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Volume 26 No. 1 | Autumn 2016
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Fr Anthony providing comfort and strength for
Vietnamese migrants in Thailand
When Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD set off for his mission
assignment to Thailand some years ago, he could not
have foreseen that much of his time would actually be
spent ministering to Vietnamese migrants.
“The truth is, before coming to Thailand, I did not even
know that there was the presence of Vietnamese migrant
workers here,” he says.
“However, upon coming to Thailand and seeing the great
need for someone to walk with them, I could not ignore
this reality.”
Fr Anthony is currently located in Bangkok where he
collaborates with other Vietnamese priests and religious
of different religious congregations to minister to
Vietnamese migrant workers in Thailand.
“There are about 50,000 Vietnamese illegally working in
Thailand in various manual labour jobs,” he says. “I not
only carry out sacramental ministry, but also provide social
and legal support, especially in situations of emergency,
such as in the case of accidents or death, where they have
virtually no other resources to turn to.”
The daily life of Vietnamese migrants in Thailand is filled
with challenges.
“The biggest challenge that they face is their illegal
status,” says Fr Anthony. “They manage to bribe the
immigration police to enter Thailand as tourists, even
though the immigration police know full well that they are
not tourists.
“However, they stay on to find long-term employment in
the country.
“It is legal for them to travel in Thailand, but not legal for
them to work. Thus, any employment that they engage
in is illegal. Therefore, Vietnamese migrant workers are
subject to arrest, imprisonment, fines and deportation.
“Many local police exploit the illegal status of the
migrants to extort money from them or take bribes for
not arresting them. Because of their illegal status, they
also don’t receive any legal protection when they are
ill-treated or cheated of their salaries by employers.
And they receive no benefits such as health care, which
becomes extremely expensive when they receive medical
treatment for various illnesses or accidents.”
Apart from the practical challenges, Fr Anthony says
Vietnamese Catholics are also faced with spiritual
difficulties.
“Catholics don’t have the means to maintain their spiritual
life by attending Church, because of the long work
hours,” he says. “And many don’t work near Catholic
churches, which are scarce in Thailand. Those who do
manage to find the time to attend Mass often can’t
understand Thai enough to participate fully in the rituals.”
Fr Anthony says the issues surrounding Vietnamese
migrants in Thailand are often not given much attention.
“In Thailand, the issues of migrant workers from Myanmar,
Cambodia and Laos receive more attention from the
government and from social organisations,” he says.
“It is perhaps because the people from these countries
are greater in number than the Vietnamese. Even though
there are as many as 50,000 Vietnamese workers in