Published on AMRC (http://www.amrc.org.hk)

ANROAV Statement on the Deaths of 54 Migrant Workers in Thailand

By amrc
Created 04/22/2008 - 12:09
Background:
On the evening of 9th April 2008 in Southern Thailand, 54 migrant workers from Burma suffocated in a 6m x 2.2m refrigerated truck routinely used for carrying frozen seafood. These workers were being smuggled to the resort island of Phuket. Of the dead, 37 were female (including one eight-year-old girl) and 17 were male (including one boy). An additional 67 workers, 14 of them under 18 years old and one pregnant woman, survived the incident. The 14 child survivors were separated from the adult survivors and have been kept in immigration detention in Ranong. All 53 adult survivors were sentenced by a local court for illegal entry and to a 2,000 baht (US$63) fine. As all but 4 of the adult survivors were unable to pay this fine, they were sentenced to imprisonment for 10 days. Now these 10 days have passed, the adult survivors, alongside the child survivors, are being kept in an immigration jail and have limited access to lawyers and other non-governmental assistance. The location of the 4 adult survivors who paid the court imposed fine is not known. Future arrangements for all other survivors, both adults and children, are also currently unclear.
 
 
The Asian Network for the Rights of Accident Victims (ANROAV), which is affiliated with the United Nations through its membership of the International Commission of Social Welfare, strongly condemns the globally reported manslaughter of Burmese migrant workers trying to find work in Thailand.
 
We abhor the economic social and political environment in Burma that makes such illegal migration necessary. While ANROAV expresses profound sadness at the loss of so many young lives and grieves with the families of the deceased, we will raise this matter at the highest level to ensure that those traveling to seek work and freedom from oppression can do so safely and with due process.
 
We insist that this incident be investigated thoroughly and transparently and urge the global media to continue its comprehensive reporting on the incident to closely follow up on all aspects of the story. We urge both the Royal Thai Government and the SPDC of Burma to ensure that the perpetrators of this crime are brought to justice - not merely the truck driver whose culpable behaviour could be interpreted as manslaughter, but the heads of such human trafficking gangs which we understand are linked to both Thai and Burmese officials and private business interests. We also urge that all victims immediately be provided with independent lawyers such as those from the Lawyers Council of Thailand.
 
We believe that a court-imposed charge that leads to the fining of traumatized workers is an act of abject inhumanity and inconsistent with the Buddhist values that Thailand espouses. This is a matter of national shame and we hope that Thailand uses this opportunity to clean up the well-known trafficking routes and gangs responsible.
 
These deaths were not unique although the scale of the tragedy was enough to draw the world’s attention. These deaths should be directly attributed to profound failings of officials of the Royal Thai Government and also the Burmese military junta.
 
The Burmese military junta has created a situation in Burma where large swathes of its population must flee for personal safety or in search of more prosperous economies to support themselves and their families. The junta has a profound lack of respect for human dignity and basic human rights that is well documented and known throughout the world. The junta continually refuses to acknowledge the crisis within its own borders and therefore refuses to regulate the mass migration of its citizens overseas. The junta stands knowingly by with closed eyes whilst others, including its own officials, organise for the trafficking, smuggling and illegal transportation of its citizens overseas in conditions such as evidenced on 9th April.
 
The Royal Thai Government must also be strongly condemned. Thailand has an economy dependent on the cheap labour of at least two million migrant workers, of which approximately 85% are from Burma. Migrant workers make up approximately 5% of the Thai workforce, toiling in the most dangerous, dirty and demeaning jobs within the seafood, construction, agriculture and garment industries. Thailand as a receiving country of so many migrants has an obligation to promote and protect the rights of these workers, both in terms of their working conditions, but more importantly their right to life.
 
The Thai State has failed in its obligation to protect the right to life of migrant workers as a result of the 9th April incident and the death of these 54 migrant workers. The Thai Government has acknowledged that as few as 25% of all migrants currently within its borders are registered because of a failed, complex and inflexible migrant registration system. An economy that relies so heavily on a continuous import of foreign labour from its neighbouring countries but yet creates a situation where these workers cannot legally register to work can rightfully be seen as a nation failing to address the illegal trafficking, smuggling and transportation of workers into and within its border.
 
