but if I want to free myself from this pain then I need to get a hysterectomy,” Ms. Jackson said, her voice shaking as she described the procedure to remove her uterus. “As if the surgery isn’t bad enough, I need to find 20,000 bucks to pay for it, which is just crazy so I’m going to have to find a way to go to Mexico.”
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed millions of Americans into poverty and stripped more than 5.4 million American workers of their health insurance, according to a study by the nonpartisan consumer advocacy group, Families USA. Many people like Ms. Jackson have experienced a significant deterioration in their health because they have delayed medical procedures. The fear of large medical bills has outweighed fear of contagion for some, giving rise to an increased number of patients seeking medical treatment in a foreign country.
“We are seeing a pent-up demand for medical tourism during the pandemic, particularly in the U.S. where a fast-growing number of Americans are traveling across the land border with Mexico for health purposes,” said David G. Vequist IV, the founder of the Center for Medical Tourism Research, a group based in San Antonio, Texas, and a professor at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. Even before the pandemic, millions of Americans traveled to other countries for savings of between 40 to 80 percent on medical treatments, according to the global medical tourism guide Patients Beyond Borders. Mexico and Costa Rica have become the most popular destinations for dental care, cosmetic surgery and prescription medicines while Thailand, India and South Korea draw in patients for more complex procedures including orthopedics, cardiovascular, cancer and fertility treatment.
In 2019, 1.1 percent of Americans traveling internationally did so for health treatments, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, although that figure only accounts for those who traveled by air and does not include the thousands of travelers who crossed the United States-Mexico border. Definitive statistics on medical tourism are hard to come by because countries have different recording methods and definitions of the sector.
Medical tourism has been decimated by coronavirus restrictions, but, even so, the twin crises of the economy and the enormous strain that Covid-19 has placed on the already faulty American health care system are pushing many patients to travel. Demand for nonessential surgeries has also been building up after more than 177,000 scheduled surgeries were postponed in the United States between March and June in 2020, according to the Center for Medical Tourism Research. “Our market has always been what I call the ‘working poor’ and they just keep getting poorer,” said Josef Woodman, the chief executive of Patients Beyond Borders. “The pandemic has gutted low-income and middle-class people around the world and for many of them the reality is that they have to travel to access affordable health care.” In April, following the initial global lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, medical travel bookings were down by more than 89 percent in the most popular destinations, including Mexico, Thailand, Turkey and South Korea, according to Medical Departures, a Bangkok-based medical travel agency. Since August, the numbers have slowly been rebounding, but bookings in Mexico, which has seen an uptick in American travelers in recent months, are still down by 32 percent compared to the same period of August to December in 2019.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#etatsunis#mexique#turquie#coreedusud#thailande#sante#tourismemedical#systemesante#inegalite#frontiere

Migrants in the crossfire of Thai Covid blame game - Asia Times
▻https://asiatimes.com/2021/01/migrants-in-the-crossfire-of-thai-covid-blame-game

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Market vendors refuse to let them buy food. Some banks won’t allow them to enter their premises. Hotels and guest houses double-check that non-Thai speaking Asians who seek to check-in are not from neighboring Myanmar.It all began on December 17 when a 67-year-old Thai working in a shrimp market in Mahachai in Samut Sakhon province southwest of Bangkok tested positive for the Covid-19 virus.Tens of thousands of Myanmar migrants have worked for years in the market and nearby seafood-processing plants, often doing thankless jobs that most Thais are unwilling to do.It’s become clear by now that Covid-19 spread quickly through Mahachai’s cramped and congested living quarters, similar to the ghetto-like dwellings and dormitories where the disease has thrived among migrants in Singapore and Malaysia.
As such, Myanmar migrants are now being blamed for what is being widely described as Thailand’s second viral wave, which is now creeping across the kingdom after months of reporting no community spread.
From a stable low of just over 4,000 cases and 60 deaths until mid-December, Thailand had 10,547 cases and 67 deaths as of January 11, according to the Thailand Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, a state body managing the pandemic.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#thailande#singapour#myanmar#malaisie#dortoir#marche#economie#travailleurmigrant

Cambodia at risk of being last in line for vaccines - Asia Times
▻https://asiatimes.com/2021/01/cambodia-at-risk-of-being-last-in-line-for-vaccines

