Life as a Refugee — Sam and Nipa, November 2024
Last week, I asked Sam to give us a brief overview of his life as a refugee in Bangkok.
Here is his story, in his own words (with just a few edits and addition that I’ve added for clarity, shown in square brackets).
For the past nine moths, and more, a dedicated group of retirees, mostly all long-standing friends since school days, have banded together in support of Sam/Nipa and family. We consider this a rescue operation. But it is also a “faith walk,” since pockets are not deep, and each is making only a limited commitment for some months in advance. So far, Sam and Nipa have been able to keep afloat, with only the odd minor call for emergency assistance. (This happened most recently regarding needed repair for the motor bike they depend on. It happened a year ago to replace an old computer.)
More could be shared, but here is Sam, in his own words, providing a brief overview of his financial situation over these many months as a refugee with no formal status in Thailand. (Fortunately, Nipa is Thai, hence her freedom to work, as described below.)
Hello friends,
I’m writing to thank you everyone who supports the cause.
First of all, I’d want to express my family’s sincerest appreciation for the assistance you’ve provided to help us exist.
I live with my wife, Nipa, and we are raising four children. I’m from Karachi, Pakistan, and have been living in Bangkok as a refugee for over 11 years now.
In January 2015, I met Bing Nellasca, a film director from the Philippines. She was working as a casting director at Benetone Films, one of the biggest names in film productions in Bangkok. From being an extra, Bing taught me how to be a talent agent. I started supplying talents to Bing for her projects. Within a few months, I started establishing contacts with the other casting directors of other big productions like Phenomena, Film Factory, Aura, and many others who later started contacting me for their talent needs.
After the pandemic started, it has become more difficult for me to do any type of work. I seldom go out of the house except for errands just nearby. My work as a talent agent also started to suffer because with my status, illegal, and the heavy lockdowns in the city, I could not just go to the casting anymore.
Myself, Nipa, and our children have lived in legal and emotional limbo ever since. I can’t work to support them, and Nipa lives with the daily threat of me being separated from her and the kids if I’m picked up for arbitrary detention.
During the pandemic, Nipa was hardly earned 200-250 a day online, and I’m not allowed to work. We often went to sleep without food. We lived in a one-room apartment with a washroom and kitchen inside of it. We never knew if we will be able to pay our rent on time, as there was no support system.
On January 28, 2021, our landlord locked us out of our room because we couldn’t pay our rent. Nipa, me and our 4 kids stayed in the room of our neighbors, Daud, until another neighbor, Stewart, contacted Ted, who is a representative of ASAP Ministries in Bangkok. At around 4 pm, Ted transferred the amount due for our rent to our landlord’s bank account. Then the manager unlocked and opened the room for us. After assisting us with our due rent, Ted continued to help us with our rent for the next four months.
On April 1, 2021, we moved to a small wooden house within the same street where we got our room locked the first time. Our monthly room rent for the previous place and the house was the same. But whatever we did, we weren’t able to manage to pay our rent on time.
In August 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, I went for the casting of a Paramount Pictures movie. After some days, I was chosen to play a policeman for a two-day shoot. I paid 10k THB [400 CAD] to the landlord for two months of unpaid rent from the fee I got from the job. However, we were still short of over 1K [40 CAD].
On September 9, 2021, three of my children were chosen to be featured for a six-day shoot. In that month, we were able to earn around 45k THB [1800 CAD]. We paid our overdue rent and the rent in advance for September, October, and November at once, which was a total of 25,000 THB.[1000 CAD]
On November 28, 2021, a local Thai Christian family started helping us with 3k THB a month. The man’s name is Montri.
On December 21, 2021, UNHCR’s Medical Desk—Tzuchi Foundation, Bangkok, donated 3k THB [120 CAD] to every asylum seeker and refugee family. After the pandemic started, last year we celebrated our first Christmas with money.
On January 19, 2022, our house was locked once again by our landlord because we weren’t able to pay our rent on time for December. Nipa and my children stayed that night in a shelter, while I spent a night on the road. The next day, Ted helped us with paying the due rent and bringing them back home. When we returned home, our landlord already asked us to move out before the start of the following month.
