Thailand’s success in seafood exports hides rampant slavery

Source taipeitimes, 16 June 

Human trafficking in connection with the kingdom's sex industry has long been known about, but forced labor on the deep-sea fishing boats that feed the nation's vast seafood industry is just beginning to gain equal attention — and criticism

He was too sick to eat, and Min Min Chan's chest ached with each breath he sucked. It did not matter: The Thai captain warned him to get back on deck and start hauling fish onto the trawler or be tossed overboard. As a 17-year-old slave stuck in the middle of the sea, he knew no one would come looking if he simply vanished.

Less than a month earlier, Chan had left Myanmar for Thailand, looking for work. Instead, he said a broker tricked and sold him onto the fishing boat for US$616. He ended up far away in Indonesian waters before even realizing what was happening.

Tens of thousands of invisible migrants like Chan stream into Thailand, Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, every year. Many are used as forced labor in various industries, especially on long-haul fishing boats that catch seafood eaten in the US and around the world. Others are dragged into the country's booming sex industry. Ethnic Rohingya asylum seekers from Myanmar are also held for ransom in abysmal jungle camps.

This week, when a US report on human trafficking comes out, Thailand may be punished for allowing that exploitation. The country has been on a US Department of State human trafficking watch list for the past four years. Washington warned in last year's report that without major improvements, it would be dropped to the lowest rung, Tier 3, joining the ranks of North Korea, Syria, Iran and Zimbabwe.

Though Thailand says it is trying to prevent such abuses and punish traffickers, its authorities have been part of the problem. The US has said the involvement of corrupt officials appears to be widespread, from protecting brothels and workplaces to cooperating directly with traffickers.

A downgrade could lead the US to pull back certain forms of foreign support and exchange programs as well as oppose assistance from international financial institutions such as the World Bank. Washington has already cut some assistance to Bangkok following last month's Thai military coup.

Thailand is paying a US public relations company US$51,000 a month to help in its push for better standing. The government issued a progress report last year, noting that investigations, prosecutions and the budget for anti-trafficking work all are on the rise.

"We recognize that it's a very serious, very significant problem, and we've been building a legal and bureaucratic framework to try to address these issues," Thai Ambassador to the US Vijavat Isarabhakdi said. "We feel that we have turned a corner and are making great progress in this area."

At least 38 Thai police were punished last year or are being investigated for involvement in trafficking, but none has stood trial yet. Four companies have been fined, and criminal charges against five others are pending.

However, the government pulled the licenses of only two of the country's numerous labor recruitment agencies.

In Geneva on Wednesday, Thailand was the only government in the world to vote against a new UN international treaty that combats forced labor by, among other things, strengthening victims' access to compensation. Several countries abstained.

"Thailand tries to portray itself as the victim while, at the same time, it's busy taking advantage of everybody it can who's coming through the country," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division. "The exploitation of migrants, the trafficking, it comes through Thailand because people know they can pay people in the government and in the police to look the other way."