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With an exceptionally weak healthcare system, feeble bureaucracy and faltering finances, Cambodian hopes for entering a post-pandemic era in 2021 are fast diminishing as richer states buy up limited vaccines for their own citizens.“No one knows anything at all” about when the vaccine rollout will begin, a source with knowledge of the Cambodian government’s planning who spoke to Asia Times on condition of anonymity said.
“Cambodia is really still in ‘will we get it’ mode rather than ‘vaccine preparation’ mode,” the source said, adding that sentiment in Phnom Penh is that it’s a “long way off” before vaccines start to arrive in the country.
The government has been mainly mum on the matter since stating in December that it would only accept vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), which currently includes only those produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, a German-US partnership.
The most pessimistic of projections among sources tracking the government’s response is that inoculation of the majority of Cambodia’s 16.7 million population won’t take place until late 2022, if not mid-2023.
The Economist Intelligence Unit recently forecast that vaccines won’t be widely available in Cambodia until at least April 2022, a prediction that noted the emerging stark contrast in vaccine access between rich and poor nations. Because Cambodia is “largely dependent” on the WHO-backed global health initiative COVAX to access vaccines, which currently only guarantees inoculations for a fifth of a country’s population, “it may take time for COVAX to increase this, and Cambodia only has limited fiscal resources to purchase vaccines independently,” Imogen Page-Jarrett, an EIU research analyst, said.
“We therefore do not expect Cambodia to immunize 60% of its population until sometime between June 2022 and June 2023,” she added.Phnom Penh’s attention is for now diverted by the more pressing issue of preventing further viral outbreaks, a major concern since the more-virulent variant of Covid-19, first detected in the UK, was found last week in neighboring Vietnam and Thailand.
New restrictions on border crossings have been imposed by Cambodia on both countries.Cambodia has officially not recorded any Covid-19 fatalities, although fears were raised after community outbreaks emerged in November. At the time of writing, credibly or not, there have only been 383 documented coronavirus cases nationwide. There are now also concerns about whether returning migrant workers from Thailand, several of whom have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days, will spark another viral wave and community spread when they return to their home villages, sources say. Earlier images of mass vaccinations in Europe in December appeared to signal the beginning of the pandemic’s end, with many Cambodians sensing that it might be over within a matter of months. Although there have been few social distancing restrictions imposed in Cambodia, its economy is reeling from the pandemic. Unemployment rates reached near record-highs in 2020 whilst the true number of Cambodians pushed back into poverty will only be clear in the coming months. The Asian Development Bank in August reported that 8% of the population could be thrust back into poverty because of the pandemic

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#cambodge#thailande#retour#travailleurmigrant#test#pauvrete#vaccination#systemesante

Partial lockdown in Bangkok to quell virus surge - Asia Times
▻https://asiatimes.com/2021/01/partial-lockdown-in-bangkok-to-quell-virus-surge

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The capital also announced yesterday that public schools will be closed for two weeks, while more than a dozen virus checkpoints were set up Saturday across the city.“We don’t want to use extreme measures like a lockdown and putting up a curfew, but we need a stronger medicine to prevent the new surge,” said Taweesin Visanuyothin, a spokesman for Thailand’s Covid-19 taskforce. Nationwide restrictions and closures are expected to go into effect from January 4 to February 1, he added, allowing a two-day “grace period” for business owners to prepare. Authorities worried about inciting alarm nationwide had been reluctant to classify the new emergence of the virus as a “second wave”.But anger resounded across Thai social media Saturday on the renewed restrictions, with business owners expressing frustration with the partial lockdown. “I comply with the measures strictly, yet I now need to close my business while there are many people scrambling on the skytrain everyday,” wrote Aksika Chantarawinji, a spa owner, on the official Facebook page of Bangkok’s governor. Thailand’s economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus, and is among the worst-affected in Southeast Asia due to its reliance on tourism and exports

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#thailande#sante#restrictionsanitaire#confinement#tourisme

What coronavirus? Bangkok luxury hotels push new openings despite lack of foreign tourists | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3116143/what-coronavirus-bangkok-luxury-hotels-push-new-openings

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The Capella Bangkok opened in October and has the highest rack rates in the capital, starting at 17,500 baht (US$579) before tax. Photo: Capella Bangkok The Capella Bangkok opened in October and has the highest rack rates in the capital, starting at 17,500 baht (US$579) before tax.
Pandemic-related travel restrictions have plunged Thailand’s tourism
industry into crisis – but the doom and gloom has not stopped new hotel openings in Bangkok, particularly at the high end of the market. There were at least a dozen high-profile hotel openings in 2020, with one recently rebranded property offering club rooms for as little as 1,222 baht (US$40) the week before Christmas. Others like Capella Bangkok – which opened in October and has the highest rack rates in the capital, starting at 17,500 baht (US$579) before tax – are bullish about their appeal. At least one hotel slated for launch last year, the business-oriented Solaria Nishitetsu, decided to postpone its public opening and is instead offering packages for alternative state quarantine (ASQ) travellers undergoing their 14-day isolation periods.Paying for ASQ is a requirement for all foreigners coming into Thailand. Some travellers enter on the government’s Special Tourist Visa, but take-up of the programme has not been strong: Thailand counted just 3,065 tourist arrivals in November versus the 3.5 million that arrived in the same month in 2019, before the coronavirus swept across the world.
In a report, the Kasikorn Bank Research Centre projects an annual total of 4.5 million to 7 million arrivals for this year, depending on factors including a successful Covid-19 vaccination programme and continued political and social stability in Thailand – a sharp fall from the 39.8 million arrivals in 2019, and down from 6.9 million last year.

