A plea from a Thai citizen stranded in the United States

In movies, when tragedy strikes Western cities, I would think to myself, “Well, I would make sure to ask the Thai consulate get me out of here. I’m so thankful for my Thai passport.” 

Fast forward to this month, as the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID) grappled the US and the world, my school in New York, USA, announced that our classes would be conducted virtually. I immediately decided to go home to Bangkok, to my family, and to a support system that I understood, to wait out this pandemic. Before I was able to buy my plane ticket, however, I received a phone call from my father. 

“Don’t come home,” he said, disappointedly. 

“But why?”

“They’re closing down airports. No one’s landing. Not even our own.” 

My heart sank. 

My father was, of course, referring to the ban enforced by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) on incoming flights and the closure of airports nationwide that came into effect April 4th and has been extended up to April 30th. Since then, the government has allowed 200 Thais to return to the kingdom per day. 

Many people might say, “Well, people living abroad are just rich people anyway so what if their travel plans are disrupted?”

However, by leaving its citizens abroad, at the very least, Thailand is creating an inconvenience, but at the worst, it is leaving its citizens susceptible to one of the worst pandemics in modern history. 

Not all healthcare systems are created equal. Thailand’s healthcare system guarantees universal healthcare coverage to all its citizens, but this might not be the case in other countries.

For example, in the US, uninsured patients often scrape by to pay hefty bills after their recovery. Therefore, in the US, income and insurance access both stand as barriers for healthcare access, which stands in stark contrast to Thailand’s system. As a result, Thais in the US would not have adequate healthcare coverage, especially compared to what they would in Thailand. Would it not make sense, then, that for our own safety, we should be able to come back to a more affordable and accessible healthcare system? 

With healthcare costs aside, not every Thai citizen has the privilege to shelter in place in the United States. Some Thais living in the US might not be authorized to work at all. For this group of people to survive, they would have to rely on money from their savings or their families without other sources of support. Even for those who are authorized to work, job security is also another issue that they have to face. Many Thais work in the restaurant or other service industries, which are the industries that are most affected during this pandemic. While the US government has issued stimulus checks to its citizens, not all Thais living in the US are able to receive this fund. Even though the Thai government has promised financial support to all its citizens, the logistics of delivering these funds to citizens living in Thailand has proven to be a huge obstacle. Given these issues, it is highly unlikely that these funds are reaching those of us living abroad any time soon. 

Recently, the CAAT has amended its ban to allow 200 Thai citizens living abroad to return per day. However, the Pew Research Center estimates that just within the US, there are approximately 295,000 Thais. Even for a small fraction of us to return home, we would all not be able to return within a timely manner. In addition, another stipulation requires that all of the 200 people must meet at a designated city before continuing onwards to Thailand. This might work for some smaller countries. For those who live in a country as vast as the US with multiple major cities, though, this would constitute nothing less than a logistical nightmare. This opens up various possibilities of delays and incidents during travel. Even worse, this leaves people even more at risk of COVID exposure as they are traveling through different cities to get to these designated cities. 

While this pandemic is unprecedented and the government seems to be arguing for these measures to protect and maintain public health for those living within the kingdom, it is irresponsible for the government to actively leave its own citizens out.

As we look at other governments’ responses, we can see that they are not barring their own citizens from returning, but on the contrary, are encouraging their citizens to return. Germany has chartered flights worldwide to bring back not only German citizens, but all citizens of the European Union. At the same time, Taiwan is utilizing technology to collect data from its citizens returning to the island and using this information to ensure adequate self-quarantine. Although Thailand initially had these systems in place, the government chose to abandon these measures, and instead, decided to prevent our own citizens from returning 

As the COVID pandemic ravages the globe, our fellow Thai citizens stranded abroad are at their most vulnerable. It is the government’s duty to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our fellow citizens, so please, let us come home. 

Juwee Vorawandthanachai is a Thai student studying in New York City.

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