ANROAV recommends both short-term and long-term measures the Royal Thai Government should undertake to seek to address root causes of the 9th April tragedy as follows:
1.      The deportation of all surviving victims must immediately be halted until an inquiry into the incident is complete, to ensure perpetrators of this incident are brought to justice;
2.      Surviving victims of this incident and dependents of the deceased should be provided with immediate access to independent lawyers and adequate compensation for deaths and injuries;
3.      The Thai Government should immediately initiate an open and transparent inquiry into this incident in which the involvement of private companies as well as related State agencies in trafficking, smuggling and illegal transportation activities should in particular be explored;
4.      The government’s registration system for migrant workers must immediately be overhauled to make it more effective and transparent. In association with civil society and employers, the government must create a system that accepts the economic necessity and benefit of migrant workers for Thailand. The government must therefore cease to shortsightedly consider only national security aspects of migration and seek to limit opportunities for both its own officials, private individuals and the Burmese military junta’s to engage in trafficking, smuggling and illegal transportation operations.
 
The ThaiState and its neighbours must work hand in hand with civil society, employers and related international agencies to ensure a repeat of the horrific 9th April incident can never occur again. The successful management of migrant workers will bring greater benefits for the Thai economy and at the same time respect the basic human rights of all migrant workers.

To sign the online petition please go to the following link www.anroav.org/content/view/60/1/

 
 
Signatories
  1. Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational Accident Victims (ANROAV) – Hong Kong, China SAR
  2. Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC) - Hong Kong, China SAR
  3. Globalization Monitor - May Wong, Hong Kong, China SAR
  4. ITUC/GUF/HKCTU Hong Kong Liaison Office (IHLO), China SAR
  5. Ziteng - Hong Kong, China SAR
  6. Rohit Prajapati, Swati Desai and Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti - Gujarat, India
  7. Youth for Social Change - Jeny Dolly , Chennai
  8. Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) - Gopal Krishna, India
  9. OSHAID International - John Ninness, Australia
  10. Dr Sean Foley: Environmental and Land Use Adviser - Vientiane Lao PDR
  11. Melody Kemp: Labour Educator and Journalist - Vientiane Lao PDR
  12. Corporate Accountability Desk of The Other Media - Madhumita Dutta, India
  13. Collective for Environmental, Social and Economic Justice - Nityanand Jayaraman, India
  14. Occupational Health and Safety Cente - Dr Murlidhar V, Mumbai, India
  15. Workright Union - Hong Kong Trade Union for Rights-based NGO Workers - China SAR
  16. Japan Occupational Safety and Health Resource Center (JOSHRC) - Japan
  17. Australia Asia Workers Links - Gwynnyth Evans and Cathy Butcher, Australia
  18. Hazards UK - Rory O’Neill, Professor Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group University of Stirling Scotland, London UK
  19. London Hazards Centre (LHC) – London, UK
  20. Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (UATUC), Croatia 
  21. Solidarity for Worker's Health - Seoul, Korea
  22. Sheffield And Rotherham Asbestos Group (SARAG) - Paula Walker, UK
  23. Unison - Dave Knight, UK
  24. Hazards Centre - Danu Roy, Delhi, India
  25. Building and Wood Workers International (BWWI) - Jin Sook Lee, South Korea
  26. Celeste Monforton MPH, Professor, The George Washington University - United States
  27. Herbert Docena - Phillipines
  28. International Federation of Journalists
  29. International Council on Social Welfare - Denys Correll (Executive Director), Netherlands
  30. Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion - Poonsap S. Tulaphan, Thailand
  31. Paul Jobin, Assistant Professor University of Paris Diderot - France
  32. Campaign Committee for Human Rights - Thailand
  33. Worker Assistance Center - Philippines
  34. Global Alliance Against Trafficing in Women (GAATW) - Thailand
  35. The Irrawaddy - Sai Silp, Thailand
  36. Building and Wood Workers International (BWWI) – Anita Normark, General Secretary, Global
  37. Building and Wood Workers International (BWWI) – Fiona Murie, Director Health and Safety, Global
  38. Network Labour North – Chiangmai, Thailand
  39. PAO Magazine – Mr. Thomas, Bangkok, Thailand
  40. R. A. L. G. Thailand – Sugarnta Sookpaita, Prathum Thani, Thailand
  41. Human Rights and Development Foundation, Thailand
  42. Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions.
  43. Garrett Brown, Coordinator, Maquiladora Health & Safety Support Network, Berkeley, California, USA
  44. Ted Smith, International Campaign for Responsible Technology, San Jose, California, USA.
  45. Kevin Hewison Professor, Department of Asian Studies Director, Carolina Asia Center
    CB#7582 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill NC 27599-7582 USA
  46. HK Coalition for a Free Burma
  47. Christian Solidarity Worldwide Hong Kong
  48. Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, Hong Kong
Source URL:
http://www.amrc.org.hk/news/anroav_statement_on_the_deaths_of_54_migrant_workers_in_thailand