“Most of them work as laborers or housekeepers and have very little opportunity to get an education,” said Bishop Joseph Phibul Visitnonthachai of Nakhon Sawan.

Most cannot seek treatment in hospitals or send their children to school because they cannot speak Thai, added the executive director of the National Catholic Commission for Migration.

Migrant Assistance Program, a Thai NGO, estimates there are between 1.5 and 2 million Myanmar migrants in Thailand. Of these, about a million have legal status.

The Church now has eight learning centers specially serving these migrants throughout Bangkok. Seven teach Thai and English on Sundays while the eighth has courses in cooking, computer literacy, sewing and the making of artificial flowers. The first center opened in 2007 in a Buddhist temple and all are either in temples or Catholic schools.

Somsak Saeung, a coordinator of the National Catholic Commission for Migration, said the centers cater to some 250 Myanmar workers together with their children. “They all have legal documents and came to Thailand to flee political and economic crises,” he said.

A computer class in progress for young migrants

Sukon Maneesuwan, a volunteer, teaches basic Thai at one of the centers. She agreed that the migrants´ inability to communicate in Thai increases their chances of being exploited by employers.

Mi Mi, 34, from Myanmar, who has worked in a factory in Thailand for more than three years, attends classes on how to make clay-sculpted flowers. She sells these decorative items and sends the money back home to support her three children.

Nge, 23, who has been in the country for more than 10 years, is attending advanced Thai and English classes. Even though he speaks both languages, he says he wants to achieve greater fluency, especially in the written languages, to improve his job opportunities.

The National Catholic Commission for Migration was set up in 1987 to serve the pastoral needs of the growing number of migrants in Thailand. It provides food and shelter, and assists in finding jobs for them. The commission works with various community organizations throughout the country to make contact with the migrants and identify critical issues affecting them.