'Don't have to hide': Thai IDs, legal work give hope to Myanmar refugees

This photo taken on Jul 1, 2026 shows Karen refugees from the Mae La refugee camp along the Thai-Myanmar border arriving at a district office to register for Thai ID cards issued to foreigners granting them permission to work, in Prachinburi province. (Photo: AFP/Lillian SUWANRUMPHA) 06 Aug 2026 06:30PM NAKHON SAWAN, Thailand: Next to a mound of black earth, Myanmar refugees feed soil and rice seed into a clacking conveyor machine that arranges them into ready-made planting trays for Thai farms.The farmworkers are among their Thai boss's newest employees, with a fresh sense of job security after Thailand began permitting Myanmar refugees living in camps to work legally and granting them non-citizen identity cards."I do not tire from the work. I can do it," Ney La Jaw, 25, told AFP.He spent