Myanmar Mon Women Living with AIDS in Thailand: Life of Migrant Workers

Abstract

This research article was aimed at describing the way of life of migrant Mon women with AIDS in Samut Sakhon province. Qualitative study was employed. Using purposive sampling, 13 Mon women including two women living with AIDS and 11 of their neighbors, aged 18-73 and all married, participated in the study. Informal interviews, in-depth interviews and observations were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using content analysis. There are five major findings including: 1) women living in Mon City had no future; 2) life in Samut Sakhon was financially secured but not safe; 3) sexual relation and birth control depended upon men’s choices; 4) AIDS was frightening, being infected with AIDS from a husband, and infected women were emphatic rather than stigmatized; 5) women living with AIDS needed a cover-up and maintained an untarnished image. The findings reveal that the life of Mon women who migrated from Myanmar to Thailand is like a known Thai proverb “escape from the tiger, meet the crocodile”. It is quite challenging for health institutes and multi-sector to tackle these problems.