♪ the kingdom of thailand, one of southeast asia's largest industrial nations, enjoyed

rapid economic growth from the mid '80s to the mid '90s. the economy has since managed to pull through several crises and continues to develop steadily. but a chronic labor shortage is proving to be a major hurdle for thailand with less than 1% of the nation currently unemployed. migrants from neighboring countries have been flooding in to support the nation's industries.

myanmarese migrants make up to 80% of the workers, taking on the tough, hazardous and dirty jobs that taiwanese prefer to avoid. this episode of "asia insight" follows the lives of the myanmarese migrant workers struggling to make their living and support a living in a foreign land. the thai capital of bangkok is the center for the economy and filled with centers for multinational firms. it has 9 million inhabitants

including a floating population of unregistered residents. roughly one-third of the city's population is non-thai. about 30 kilometers southwest of bangkok there is a town which has become known as little myanmar. in may, myanmarese laborers flooded the streets to see aung san suu kyi. suu kyi remained in myanmar for 24 years, after finally being elected, she chose this time as

the first time to give a place for a public speech. maha chai has long been known for its fish and shellfish, taken from the gulf of thailand. thousands of seafood processing factories of all sizes line the streets. maha chai's population consists of roughly 480,000 thais and 150,000 legally working myanmarese migrants. in addition there are reportedly about the same number of undocumented migrants working here. currently roughly 90% of the workers on fishing boats are myanmarese.

these myanmarese workers arrive in thailand with no connections and just a handful of belongings. they make about $9 a day. they are provided with meals and a place to sleep but living conditions are less than adequate. on this ship three workers share three square meters on a

ship's sleeping space. in principal, thailand prohibits the hiring of foreigners for unskilled work but in spite of this, there was already a large influx of undocumented unskilled migrant workers in the 1980s and the thai economy benefited immensely from the cheap labor provided by them. since 2002, the thai government has been allowing the hiring of migrants from country for specific work if applications are improved.

in the past, thais from the northwest of the country were willing to take on low paid work, but recently many of these workers have been migrating to south korea and taiwan in search of higher wages.

in order for myanmarese to work in thailand, they need some form of official i.d. and a work permit issued by the thai government which is applied for by their employer. many myanmarese don't know about this system and even if they did, most would prefer to rely on brokers and work illegally. this is a public elementary school in the suburbs of maha chai.

at this school, more than 200 of the 317 students have parents who are undocumented migrant workers. only 25 of the students are thai. seven years ago, the thai government began providing rights to education for all children regardless of their parents' legal status. there are no exact records but a huge number of stateless children and children with parents who are undocumented workers are living in thailand. the thai government is providing these children with an opportunity for education, but it's also taking security precautions at the same time by issuing i.d. cards.

once they are issued with i.d. cards, children can receive nine years of education from elementary to junior high school

free of charge. they also have a right to a high school education. the city of maha chai never sleeps. at dawn and early evening, factory workers move to and from work. if even half of these workers were ever deported, the town would probably stop functioning. many myanmarese migrants work day and night with some bringing their families and relatives to thailand. 21-year-old ngu war first came

here when she was 13 to join her mother. she works at a seafood processing factory. she lives with her mother, sister, sister's husband and a female relative five minutes walk away from her workplace. the female relative is getting ready to go to work. the family pays a monthly rent of $100 for this 33 square meter room. all of them work. they try to save as much money as possible. ngu war starts cleaning up and preparing the food for the family's lunch.

to keep costs down, the lunch consists of leftovers from the previous night's dinner. ngu war's other family members also work at other seafood processing companies. each person makes around $350 a ngu war works nights and takes home over $40 more than the others.

she hands over her entire salary to her mother. ngu war usually only receives $13 pocket money a month. ngu war's parents came to thailand after their flood damaged property put them in serious debt. ngu war's father was killed in a brawl with a fellow myanmarese so her mother had to work alone

to pay back what they owe. the family dreams of returning to myanmar and one day running their own store. after three years living in thailand, ngu war returned to myanmar and reentered thailand to work officially when she was 16. ngu war can now move freely and go out wherever she likes but she says she rarely goes out alone and prefers to stay home and listen to her favorite music.

ngu war is the only member of her family who works nights, because she desperately wants to return to myanmar as soon as possible. she says the family can achieve its goal if they continue working and saving for another three years. ♪ no one wants to take tough, dirty and hazardous work in a foreign land, but for these myanmarese migrants there are few alternatives as there is almost no work available in their home country.

even if they had legal status to be in thailand, their rights are often not respected and they can easily be fired. one myanmarese lady has been working as a translator and helping undocumented migrant workers since her 20s. she is fluent in the language. li ma cho works for an organization that specializes in resolving issues between employers and workers.

this woman injured herself on the job and isn't able to work but workers' compensation doesn't exist at her factory and she hasn't been paid for two months.

>> myanmar doesn't have compulsory education, with the enrollment in junior high school at a mere 50%. coming from a social background, mean workers are naive and don't understand their legal status.

the thai government has tried in vain to reduce the number of undocumented migrants. but the necessity of cheap labor keeps migrants flooding in and complicates the issue. in a corner of maha chai there is a temple where undocumented workers come to seek help.

buddhist priest ashin vayama established the temple four years ago after learning about the plight of his fellow countrymen in the city. lately, people from outside of maha chai are also seeking help at the temple.

ashin vayama believes it's almost impossible to stop the influx of myanmarese seeking a better life in thailand. this girl was smuggled into the country eight months ago, it was the first time for her to leave the village she was born and brought up in.

the girl dreams one day of becoming a licensed hairdresser back in myanmar after saving some money. this man was taken in by the police for not being in possession of a valid work permit.

li ma cho continues her quest on behalf of migrant workers. she's begun offering weekly study sessions to give them the confidence to stand up for their rights by themselves.

about 20 young workers showed up for this study session.

even after myanmarese are hired legally under official contracts their employment conditions rarely improve. li ma cho believes her people need to take responsibility for changing the situation themselves. this is a library on the main street of maha chai which was built especially for the myanmarese. it took two years to collect the books. anyone who becomes a member is

allowed to borrow them. the thai government had urged undocumented, unskilled migrant workers to get registered by february 2012 or be deported but very few responded, prompting the government to extend the deadline to june and then december. deportation of so many migrant workers would surely have a negative effect on thailand's booming economy, something the thai government is well aware of. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> a country of 180 million people shaping their future at the ballot boxes and pakistan is voting in historic elections. capital ofincial punjab province, where this election will likely be decided. >> you are watching al jazeera live from our headquarters. also in the next 30 minutes, the retrial of hosni mubarak is underway. we go live to cairo fhe