Job-seeking Mon State residents leaving Myanmar in droves

By DMG 17 Sep 2022

DMG Newsroom
17 September 2022, Paung, Mon State

Increasing numbers of young people in Mon State, both from rural and urban areas, are leaving military-ruled Myanmar to work abroad, according to local residents and overseas employment agencies.

Faced with rising costs of living, unemployment, financial difficulties and numerous other uncertainties, many young people are trying to leave the country, said a resident of Kyoneka Village in Paung Township.

“People are suffering from the hardships of post-coup political turmoil. That’s why they are leaving for foreign countries to work. Only a few young people are left in our village now,” he said.

Their primary destination is Thailand, while smaller proportions have their sets sight on Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan, according to overseas employment agencies.

“We have seen a significant increase in the number of people trying to work overseas. As job prospects are not very good here, people are leaving for foreign countries with the hope of finding a job,” said the manager of one overseas employment agency.

Many have been detained while illegally crossing the border into Thailand and are subsequently imprisoned, according to organisations assisting Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand.

“Many people have been leaving for Thailand either legally or illegally. Some were detained at the Myanmar-Thai border, and others were detained while attempting to cross the border into Malaysia. Some were imprisoned and some have been deported to Myanmar,” said a labour rights activist.

At the time of Myanmar’s 2014 census, Mon State had a population of around 2 million people. But some 500,000 young Mon people have left the country to work overseas since the 2021 coup, according to the Mon Youth Foundation.

Numerous foreign firms have withdrawn their investments from Myanmar since last year’s military takeover, while many local businesses are struggling in the post-coup political turmoil.