When the average person thinks of Thailand, images of magnificent temples, picturesque beaches, and massive elephants likely come to mind. Unfortunately, the average person is oblivious to the fact that there are over 610,000 modern day slaves living in Thailand today. Continue reading to learn more about the abundance of human trafficking in this country.Â
Seafood:
One of the largest sectors that uses slaves in Thailand is by far the seafood industry. With seafood exports valued at over $6.5 billion each year, Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of fish. This means that any shrimp, mackerel, snapper, bream, tuna, or squid sourced from Thailand has most likely been touched by the hands of slaves. Most times, people from neighboring countries are smuggled or coaxed into Thailand and then forced onto ships for months and sometimes years to catch fish. These people are stripped of their government documents and receive little or no payment for their work. Oftentimes, their families assume that they are dead. One trafficking victim, named Zin Met Thet, explained to Human Rights Watch, “It was torture. One time I was so tired I fell off the boat.” Another man named Thet Phyo Lin reported, “If I want to quit working here I need to request permission from the employer. Some employers allow us to leave, but some will claim we must pay off debts first. For example, if I can pay 25,000 baht [US $762] to an employer… he may allow me to leave, but if he isn’t satisfied… I would have to pay whatever he demanded.” Sadly, forced labor and debt bondage are not considered a crime in Thailand, so traffickers are free to mistreat their workers as they please without having to worry about the law.Â
The next time you shop for seafood, especially shrimp, look for a label with its country of origin. You can also ask your server at a restaurant about where it sources its seafood from before placing an order.
Sex trafficking:
A much more visible form of modern day slavery in Thailand is sex trafficking. In large cities, brothels filled with underage girls are advertised blatantly with flashing lights. Children are used frequently as “entertainers” at bars and restaurants where they experience sexual exploitation daily. Other times, underage girls are used to produce pornography that ends up on mainstream porn sites for the world to see.Â
Forced begging:
While it may be tempting to stop and give money to a child or a pregnant woman begging on the streets of Thailand, it is highly probable that the money is going into the pockets of human traffickers. Forced begging is a common form of modern day slavery in Thailand in which the trafficker sends children and sometimes pregnant women to beg for money. The victims are unlikely to keep any of the money they receive and may be beaten if they do not earn enough. Because physically disabled children generally earn more money from begging, traffickers have been known to remove limbs from their victims.Â
Other major sectors that profit from modern day slavery in Thailand are agriculture and construction. Â
Sources:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/01/23/thailand-forced-labor-trafficking-persist-fishing-fleets
https://humantraffickingsearch.org/201788forced-begging/
https://www.dw.com/en/report-spotlights-modern-day-slavery-in-thailand/a-17728852
Featured image: Environmental Justice Foundation
