Paper plane champ returns home – but still stateless
Posted: Monday, September 21, 2009 2:24 PM
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Bangkok, Thailand
By NBC News' Warangkana Chomchuen
BANGKOK, Thailand – Paper plane champ Mong Thongdee returned to the Thai capital Monday with a bag full of trophies after competing in a Japanese paper airplane contest – but the young boy’s joy may be fleeting.
The 12-year-old boy, who has no official nationality, brought home a third place win in the division for elementary school students in the Chiba, Japan paper plane competition. And his three-person Thai team also won first place in a group competition where the young contestants had to quickly fold their planes and then throw them into the air.
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| Koji Sasahara / AP |
| Mong Thongdee prepares to release his paper plane during the team indoor flight duration competition at the All-Japan Origami Airplane Contest near Tokyo on Sept. 19. |
Mong glowed while cameras flashed as he greeted his Myanmar migrant parents – whose trip to Bangkok from their home in northern town of Chiang Mai was made possible by a last minute sponsorship from an airline.
Mong’s story captured media attention when he appealed for travel document to compete in Japan, where he would represent Thailand.
The initial rejection of his request to travel – on the grounds that he isn’t a Thai citizen and can’t leave the country without losing his temporary residence permit – brought to light the complicated issue of thousands of people who live in Thailand, but have no citizenship or official status.
At the airport on Monday, Mong thanked all Thais for giving him endless support throughout his journey and said he wished to give his medals to the Thai king.
But after going all the way to win his paper plane titles in Japan, Mong returned home to the same state he’s been in: a stateless boy in the country he calls home.
As a child of migrants born in Thailand, Mong can apply for Thai citizenship, but like everyone else, his case will be considered on a case by case basis. A Thai authority in charge of granting citizenship appeared reluctant to say he would gain citizenship quickly when asked by reporters Monday.
The reason for the official’s reticence may be because other stateless people in Thailand, who are estimated to number about half a million, may take too much hope from Mong’s case and bombard the authority with applications and unrealistic expectations.
Still, in the afterglow of his successful trip, the Thai science minister announced in front of the media gathered at the airport that Mong would be made a junior science ambassador, and promised to pay his tuition expenses until he graduates from college.
It isn’t hard to picture Mong, propelled by dream and determination, as a PhD candidate following his passion in aeronautical engineering.
But it is hard to imagine him being a pilot or an engineer – two jobs among dozens of professions that are restricted for Thai citizens only – without him being a citizen in the first place.