#Covid-19#migration#migrant#thailande#tourisme#luxe#elite#sante#visa#economie

So läuft die Musterung in Ubon
▻http://www.farang.de/Magazin/online/05-2009/musterung-in-ubon.HTML

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Ce texte et les photos sont un exemple pourquoi j’aime l’internetz. Dans les publications des grandes maisons d’édition ne trouvera jamais une déscription si vive du déroulement de l’examen de sélection militaire des appellés en Thailande. Le style et le biais de l’auteur sont la preuve de l"authenticité du récit.

Am 1. April sind wir mal wieder unterwegs in den Isaan. Der Grund ist diesmal die Musterung von unserem Sohn Ton, welche am 11. April, einen Tag vor Songkran, stattfinden soll. Der Reiseverkehr in den Isaan fand leider auch am 10. April statt. Das war dann auch schon heftig, so Stoßstange an Stoßstange sozusagen auf Augenhöhe mit all den Thais auf der Piste. Kurz, nach dem wir auf dem Highway 1 in Richtung Saraburi fuhren, kam plötzlich hinter unserem Auto ein Polizeifahrzeug mit Blau-Rotlicht. Da hieß es nischt wie zur Seite, und vorbei raste eine Kolonne mit ca. 15 Fahrzeugen offensichtlich Regierungsfahrzeuge. So 150 bis 160 km/h hatten die drauf. Na dann, so dachte ich mir, besser geht es nicht und nix wie hinten dran gehängt. Ach war das entspanntes Autofahren, so mit 160 km/h an all den Thais vorbei.

In Korat, nach 400 km war dann Schluss, und nun ging es auf der Strasse 24 mit Gegenverkehr weiter Richtung Ubon Ratchathani. So waren wir nach acht Stunden am Ziel. Ich hatte mit mindestens 10 Stunden gerechnet. Wie immer erst zur Familie und dann aber schnell in das uns bekannte Apartment-Hotel. Am nächsten Tag war ja die Musterung von Ton. Also, am 11. April, 6 Uhr aufstehen und antreten. Zur allgemeinen Freude hat es geregnet, na ja, es hat stundenlang geschüttet.

Vor dem Amphore standen Hunderte von Familien mit ihren Söhnen im Regen und warteten geduldig auf Einlass. Als dann der Farang (Winny) auftauchte waren doch alle erstaunt: lauter fragende Gesichter, was der wohl hier zu suchen hat. Ich bin auch gleich durchmarschiert, war ja nicht auf Regen eingestellt, Frau und Sohnemann hinterher und ohne Probleme ins Trockene. Anschließend ging das lange Warten los. Ich habe mich erstmal um eine Erlaubnis bemüht, ein paar Fotos zu machen zu dürfen. Das wurde erstmal strikt abgelehnt, von der Militärpolizei. Na gut dachte ich mir, is halt nischt. Schade!

Nun muss man sich das nicht wie in Deutschland vorstellen, hier ist das total anders. So Datenschutz oder Intimsphäre kennt man hier nicht. Die ganze Prozedur lief in einer riesigen Halle ab. An den Seiten waren Stühle aufgestellt, wo einige auserwählte Familien dem Prozedere beiwohnen durften, auch wir hatten dieses Privileg erhalten.

Nun wurden die Jungs vorsortiert. Wer muss auf jeden Fall, wer hat irgendwelche Krankheiten, ist zu klein oder zu fett usw. Ton mit seinen ganzen Verletzungen wurde zu denen von einem Militärarzt noch zu Untersuchenden gesetzt. Daneben saßen die Transvestiten bzw. die noch nicht ganz Fertigen. Alle schön angemalt, und sie gaben ihr Bestes was Tuntenhaftigkeit anbelangt. So nahm die Sache ihren Lauf, bis plötzlich der Oberkommandierende erschien und sich mit all den Transen von einem Militärfotografen ablichten ließ.

Das ist deine Chance, Winny, dachte ich bei mir, und nix wie hin, habe gesagt, ich berichte aus Thailand für das Südostasien-Magazin FARANG aus Berlin, Deutschland. Mein Sohn sei auch unter den Anwärtern, ob ich nicht auch ein Foto machen dürfte, so wie der Militärfotograf..., und zu meinem Erstaunen kam ein OK Farang, kannst ein paar Fotos machen. So habe ich gleich losgelegt. Leider waren meine Akkus bald leer, und viele Bilder sind auch in schlechter Qualität.

Nun gibt es doch ein paar witzige, in Deutschland undenkbare Episoden zu berichten. Da waren zwei sehr fette Thai und auch ein Thai (Liliputaner, 80 cm), die wurden später freigestellt, doch zunächst dienten sie dem Militär der allgemeinen Belustigung. So mussten die beiden Dicken Händchen haltend im Dauerlauf zwei Ehrenrunden um die dort sitzenden absolvieren (allgemeines Gelächter). Später war dann Mittagessen angesagt, nur für die diensthabenden oberen Militärs. Jetzt mussten alle zu Musternde den Essenden den Rücken zeigen. Plötzlich unterbrach der Oberbefehlshaber seine Mahlzeit, kam gemütlich daher geschlendert und fragte ob sie denn Hunger hätten: Die Antwort im Chor „YES SIR!“ Nun gab es ein paar Befehle, und es wurden zwei Stühle vor die auf dem Boden sitzenden Hungernden gestellt. Darauf mussten sich die beiden Dicken (vom Aussehen her Sumo-Ringer) setzen und sie bekamen den Befehl eine ordentliche Portion Reis, stellvertretend für die dort Sitzenden, zu verdrücken. Da hat zunächst keiner mehr gelacht. Ein dritter Stuhl wurde dazu gestellt, wo einer der beiden Dicken noch sein Bein drauflegen konnte, um entspannt essen zu können.

