Invisible Man in Epidemiology The "Bare Life" of the Marginal People in Chiang Mai

Abstract

The spread of COVID-19 with the lockdown policy in many countries, including Thailand, has affected people’s livelihoods in every aspect. While marginalized people like migrant workers have lived in Thailand for decades and have played a significant role in the Thai economy, they still have been invisible in terms of legal, social, and institutional protection. However, migrant workers are constantly struggling in their daily lives to be in Thai society as Thai citizens. Additionally, they have put a lot of effort into developing themselves to be quality citizens in the future. This phenomenon indicates that these people clime on the instability line in life. Even though their role as economic citizens is indisputable, their full citizenship seems impossible. During the Covid-19 pandemic, their marginal status has intensified by the state. In other words, they are not in any state’s welfare and relief programs. This research project, therefore, aims to study migrant workers in Thai society as marginal people who have struggled to live during the pandemic. This study discusses the structural problems that resulted in the inaccessibility of migrant workers in the state’s welfare and relief programs. The findings could help the state to understand this issue comprehensively and make more inclusive policies for migrant workers.