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12 images Created 17 Sep 2020

Domestic violence at the Thailand-Myanmar border during Covid-19

Sandar (a pseudonym) is an illegal Burmese migrant living in Mae Sot, at the Thailand-Myanmar border. She has been in an abusive relationship for 11 years. Her husband beats and sexually abuses her. The situation at home got worse since the Covid-19 outbreak. Sandar's husband lost his job so they were arguing about money all the time. Sandar is one of the ~200,000 Burmese migrants living in the Mae Sot region. Many of them are undocumented and work in precarious conditions. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, they have no job, no support from the Thai government, and no chances of returning to Myanmar due to the closure of borders. According to the United Nations, cases of domestic violence have globally increased by 30% in 2020. This reportage has been published by El País.
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  • Sandar (a pseudonym), 28, is an undocumented Burmese migrant living in Mae Sot, at the Thailand-Myanmar border. She has been in an abusive relationship for 11 years. Her husband beats and sexually abuses her. The situation at home worsened since the Covid-19 outbreak. Her husband lost his job, so they were arguing about money all the time. Sandar is one of the roughly 200,000 Burmese migrants living in the Mae Sot region. Many of them are undocumented and work in precarious conditions. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, they have no job, no support from the Thai government, and no chances of returning to Myanmar due to the closure of borders. In some countries, cases of domestic violence have increased by 30%, estimates UN Women that calls this phenomenon “a shadow pandemic.”
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  • A view of the neighborhood where Sandar lives, in the outskirts of Mae Sot. Sandar comes from Mawlamyine, a Burmese town located 130 km away from Mae Sot. She illegally entered Thailand at the age of 15. The long border in the Mae Sot region, with only a river separating the two countries, makes it ideal for Burmese to illegally enter Thailand. Thai authorities have recently intensified controls at the border due to the surge of Covid-19 cases in Myanmar. The Mae Sot region is mostly rural; many Burmese migrants are employed in agriculture and are often paid below the minimum wage.
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  • Sandar's sons, 9 and 3, play in the street in front of their house. Sandar has endured domestic abuse throughout her life. Her aunt, who hosted her at her arrival in Thailand, beat her regularly. “She beat me with wires,” she recalls. She never went to the hospital or called the police. “I did not know where to go. I did not speak the [Thai] language. And my aunt locked me up at home, so I could not go out.” She got married at 17, two years after she arrived in Thailand. According to the UN, less than 40% of women who are physically abused at home seek any kind of help.
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  • Sandar's son, 9, plays with a toy gun. She recalls that her husband started abusing her straight after the marriage. “He beat me and kicked me when he came back from work,” she says. “He blamed me because I did not cook or clean.” He became more violent since the Covid-19 outbreak, “mostly because of money.” He did not work regularly even before the pandemic. During the lockdown, he lost his job in an egg shop. Burmese migrant women in Thailand were already a high-risk group before Covid-19, but their lives got more difficult because of the pandemic. During the lockdown, women facing domestic violence found themselves locked up at home with their abusers, with fewer chances of asking for help and little or no income.
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  • Sandar's son, 3, wearing a Superman costume, plays with a toy gun. In 2018, Sandar sought help for the first time and contacted the social workers of the Freedom Restoration Project, which offers shelter and support to the victims of domestic abuse in the Mae Sot region. Thanks to their help, some women managed to escape an abusive situation. Others, like Sandar, are still in an abusive relationship, but find a safe space at the center, at least for a few hours. “The women who come to the center experience physical, emotional, and sexual abuse,” explains Watcharapon “Sia” Kukaewkasem, the founder and director of the Freedom Restoration Project. "Domestic violence in Thailand and Myanmar is very common. It happens so often that people consider it a normal issue."
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  • Sandar puts some lipstick on before heading out. She is going to Mae Sot's detention center to visit her husband, who was recently arrested for drug possession. It is the third time that this happens. The first two times he was arrested for drug abuse, but this time the police found on him some tablets of yaba. Otherwise known as “the madness drug,” yaba is a combination of methamphetamine and other stimulants, very popular in Southeast Asia. Now that her husband is in detention, Sandar has to find a job to feed her and her two kids. “Otherwise, he does not want me to work,” she says. When her husband is in detention, she works as a cleaning lady or sells vegetables in the street. But she does not earn enough and does not get any help from the Thai government. “Who is going to help us?” she says. “We have no documents.” UN Women estimates that women in the informal sector throughout Thailand are facing up to 80% reduction of income due to the Covid-19 crisis.
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  • A view of the street from Sandar's house, in the outskirts of Mae Sot. In Thailand, there is a hotline for domestic violence reporting. However, five years ago, the government shifted the hotline from violence against women and children (as well as human trafficking, child labour, and teenage pregnancy) to any social problem, as noticed by a report of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. According to the same report, during the lockdown in March and April, the helpline was flooded with more than 28,000 calls – more than double for that period a year earlier. But most of the calls were complaints or inquiries about social assistance and the government's economic relief. That made it even more difficult for those who experienced domestic violence to access the hotline.
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  • Sandar cleans vegetables at her house before cooking them. She has to prepare lunch for her husband and bring it to the detention center. She says that she feels unable to divorce. She is afraid of social stigma, which can be strong in a Burmese, conservative Muslim community. “I think of my kids,” she says. “Maybe after I leave him, I will have another husband. Then people will say: “Oh, this girl has two husbands.” Kids should be with both mom and dad.” A major barrier to women reporting violence in Thailand is societal attitudes, according to a report of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. As in many countries worldwide, domestic violence is often considered a private issue, and it is common to think that victims rather than abusers are to be blamed. For some women, admitting the abuse is admitting they have failed their marriage.
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  • Sandar puts thanaka on her younger son's face before heading out. Thanaka is a yellowish-white cosmetic paste made from a ground bark, typically employed by Burmese to smoothen the skin and protect from sunburns.
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  • Sandar rides a bike with her younger son, dressed with a Superman costume. They are both going to Mae Sot's detention center to visit her husband.
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  • Sandar's son, 9, runs in a field close to his house, in the outskirts of Mae Sot. He stays at home while his mother and his younger brother go to the detention center. The Freedom Restoration Project organizes parenting classes to teach alternative education methods to the victims of domestic abuse. “We show them that there are other ways [of educating kids] besides yelling and beating,” says Watcharapon “Sia” Kukaewkasem, the founder and director of the Freedom Restoration Project. “When we talk about domestic violence, it is not only the partner's violence but also [the violence] of parents to the children. [...] We try to create prevention.”
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  • Sandar's son, 3, wearing a Superman costume, sits on a bike while waiting for his mother. They are going to Mae Sot's detention center to visit his father. “I wish my kids did not have to work hard like me,” says Sandar. “I wish they could study and become doctors or accountants.”
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