After a long and arduous search for safety, many refugees arrive in Thailand carrying trauma and suffering from health issues. The European Union and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), ensure that the most vulnerable have access to medical treatment and psychological first aid.
“I think working as a nurse is a good way to help people. When I was young, I used to accompany my mother to the hospital,” says Piraporn Tongjad, a 31-year-old nurse. Many of her patients are people who escaped the fighting and spiralling humanitarian crisis in neighbouring Myanmar. Among them are Rohingya, one of the world's most persecuted ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities.
Piraporn works for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Thailand, which, thanks to EU humanitarian funding, provides crisis-affected people on the move with food, healthcare, and mental health support.
Currently, over 81,000 refugees reside in 9 temporary shelters along the Thai-Myanmar border, where they have limited access to essential services like healthcare. The situation of refugees in the cities is even more precarious. Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and treats them as irregular migrants. Adults who are apprehended and have no legal papers are detained at immigration centres, while some children are placed in government-run shelters for children and families.
Oftentimes, Piraporn visits these accommodation facilities where the IOM nurse provides her patients with medical checkups, treatment and medication. Piraporn regularly treats skin problems like scabies and fungal infections caused by the crowded conditions in the centres. Many of her patients also suffer from muscle pain caused by a lack of space to sleep and exercise.
“There are a lot of detention centres and shelters in Thailand with increasing number of vulnerable migrants. We need more nurses and staff to reach and respond to the needs of these vulnerable groups on time,” she says.
Mental problems are also common, says Piraporn. This is why she works closely with mental health professionals like Kate Taenghom, who works as an on-call psychologist for IOM. Psychological first aid is essential to help people on the move understand how and where they can get support and help them feel empowered.
“Sometimes, the journey takes a month;” explains Kate. “People don’t have enough food, families get separated, some people get beaten. Their belongings are taken, even the little money and jewellery they might own. They travel so long, and they feel so powerless. That can cause trauma.”
As a certified art therapist, Kate also uses pencils, charcoal, acrylic paint, clay, cardboard, fabric and other art supplies to help the children in shelters express their feelings. “Some feelings remain unspoken. You cannot say the words out loud, but we know that it’s there;” she says. “If you ask directly, especially children, they might not know how to answer. But if you talk about their artwork and what it represents, it becomes easier. And if I see some alarming concerns in the artwork, instead of visiting them monthly, I visit them more often to ensure their well-being.”
