Coming to Thailand
Political unrest and violence drives refugees to flee their homes, seeking safety in foreign countries. Some have time to prepare for their journey, but others are forced to leave their country suddenly, and without warning . Either way, most refugees and never expected to find themselves in Thailand.
“I lost my father”
“I did not know I was coming to Thailand. I lost my father and my mother…did not tell me and my younger sisters because I love my father. When I saw my father’s car at home and he was not there, my mother told me that we have to go to another country. I thought we were seeking help in India, but we came to Thailand.”
“It was my only choice”
“I did not know anything, but the only place I could run away was to Thailand. I bought a ticket to Thailand because it was my only choice.”
“I never saw him again”
“I did not know where I was going…My friend’s brother is a businessman and he helped me travel to Thailand. He told me it was easy to get a visa. He stayed with me for the first 14 days and then he left. I never saw him again.”
“He told me that I should leave”
“I first went to [another country] where I met a pastor and told him about my problem. He knew it was serious. He told me that I should leave [that country] because there was searching going on for [refugees]. They would arrest the refugees and send them back, where they imprison and execute you. The pastor helped me leave by giving me a visa, passport, and ticket to Thailand. It was my first time on a place.”
“The police were waiting”
“A human trafficker promised to take me to the United Kindom. Then he sent me to Qatar where I was arrested. The Qatar officials saw that I was traveling with a fake passport and just sent me to my final destination, Bangkok, where the police were waiting for me.”
“I escaped”
“Before, [I] was in my country’s prison for a year…I escaped and my [relative] gave me my passport, ticket, and visa to Thailand.”
“My mom came here before me”
“I knew I was coming to Thailand because my mom came here before me…about 7 months before. She has been a refugee for about a year and a half now. She told me that I was going to be a refugee and move to a country with freedom. My father is still [home]. He stayed there so he could work in order to send us some money.”
