Published : 31-10-2019
A jailed Palestinian refugee who fled war-torn Syria to Thailand said that like hundreds of other refugees in the country he has been struggling with dire humanitarian conditions.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the young man said: “We fled the Syrian warfare to Thailand seeking a safe shelter. However, we’ve been mistreated by local authorities and sent to jail. Others were forcibly pushed back to war-torn Syria.”
The witness also said scores of refugees have gone through psychological breakdowns due to the squalid conditions they have been facing in Thailand. “Several detained refugees from different nationalities have attempted suicide after they lost hope”.
According to the testimony, refugees are denied access to the Thai labor market. Those who overstayed their visas were sent to jail with their children. Women and children aged below three years along with elderly people were only released on a bail.
“Our living conditions are just unbearable. The UNHCR continues to turn deaf ears to our ceaseless cries for help”, he said, calling for transmitting his appeals to the concerned authorities and for smoothing the refugees’ travel to Malaysia or Cambodia pending their safe return to their homelands.
Over recent years, the Thai authorities have been treating Palestinians from Syria as lawbreakers rather than asylum seekers fleeing war-stricken zones. Scores of refugees have been arrested after they overstayed their visas.
Palestinian refugees from Syria trapped in Thailand continue to slam the apathy maintained by the international community, the United Nations, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas over their suffering.
Activists have also raised alarm bells over the dire conditions of captivity in Thai detention centers, where dozens of migrants are crammed into cells that can barely accommodate a handful of persons.
The refugees continue to appeal for urgent humanitarian action and for serious measures in order to pressurize the Thai government to grant them safe asylum and work out their legal status.
A jailed Palestinian refugee who fled war-torn Syria to Thailand said that like hundreds of other refugees in the country he has been struggling with dire humanitarian conditions.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the young man said: “We fled the Syrian warfare to Thailand seeking a safe shelter. However, we’ve been mistreated by local authorities and sent to jail. Others were forcibly pushed back to war-torn Syria.”
The witness also said scores of refugees have gone through psychological breakdowns due to the squalid conditions they have been facing in Thailand. “Several detained refugees from different nationalities have attempted suicide after they lost hope”.
According to the testimony, refugees are denied access to the Thai labor market. Those who overstayed their visas were sent to jail with their children. Women and children aged below three years along with elderly people were only released on a bail.
“Our living conditions are just unbearable. The UNHCR continues to turn deaf ears to our ceaseless cries for help”, he said, calling for transmitting his appeals to the concerned authorities and for smoothing the refugees’ travel to Malaysia or Cambodia pending their safe return to their homelands.
Over recent years, the Thai authorities have been treating Palestinians from Syria as lawbreakers rather than asylum seekers fleeing war-stricken zones. Scores of refugees have been arrested after they overstayed their visas.
Palestinian refugees from Syria trapped in Thailand continue to slam the apathy maintained by the international community, the United Nations, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas over their suffering.
Activists have also raised alarm bells over the dire conditions of captivity in Thai detention centers, where dozens of migrants are crammed into cells that can barely accommodate a handful of persons.
The refugees continue to appeal for urgent humanitarian action and for serious measures in order to pressurize the Thai government to grant them safe asylum and work out their legal status.