Ein weiterer Befehl kam und der Liliputaner musste sich zwischen die beiden Dicken platzieren, bekam einen Teller mit einem Riesen Berg voll Reis und musste sich von den Dicken füttern lassen, da hat die ganze Truppe gebrüllt vor Lachen. Nun hat sich der Oberbefehlshaber wieder seinem Essen gewidmet. Nach dem er fürstlich gespeist hatte setzte er sich auf seinen Sessel in der Kommission. Die Transvestiten wurden nun nach vorn zum Oberbefehlshaber gerufen. Umgeben von den Transen, drehte er kurzerhand den Sessel, alle sahen seinen Rücken. Als interessierte ihn nun alles nicht mehr, begann er angeregt mit den Transsexuellen zu plaudern, ließ sich sogar massieren, eine rechts, eine links. Es wurden Telefonnummern ausgetauscht und viel gelacht. Das Ganze ging so 30 Minuten und dann entschloss er sich weiterzumachen. Mittlerweile war es auch schon 14 Uhr, und ich wollte auch noch zurück nach Pattaya und Ton saß da immer noch und wartete auf eine Entscheidung. Ich bin dann erstmal losmarschiert, um mit einem Militärarzt zu sprechen. Es fehlten uns diverse Unterlagen, um die Verletzungen von Ton komplett zu dokumentieren. Nach vielem hin und her, in Thai und Englisch und weil ein Deutscher nicht lügt, so seine Überzeugung, musste meine Frau an dem Gespräch teilnehmen, bekamen wir dann folgende Antwort: „Ein Jahr Aufschub, um alle Unterlagen beizubringen und dann wird erneut entschieden“. Anschließend dauerte es noch über eine Stunde bis auch der Oberbefehlshaber sein Einverständnis gab und so haben wir dann hungrig aber zufrieden für den Moment diesen Ort verlassen.

Schnell noch an eine Garküche und dann zu Muttern, denn die wollte noch unbedingt zu Verwandten 100 km weiter um das Songkran-Fest zu begehen. Das konnte ich der alten Dame (83) ja nun wirklich nicht abschlagen. So sind wir los in den tiefen Isaan um ihr die Freude zu machen. Dabei erfuhr ich, dass sie ihre Verwandten schon drei Jahre nicht mehr gesehen hatte, dementsprechend happy war sie dann auch. Dort eingetroffen, war es dann auch die volle Überraschung auch für die dort völlig überraschte Verwandtschaft. Ich habe so nebenbei gleich noch ein weiteren Teil meiner Verwandtschaft kennen gelernt und ein paar Fotos geschossen vom wirklichen Leben im Isaan, bei 40 Grad im Schatten, ohne Klimaanlage, kein Supermarkt weit und breit und harte Arbeit. Das ist auch einen Bericht wert, weil manch einer von uns Farangs davon so begeistert ist, von den lieben lächelnden Thais und ihrer Genügsamkeit. Die Gastfreundlichkeit ist eine ganz andere Sache!

Die Dämmerung brach herein und es waren noch 100 km mehr bis Pattaya. Alle wollten, dass wir bleiben (nur eine Nacht), aber da habe ich meinen Kopf durchgesetzt (zum Glück, wie sich später herausstellen sollte) und gegen 19 Uhr sind wir dann los. Was zu diesem Zeitpunkt in Pattaya abging (Abbruch des Asien-Gipfels) ist uns erst in Pattaya zu Ohren gekommen. Die Rückfahrt ging auch recht flott, alle waren ja Richtung Isaan unterwegs. Eine 850 km lange Lichterkette auf der Gegenseite, ab Korat bis Bangkok Stau (400 km), das kannte ich auch noch nicht, dazu noch erneuter sintflutartiger Regen. Am nächsten Morgen so drei Uhr hatte uns Pattaya wieder. Am nächsten Tag wurde in ganz Thailand der Notstand ausgerufen. Alle Städte in Thailand waren von Militär und Polizei abgeriegelt, alle Straßen gesperrt, wegen der Unruhen. Dieser Zustand dauerte zwar nur 24 Stunden (zum Glück), und wir alle waren froh zu Hause zu sein, im wunderbaren verruchten Seebad Pattaya.
W. Sibert

#Thailande #militaire #exotisme

Migrant cluster breaks Thai Covid winning streak - Asia Times
▻https://asiatimes.com/2020/12/migrant-cluster-breaks-thai-covid-winning-streak

