Burmese Migrant Laborers in Bangkok: Assimilation Patterns and Their Indications for Global Movement

The observations relating to the assimilation of Burmese migrant workers in Bangkok serve as a reference for how migrants around the world might integrate themselves into new societies. For this research, I traveled to Bangkok and interviewed 40 unskilled workers from Burma and implemented participant-observation. I also conducted literary research to contextualize the information gathered during fieldwork. The synthesis of these methods revealed that historical tensions affected the current relationship between Thai and Burmese people. This led to the belief that most Burmese migrants are only in Bangkok temporarily and will return home to avoid the discrimination they face from Thai people. When details of Burmese assimilation are compared with those of migrants in places like Europe, it is possible to discern what is or is not occurring with migrants on a global scale. As I expand the discussion from the case of migrants in Bangkok to those around the world, it is important to consider what the patterns of one population might indicate for other migrants.