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Published on December 25, 2007

Thirty residents of Muang district in Ranong, who were never previously recognised as Thai individuals, were recently given identification cards and registered as citizens.

They have benefited from a legal-aid programme initiated following the tsunami three years ago in order to help them prove their identity and claim their rights. The tsunami destroyed many people's legal ID documents when it hit the Andaman coast in December 2004.

Undocumented people who have never been given citizenship are also being given cards.

The 30 residents were among 732 people in Ranong and Phang Nga provinces who applied to be declared Thai through the use of DNA testing.

About 200 applications have been processed and cards are on the way.

However, about 1,500 undocumented residents remain in Ranong, according to the province's administrative office.

Ranong has been home to many alien, stateless and undocumented people for years thanks to its shared border with Burma.

Halim Sukkhasem, a 16 year-old who has just received his ID card, said he could not apply for a job after he finished primary school because of his status.

However, he is now working as a labourer at a construction site in Phuket.

"I'm very glad to have my own ID card so I will be able to apply for other, better jobs in a factory or a company. I will continue my secondary education at a state school, too," Halim said.

Darama Chansamut, 87, is happy her children and grandchildren will get government welfare and can now work without fear of being arrested.

She was previously the only Thai citizen in her family. She has 21 children and grandchildren, who will now be eligible.

Muang district senior assistant officer Boonchai Somjai said residents with ID cards now had the same rights as all other citizens.

After new ID cards are issued, the recipients are taken to Ranong Hospital to apply for national health insurance. They also open bank accounts.

Ruengrawee Ketphol, senior programme coordinator at the Asia Foundation and the supervisor of the Tsunami Rights and Legal Aid Referral Centre, said undocumented people would be able to prove their citizenship using DNA. If their parents are citizens, then they will be, too.

"We aim to complete issuing cards to all the 732 people by February. Then we will continue helping other undocumented persons, as well as Morgan sea gypsies," Ruengrawee said.

The World Bank and the Japan Social Development Fund support the programme, as do the justice and interior ministries.

Apart from helping people fight for their identity, the centre provides mobile legal-aid clinics and workshops offering free education and consultation on rights and redresses.

It uses a team of volunteer lawyers and covers legal costs.

Wannapa Phetdee

 The Nation