DONATIONS SOUGHT URGENTLY FOR RAKHINE DISABLED MIGRANT WORKPLACE ACCIDENT VICTIM ON KOH SAMUI

Yesterday representatives of the Migrant Worker Rights Network (Andy Hall, MWRN International Affairs Advisor) and the Human Rights and Development Foundation (Aye Mar Cho, HRDF Mahachai project coordinator) met at Koh Samui hospital with Ko Nyi Nyi, a 30 year old Rakhine migrant worker from Myanmar. Nyi Nyi is married with a 5 year old daughter (his wife and daughter remain in Myanmar).

Nyi Nyi was paralyzed/disabled from the waist down in a construction workplace accident at a tourist hotel in Chaweng. It was his first day working as a construction worker when he was hit by falling construction materials, having just come ashore from working as a fisherman on the ocean and fishing boat.

Since the accident, Nyi Nyi was left in Koh Samui hospital, whose nurses and doctors cared for him and treated his wounds well. He was diagnosed as disabled, paralyzed from the waist down. But Nyi Nyi’s employer was reported to have never visited him or assisted him in any way. The hospital rang his employer but they refused to cooperate or assist the case.

Nyi Nyi has a passport but no work permit and no health insurance. He has a large hospital bill that remains unpaid.
The hospital has completed its treatment of Nyi Nyi for some time already and needed him to leave but patiently waited for someone to take responsibility for him.

Yesterday MWRN and HRDF, working alongside the local migrant worker community in Koh Samui, went to Koh Samui hospital and collected Nyi Nyi in a car to take him back to a friends basic construction site room.

As Nyi Nyi had no wheelchair, the group bought the wheel chair and simple medical supplies for cleaning his wounds in his room. They also donated 4,000 baht to he and his brother as they have no money to support themselves.

Mwrn and Hrdf will now work together urgently with the Social Security Office to seek to transfer Nyi Nyi to a rehabilitation center in Pathum Thani where he can access rehabilitation to rebuild his life, as currently he is totally dependent on his elder brother to move.

Mwrn and HRDF will also seek to work with the Social Security Office to hold Nyi Nyi’s employer and/or construction site subcontractors liable for compensating his workplace disability, inability to work, hospital and rehabilitation costs.

If you are able to donate to support Nyi Nyi and his brother as they work together now to rebuild Nyi Nyi’s life, please send an email to [email protected]mail.com and we can direct you as to the best way to support Nyi Nyi.

Even though you may only be able to give a little, it would be a lot of use to Nyi Nyi and his brother at their time of need right now.

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