May 29, 2008 (DVB), Burmese migrant workers in southern Thailand’s Phan-nga district have collected over 200,000 baht in donations from the migrant community to help victims of Cyclone Nargis in Burma.

Many migrant workers in Phan-nga were themselves affected by the 2004 tsunami.

One of the migrants who contributed to the collection said he had been pleased to be able to help.

"I felt so sad when I heard the terrible news about Cyclone Nargis in Burma," he said.

"But we are happy that we have an opportunity to give a donation to support our fellow people."

Another migrant working in Phan-nga agreed.

"We are happy to be able to support the cyclone victims with the small amount of money we have earned from our labours," he said.

One of the organisers of the collection said the community wanted to do something to help the victims in Burma.

"After we heard the news about Cyclone Nargis in Burma, we discussed with migrant workers here how we could contribute to help the victims," he said.

"So far we have collected over 200,000 baht."

Another organiser said the money would be sent to cyclone victims through local aid groups.

"We are going to channel the money for the victims through aid groups that are working inside Burma on Monday," he said.

Phan-nga has a population of over 10,000 Burmese migrants who mostly work in the fishing industry and on rubber plantations.

Reporting by Maung Too