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Is the recent revelation of the largest daily number of Covid-19 infections in Thailand a full-blown outbreak, or a chance discovery of a malady that has been there for quite some time? That is the key question after more than 700 people living and working around a shrimp market in Mahachai in Samut Sakhon, a province southwest of the capital Bangkok, were found over the weekend to be Covid-19 positive.Either way, migrant workers, most of them from Myanmar, are at the center of the ruckus with cases being discovered even in Bangkok, from where people travel to Mahachai to buy shrimps and other seafood. That will only make their already precarious and marginalized situation in Thailand even more treacherous. Contrary to what some Thai newspapers have reported, this is not likely something they brought with them from Myanmar, where authorities have struggled to contain a spreading outbreak. There are rising concerns that Thai authorities may lurch to impose a new national lockdown, including over Bangkok, if numbers continue to climb in the days ahead.Thailand’s land borders with all its neighbors have been closed since March and the migrant workers in Mahachai went there long before any Covid-19 cases were discovered first in Wuhan, China and then in the rest of the region and the wider world.Since the first cases were discovered in Samut Sakhon in mid-December, Thailand’s highly efficient health authorities have carried out massive testing in the affected area and placed it under at least a partial lockdown.Since nearly all of those who have tested positive for the virus are asymptomatic or have very mild signs of the disease, it would have been hard to discover it earlier. Thai medical officials collect a nose swab sample to test for the Covid-19 at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon after some cases of local infections were detected and linked to a vendor at the market,
But the discovery of cases fits a pattern that has also been seen in many European capitals: migrants, newly arrived refugees and otherwise dispossessed people who live closely-packed together in ghetto-like conditions are among those hardest-hit by the pandemic. In those communities, where health services are likewise inadequate, it doesn’t take more than the arrival of a few infected people for any disease to spread like wildfire and then be out of control. While many Thais have gone to work in Europe, Taiwan, Israel, South Korea and other foreign countries, even larger numbers of workers from Thailand’s impoverished neighbors have come to the kingdom to look for jobs.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#thailande#taiwan#israel#coreedusud#contamination#test

How have Thailand and Cambodia kept Covid cases so low? | Coronavirus | The Guardian
▻http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/16/thailand-cambodia-covid-19-cases-deaths-low
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In both countries the pandemic has proved economically devastating. In Thailand, strict entry restrictions have halted tourism, contributing to millions of job losses. Over recent weeks, a small cluster of cases has emerged, linked to people travelling undetected over the Myanmar border, prompting fears the virus could spread among migrant workers, who may be reluctant to report symptoms if they have not crossed into the country through an official route. Anyone entering Thailand is required to quarantine in designated facilities for 14 days, and undergo multiple Covid-19 tests.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#cambodge#thailande#sante#depistage#travailleurmigrant

En Thaïlande, le répit des « gitans des mers » avec l’effondrement du tourisme
▻https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/12/02/en-thailande-le-repit-des-gitans-des-mers-avec-l-effondrement-du-tourisme_60

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Selon des statistiques quelque peu imprécises, les « gens de la mer » (chao lay, en thaï) seraient environ quatre mille, dont moins d’un millier en Thaïlande. Koy, qui vit ici avec son épouse de 32 ans et deux de leurs cinq enfants, a des raisons de s’inquiéter des chances de survie, à plus ou moins long terme, de son style de vie : la culture des Moken est en péril parce que, au fil des années, ils ont dû adapter leur mode de vie aux contraintes imposées par les systèmes des deux pays dans lesquels ils vivent, sans doute depuis le XVIIIe siècle.C’en est désormais presque fini des temps de l’errance partielle de ces bateliers dont les flottilles naviguaient autrefois au gré de leurs envies, à la saison sèche, dans la mer d’Andaman… Les pluies venues, ils allaient se mettre à l’abri sur l’une des îles de la région. « Parfois, l’un d’entre nous navigue pendant un mois, puis rentre », constate Koy.Le temps est à l’ambivalence : « Les Moken n’ont, très souvent, pas d’existence légale et, en raison de leur nomadisme, ils ne sont pas considérés comme des citoyens » par les gouvernements birman et thaïlandais, notait, en 2015, un rapport de l’ONG Human Rights Watch. Les Moken sont pris dans un étau : ils sont considérés comme trop marginaux par les pouvoirs en place, même s’ils sont inclus dans la sphère politique et administrative de ces pays ; mais Birmans et Thaïlandais ne leur offrent pas toujours les avantages donnés aux citoyens de plein droit. Et les Moken ont vu se réduire, au fil du temps, le périmètre ancestral de leur navigation : soldats, gardes-frontières, policiers tissent autour de ces « antisystème » un invisible filet répressif.(...) « Plus terriens que marins, plus chasseurs que pêcheurs, ils ont résisté a l’islam et à la sédentarisation, grâce à une forte idéologie nomade et aux référents identitaires codifiés dans une tradition orale négligée par les observateurs » Ce goût de la liberté et ce refus de se laisser enfermer dans les contraintes a contribué non seulement à la marginalisation des Moken, mais aussi, sans doute, à leur pauvreté. Autour de la case de Koy, à Ko Phayam, son village d’une centaine d’habitants évoque le dénuement. La pandémie de Covid-19 pourrait cependant avoir des conséquences positives pour la vie quotidienne des Moken. Plus au Sud, sur l’île de Phuket, où l’industrie touristique est largement à l’arrêt, les « gitans » de la plage de Rawai se félicitent de l’abpandemiesence de visiteurs : non seulement il y a plus de poissons à pêcher, mais les projets immobiliers sur les terres moken sont à l’arrêt. « On souffle un peu, confiait récemment à un journaliste de l’AFP le pêcheur Sanam Changnamle. Avant, on risquait de se faire arrêter par des gardes-côtes qui, parfois, confisquaient nos bateaux. »

