Debate on stateless children in Thailand

Mong unqualify for Thai nationality inspite of his natural cause of birthin Thailand.Nationality by birth in not applicable in Thailand hence tens of thousand workers may not have the chance to get Thai nationality and therefore children born in Thai of Mayanmar parentswill be living with stateless nationality.Mong was born, lives and goes to school because he was born to Burmese migrant workers. Federal Minister Chaovarat Chanvirakul, Minister of Interior said that he congratulated Mong Thongdee (12),who is back from the Origami Airplane Contest in Japan, after he won the third prize for Thailand in the individual category but bagged first prize in the team competition.“However, to grant him Thai citizenship we have to consider other things too, because in the future it will be difficult if tens of thousands of stateless people in Thailand also ask for nationality,” he said, according to a Thai newspaper Komchadluek.

Further Interior Ministry Minister Chaovarat Chanvirakul faced the wrath of civil society lawyer on charges of human rights violation were filed by the Thai Lawyer Council after the Ministry refused to issue travel documents to the boy.

Mong now a celbrity, a role model for stateless children, particularly in his hometown Chiang Mai Northern Thailand.
Mong Thongdee was born of Burmese migrant workers working in Chiang Mai. With his parents are ethnic Shan his winning the first prize in a paper aeroplane making competition held in Bangkok last year is joy of Mayanmar community living in Thailand.Following the competition he was entitled to join the Origami Airplane competition held in Japan on September 19 and 20 where he got the prizes.

Thailand Science Ministry will appoint Mong Thongdee, a Thai born but stateless boy, as its youth ambassador. “We will offer him scholarships too,” Science Minister Khunying Kalaya Sophonpanich said on Monday.She said the scholarships would enable Mong to get a degree and even a doctorate if he wanted.”He deserves the scholarships because he bolstered the country’s reputation and has become an inspiration for other children to learn more about science,” Kalaya said.