The homeless can line the pavement of many sois (small streets) in Bangkok. Rumors of organized gangs placing them there cause many people to pass them by.

Bangkok newspapers reported that 570 beggars had been collected off the streets to be deported back to Cambodia. Some say they are placed on street corners by organized crime groups that collect the money that has accumulated each day.

Stateless and without papers, many Karen women work market stalls in tourist villages.

The quality and cost of medical care causes people to cross borders for treatment. Bangkok hosts patients from the Middle East that congregate in the lower Sukhumvit area.