Covid-19#migrant#migration#thailande#birmanie#moken#nomadisme#sedentarisation#tourisme#pauvrete#sante#pandemie

En Thaïlande, le mouvement démocratique s’attaque à l’ordre établi – Une mise en perspective

Porté par la jeunesse et bénéficiant de larges soutiens, le mouvement démocratique thaïlandais ne cesse de mûrir. Il défie l’oligarchie militaro-monarchiste, se confronte au couple royal et renoue avec les combats militants du passé. L’intronisation du roi Rama X a ouvert une crise de succession majeure. Plus profondément, tout un ordre archaïque se voit remis en cause – lui qui avait réussi dans les années 1990 et 2000 à faire avorter les tentatives de « modernisation » du royaume, brisant les espoirs de démocratisation de la société.

▻https://entreleslignesentrelesmots.blog/2020/10/29/en-thailande-le-mouvement-democratique-sattaque-a-lordr

#international #thaïlande

Thailand welcomes first tourists since March - Asia Times
▻https://asiatimes.com/2020/10/thailand-welcomes-first-tourists-since-march

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Thailand has welcomed its first group of tourists in seven months, as part of an experiment aimed at testing if a wider opening is possible as the coronavirus cripples the kingdom’s economy.A planeload of 39 Chinese tourists flew into Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport Tuesday evening from Shanghai to a welcome from staff in full protective equipment.
The visitors underwent health checks and had their luggage disinfected, before donning protective clothing themselves and being whisked away for two weeks’ quarantine.“It’s a welcome sign that foreigners are confident in our safety measures,” Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said in a statement. “I instructed officials to take good care of the tourists, because if they’re safe, Thais are safe too.”

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#thailande#chine#tourisme#economie#sante#mesuresanitaire#securitesanitaire

HK extends epidemic rules as new cases pick up - Asia Times
▻https://asiatimes.com/2020/10/hk-extends-epidemic-rules-as-new-cases-pick-up

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There were more unidentified infections in the community after social distancing rules were relaxed last month, said Benjamin Cowling, a professor of public health at the University of Hong Kong.“There’s opportunity for infection to spread, and sooner or later the virus will take one of those opportunities,” Cowling said. “So I think fairly soon we are going to see some outbreaks and maybe that’s going to develop into our fourth wave. By mid-to-late October it will be clear.”Meanwhile, health officials said they were considering whether to prosecute a Thai housewife, 27, for reportedly giving incorrect information on how she contracted Covid-19 and misleading them about the whereabouts of her infected friend.The woman told authorities she thought she had caught the virus from a 35-year-old friend who she went shopping with in Tsim Sha Tsui, but that the friend had returned to Thailand and tested positive there.
However, the friend in question never left Hong Kong, and was staying in Tsim Sha Tsui with four other Thais. She and one of her flat mates tested positive on Sunday and Monday. The Center for Health Protection said it had asked for help from the Thai Consulate in Hong Kong to find asymptomatic patients in the city

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#kongkong#thailande#sante#discrimination#economie#depistage#infection

Thai Covid-19 patient linked to Tsim Sha Tsui bar now suspected of being part of group working illegally in Hong Kong as hostesses | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3104434/thai-covid-19-patient-linked-tsim-sha-tsui-bar

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Thai Covid-19 patient linked to Tsim Sha Tsui bar now suspected of being part of group working illegally in Hong Kong as hostesses.The woman was one of 10 Thai nationals thought to have entered the city on tourist visas earlier this year The woman, however, has denied working as a bar girl, telling police she just visited the pub to hang ou

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#hongkong#thailande#sante#economie#illegalite#visa#economie

Hong Kong seeks Thai consulate’s help over Covid-19 cluster threat, temporarily bans Nepal Airlines as city records 11 new cases | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3104163/hong-kong-bar-centre-potential-covid-19-outbreak

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Hong Kong recorded 11 new Covid-19 infections on Monday.
Hong Kong health authorities on Monday moved to quash a potential new Covid-19 cluster with the help of Thailand’s consulate-general, while temporarily banning Nepal Airlines from flying to the city. Overall, the city recorded 11 confirmed coronavirus infections, pushing the tally to 5,124. Seven were imported, with one case originating in India and six arriving aboard Nepal Airlines flight RA4099 on Saturday. The six infections prompted the government to suspend flights from the airline for two weeks, until October 17.

