7-year-old Sarocha Pachaporn smiles after
receiving her first ID card.
Phasakorn Channgam
A law that took effect July 10 now requires Thai children
as young as 7 to carry government identification cards.
The Children Identification Cards Act applies to youths
ages 7-14. Parents have 60 days from their child’s seventh birthday to
obtain a card.
Banglamung District Chief Chawalit Saeng-Uthai said
15,768 locally registered youths are affected in Banglamung, but many others
whose parents maintain household registrations elsewhere also will have to
obtain cards. He said Banglamung District can take up to 150 applications
per day.
Registration got off to a bumpy start, however, with many
parents showing up without all the required documents. Needed are birth
certificates and household registration.
District staffer Lacha Inrot said her department was able
to process only 60 applications the first day and 10 the second, because
their computer system had crashed.
While she confidently predicted they’d be able to do more
once the system came back up, the next day saw long delays, many complaints
and a good number of people leaving in frustration.
For their part, kids seem to like the new cards, even if
they didn’t understand the point that they’re supposed to carry the ID cards
with them. Sarocha Pachaporn, 7, said she was happy she could get a card
now, but would leave it with her mother so it didn’t get lost. Juthamas
Sangkatum, 11, said she’d keep it herself, but stash it in a safe place.
