Synopsis
This is a story about a Burmese girl who illegally immigrates to Thailand to pursue a better life!
Lian-qing gets on the truck, and the car drives from Lashio, Burma to Chiangmai, Thailand. There are many young people who are just like Lian-qing, wanting to go to Thailand to work.
The truck drives for about 10 days, passed the Burmese checkpoints, the exiled opposing rebellious Kelun tribe group, and finally the Thai-Burma border, Lian-qing arrives in Thailand at last.
After she arrives in Thailand, she successfully starts working at a tea factory in the Dagudi village. However, Lian-qing is not satisfied with earning only $120 baht a day, and staying in the country-side. She wants to go to Bangkok to work and make more money, so she can send more money home.
The only problem is that she has no IDs. To work in Bangkok, she needs working permit, and to get a working permit, she needs a refugee card, to get the refugee card, it requires an ID card, and to get an ID card, she needs to get a registration certificate first. Just applying for the registration card, it can take up to three years, and there are many illegal immigrants in Dagudi waiting for years, and still have not receive their registration certificate. Lian-qing is persistent, and even though there are many challenges, she takes on as much work as possible, and finally she was able to get her ID card.
Then with her ID card, she plans on sneaking into Bangkok, but is caught in the middle of her way by the officers, and returns back to Dagudi.
After she returns to Dagudi, everyone is trying to talk her out of going to Bangkok, and the man A-Guo,who has been in love with her expresses interest in marrying her. A-Guo’s brother even mentions to her that if she is willing to marry A-Guo, he will help her get all of her permits. However, Lian-qing could not accept the offer, because she does not want to marry A-Guo.
Finally she goes to find Lady Ma who specializes in introducing virgins to foreigners. Lian-qing is hoping that Lady Ma would be able to bring her to Bangkok, and once she starts working in Bangkok she will give back the money she borrows to get the permit. Lady Ma would not accept and insists that she should work as a “hostess” for the foreigners. Lian-qing refuses. Lady Ma sees no hope in persuading her, and so she tells Lian-qing to go find A-Cai. A-Cai’s finace is a drug dealer in Thailand. Lian-qing agrees to help A-Cai bring drugs into Thailand in exchange for her working permit. Lian-qing successfully brings the drugs in, and she finally receives her working permit and finds a decent job.
Things do not last long! Due to the new Thailand government policy, non-Bangkok issued working permit cannot work in Bangkok anymore. Since Lian-qing’s working permit is issued from Mae Sai which is located in the Chiangrai province by the Thailand borde, she is deported to Mae Sai.
Even though Lian-qing is quite depressed that she cannot work in Bangkok anymore, she still tries to be optimistic and plans on using her savings to start her own business. Unexpectedly, when Lian-qing goes to the bank to wire money home, because she is holding both the Burmese ID and Thailand refugee card, she is arrested by the Thailand police officers. She is forced to give up all of her savings to the officers in order to keep her Thailand documents!
In despair again, Lian-qing, thought of drug trafficking!
Thailand near the Burma border: Dagudi, Mae Sai, Santikhir, Bioupai etc. a few hundreds of kilometers of rolling countryside and the annual influx of thousands of young illegal immigrants who are trapped in the mountains. Every day, they think about how to get to Bangkok and every day waiting impatiently for the work permit. Some people wait as long as 10 years, and still could not make it to Bangkok. Lian-qing is one of the lucky ones, and also the most courageous of them all.
Wilderness and the loess are always covering the Thai border, just the same in Burma. Young people try to get out of the forest and mountains of Burma, but trap in the same situation in Thailand. They are always the trapped birds! They think they escaped their cage and destiny, only to find out they are just trapped in a bigger cage, the world!
This film is about the tens and thousands of Burmese young illegal immigrants going to Thailand and this story takes place every day, even at this very moment!