#covid-19#migrant#migration#hongkong#thailande#inde#nepal#casimporte#sante

Virus refugees fleeing Myanmar for Thailand - Asia Times
▻https://asiatimes.com/2020/09/virus-refugees-fleeing-myanmar-for-thailand

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CHIANG MAI – Thailand’s security forces on the Myanmar border are on high alert to prevent an influx of a new breed of migrants which if some reports are accurate may turn into a flood: health refugees fleeing a surge of Covid-19 infections.Thai authorities are reportedly on the lookout for a large but unspecified number of Myanmar people trying to cross the border. Rather than looking for work, as in the recent past, the new wave of Myanmar migrants are seeking to escape a seemingly uncontrolled outbreak of Covid-19 infections in their country.“They know Thailand has medical facilities where they could get help if they are infected or, if they are not, just seek shelter from what appears to be a wave of infections in Myanmar, a country with grossly inadequate health services for the general public,” said a source who has just returned from the border.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#thailande#myanmar#refugie#sante#politique#accessanté

In Thailand, a cafe made to look like an aircraft cabin and an actual airliner turned coffee shop remind people of the flights they cannot take | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3101425/thailand-cafe-made-look-aircraft-cabin-and-actual-airliner

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With millions around the world stuck at home because of the pandemic, “plane cafes” in Thailand are offering customers the chance to pretend they are in the sky – and the idea seems to have taken off.
On board a retired commercial aeroplane in the coastal city of Pattaya
, named Coffee War, coffee drinkers make themselves comfy on first-class-style seats and pose for photos by the overhead lockers. Boarding passes in hand, some “passengers” even opt for a tour of the cockpit. “With this cafe I can sit in first class and also mess around in the cockpit pretending to be the captain of the plane,” 26-year-old Thipsuda Faksaithong said. “It’s a lot of fun.”Chalisa Chuensranoi, 25, said her visit was as good as any trip she had taken before the pandemic, which closed Thailand’s borders in March.
“Sitting right here in the first-class section … really gives me the feeling of actually being on a plane, cruising through the air,” she said.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#thailande#sante#santementale#voyage#frontière#imaginaire

Travel bubbles for Hong Kong: will overtures to 11 countries get the city anywhere amid Covid-19 pandemic? | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/coronavirus/article/3101001/travel-bubbles-hong-kong-will-overtures-11-countries-get-city-anywhere

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Commerce chief Edward Yau Tang-wah revealed on Wednesday
that the government had already started arranging talks between local health professionals and their counterparts in Japan and Thailand, two of the most popular holiday destinations for the city’s residents. To make bubbles possible, Yau said, coronavirus tests before departure and upon arrival might be necessary, and the two sides would need to discuss whether negative results at both ends meant travellers could skip quarantine or spend less time in isolation.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#hongkong#japon#thailande#sante#tourisme#test#quarantaine#economie

Academic marginalisation of Hong Kong’s ethnic minority groups increases amid coronavirus pandemic | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3099339/academic-marginalisation-hong-kongs-ethnic-minority-groups

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After several months of learning from home, the government has decided to start the new academic year online following a third wave of Covid-19 cases. Advocates have warned that the city’s poorest are being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, as more than one in four children are believed to live in poverty. For ethnic minority children from low-income families, the challenges seem even greater. According to official statistics, people from ethnic minority groups account for about 4 per cent of Hong Kong’s population, excluding foreign domestic workers. Out of this group, Pakistanis, Indonesians, Thais and Nepalis registered the highest poverty rates.Amod Rai, a Nepali online teaching consultant, said it was essential to have teachers better trained at delivering online classes. “Teachers need to upgrade their skills on how to deliver content online, while schools should provide resources to help their students,” he said.
“Among ethnic minority children, both parents tend to work and have little time. Online learning requires more support and the children need to be motivated. We need to work with the parents so they can understand how to help their kids.”

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#kongkong#nepal#thailande#travailleurmigrant#eenfant#education#sante#resilience#inegalite#minorite

#Covid-19 #migrant #migration #expatries #thailande #economie #tourisme #mobilite #politique TAT travel show to offer discounts for expats
▻https://www.thephuketnews.com/tat-travel-show-to-offer-discounts-for-expats-77135.php

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Monkey helpers or coconut slaves? A visual story
▻https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/world/article/3094954/coconut-harvest/?src=social

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Reports of monkey abuses in Thailand have resulted in Thai coconut products being pulled from supermarket shelves in Britain, with countries like the United States and the Netherlands later following suit. Thailand is one of the world’s top exporters of coconut milk: Australia, Britain and America are the country’s biggest markets

Monkeys in Thailand have been used as labour for centuries by non-government organisations. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) recently reported that terrified young monkeys are chained, abusively trained and forced to climb trees to gather coconuts that are used to make coconut products.

