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Assignment: The Christians Stranded in Thailand

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The Christians Stranded in Thailand

25/02/2016 GMT

BBC World Service - Assignment, The Christians Stranded in Thailand

The plight of Christians fleeing violence in Pakistan and seeking refuge in Thailand

Chris Rogers goes undercover to expose the treatment Christians fleeing violence in Pakistan and seeking refuge in Thailand.

Thousands of Christian refugees who have fled religious violence in Pakistan are stranded in Thailand. They travel there because of cheap tourist visas but quickly get caught in a tangle of asylum bureaucracy which can mean waiting years to move on to a third country. It happens because Thailand does not offer asylum to refugees, but passes them on to the UNCHR for processing; but the UN is overwhelmed, leaving many to suffer poverty and deprivation while they await news of their cases. 

In some cases men, women and children are rounded up by the Thai authorities and incarcerated in grim detention centres or even imprisoned. Chris Rogers reports from the back streets of Bangkok where many of the refugees are in hiding and goes undercover to expose the treatment of these people in Thailand’s detention system.

(Photo: Illegal immigrants in Thailand find themselves in detention)

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