Since March of 2022, two of my Canadian friends/sponsors, Ron and Safwa, have been helping us with our monthly room rent. When Nipa and my children returned from the shelter, Montri offered Nipa to work online in one of his businesses. She started sailing athletic apparel. For each item Nipa sells, she gets 50 THB [2 CAD]commission. Usually, she can sell 4-5 items a day, but in case she couldn’t sell any item or sell less than 4, Montri always helps us with 200 THB [8 CAD] or plus every day.
The UNHCR [during this time] had been helping me with 3k THB[120 CAD] a month for over a year, [but] they never considered the support needed for my family.
My spouse Nipa, has lived with the daily threat of me being separated from her and the kids if I am picked up for arbitrary detention. My children, even at their very young age, know that we are hiding from the police. They may not know why, but they know that the police are people that we should hide from.
The danger of this occurring once again is real.
On December 5, 2022, at 9 a.m., I was picked up by police and sent to immigration detention. I stayed here for three weeks until paying the fee required for my release. The funds were sent by my overseas friend, who also send the funds to my trust account as part of my private sponsorship application. The cost was significant and if I did not have these generous friends, I would likely be still in that jail until the time of writing this letter.
On that dat, Thai Immigration Police arrested me and two other families in our homes during an immigration raid for overstaying our visa in Thailand. On our way to the IDC (International Detention Center) in Bangkok, I used my phone to inform my G5 sponsors and friends, Ronald Richmond in Regina and Sally Holligan in the UK. Sally sent me immediate support for my bail [about 2000 CAD}that we received on December 7. My wife Nipa was able to deposit the money as my guarantor for bail on December 15.
When I was arrested, they sent me to the immigration detention center in quarantine for 20 days. During my detention in jail, the police wanted to shave my head, and I paid 500 baht [20 CAD] for not doing it. I felt humiliated, as if it snatched my dignity from me. I was treated like a dog.
On December 24, 2022, police took my covid test and brought me the next day to the main IDC [International Detention Center] in Bangkok. They put me in the 106 people in one room. We were behind the walls with 8 electric fans over us. Everyone slept in one position. First night, I sat down the whole night in the corner of the room. Because when I went to the toilet and came back, there was no place to sleep. There I couldn’t breathe and felt dizzy all the time. The overcrowding, lack of nourishment, and unhygienic conditions of the detention center did not help my health.
On December 28, 2022, finally I was released from the IDC on bail. With this bail, I’m free to move on the streets but if I will be caught again doing any job or work, the police will cancel my bail [meaning, Sam would again be put in detention, with little chance, this time of another chance to get out. The bail money would also be forfeited].
From February 2023, Sally helped us fund our monthly expenses throughout a year. [This was close to 1000 CAD/mo., but notified Sam towards the end of that year that she could not continue. In January, some Regina friends commenced some monthly support at about $600/mo.]
On January 20, 2024, Nipa began working as a storekeeper in a grocery store near our house. The job hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., allowing her to manage other tasks as well. Her initial income was 350 [14 CAD/day], but for the past several weeks, she’s been getting 450 [18 CAD] every day because the store owner recently opened a new store and gave over her former stores’ complete responsibility to Nipa.
[Nipa normally works 6.5 days per week, now, at this newer rate. It pays for less than 40% of their basic monthly needs. Since, February, Regina friends have been contributing $600 monthly to help meet basic food, housing, and schooling needs, with a recent increase of $50 for this current month (November).]
We have been able to pay our rent and utility bills on time since February 2024, totaling approximately 9k THB [360 CAD] every month, thank you once again for your kindness. This budget also covers the school’s tuition fees (400 THB [16 CAD] for each of three children), stationary, daily breakfast expenses, pocket money, and fuel.
May God bless you all with the greatest things of the world.
Have a great weekend.
Related…
The full story from the beginning of our engagement with Sam and family is detailed on this webpage:
This page by Ron Richmond
First published: 2024/11/17