#travail_des_animaux #singes #macaques #esclavage #Thaïlande #noix_de_coco #BD

Thailand’s Covid success turns economic failure - Asia Times
▻https://asiatimes.com/2020/08/thailands-covid-success-turns-economic-failure

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Authorities have indicated that Thailand could remain closed to international tourism until next year, with earlier plans to create “tourism bubbles” with countries that have likewise successfully controlled the virus.
That means hotels, travel agencies and related tour services will miss out on the country’s traditional revenue-generating November-January peak season. The government’s guarded approach is raising grumbles among tourism operators. “Thailand is now being run by doctors who are overly cautious,” said Luzi Matzig, chairman of Asian Trails Group and five-decade veteran in Thailand’s tourism business. “It’s as if the Ministry of Transport were to say now we have to lower the speed on highways to zero so we can have zero accidents.” Currently, all foreign arrivals in Thailand, including diplomats and businessmen keen to invest in the country, must endure 14 days of state-run quarantine in selected Thai hotels. Thai health authorities have been spooked by Vietnam, a country that had contained the virus in early 2020 but then suffered a resurgence in cases after it opened up domestic travel through an outbreak erupting in the seaside town of Danang that quickly spread nationwide. Since July 1, Thailand has subsidized domestic tourism spending – which accounts for 6% out of the 18% tourism contributes to GDP – without suffering a Covid resurgence.
But Thais are still on edge. The last reported foreign Covid case was an Egyptian VIP military officer who traveled on a diplomatic visa and disobeyed a government order to stay in his hotel by sneaking out to visit a shopping mall. There were no local infections in Rayong province where the quarantine violation occurred reported but the solitary case of an infected foreigner irked many Thais and sparked an avalanche of criticism on social media

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#thailande#sante#touriste#businessman#diplomate#quarantaine

Thailand eyes rich expats from Hong Kong, Australia for ‘coronavirus haven’ visa scheme | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3097476/thailand-eyes-rich-expats-hong-kong-australia-coronavirus

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Thailand’s “pay to stay” visa programme for wealthy foreigners is seeing an expansion opportunity, with visions of the country becoming a haven for expats from Hong Kong, Australiaand farther abroad, thanks to its relative success in containing the coronavirus.The Thailand Elite Card is a residential-visa scheme for affluent expats, investors and long-stay groups.
Membership, which ranges from 500,000 baht to 2 million baht (US$16,000 to US$64,000), provides for a renewable five-year visa. It also comes with perks, which at the top end include limousine transport, jet and yacht charters, medical check-ups and golf at championship courses in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#thailande#sante#elite#expatrie#inegalite#resident

Global report: China records most daily cases since March; poverty fears in south-east Asia | World news | The Guardian
►https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/31/global-report-china-records-most-daily-cases-since-march-poverty-fears-
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In south-east Asia, the UN has said decades of progress in tackling poverty could be undone by the economic impact of coronavirus.
While many countries in the region have managed to control the pandemic, it has disrupted trade, and brought travel to a standstill in tourism-dependent countries such as Thailand. Migrant workers who send remittances back home to their families, a major source of income in countries such as the Philippines, have been left stranded and without employment.The UN warned of rising unemployment in countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, adding that: “[A] lack of secured income and sufficient social protection could force tens of millions of people into extreme poverty in this region,” it said.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#indonesie#malaisie#thailande#phillipines#travailleurmigrant#transfert#sante#pauvrete#protectionsociale

Student protests in Southeast Asia have brought down dictators before: What Thailand’s students can learn - Thai Enquirer
▻https://www.thaienquirer.com/16136/student-protests-in-south-east-asia-have-brought-down-dictators-before

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Where does that leave #เยาวชนปลดแอก?

The current cross-generational nature of student-led protest turnout can be fleeting, as the First Quarter Storm protests tell us. A movement built and centered around campuses becomes overly dependent on the rhythm of the school year, on the personalities of certain students, on the (often fragile) unity among student leadership.

Rather, a dedicated attempt at cross-class coalition building – involving leaders, organizers and agitators from farming communities, informal laborers and factory workers – is critical to keep the protest momentum going over the many years it will take to create political change. The waves of protest in Indonesia came from different factions of society. In some important cases, as in 1996, protests barely involved student leadership at all.

More importantly, student leaders must look beyond traditional allies. Calls for current student protest leaders to link up with trade unions or opposition parties are important, but far from enough. As seen with the Red Shirt protests in 2010, real social change comes from tapping into the concerns of the informal proletariat. Amid a pandemic that has widened the income gap further, there are more than enough problems to amplify.

Ultimately, returning power to the people means recognizing the breadth and depth of who ‘the people’ really are. A cross-class coalition will give students the vital support and momentum needed to keep going.

#Thaïlande #people_power #Asie_du_Sud-Est #Philippines #Indonésie

#Covid-19 #migrant #migration #thailande #visa #mobilite CCSA clarifies requirements for entering Thailand | The Thaiger
▻https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/expats/ccsa-clarifies-requirements-for-entering-thailand
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