Show, Don't Tell: How Thailand Can and Must Make Advancements in the Fight Against Human Trafficking in the Thai Fishing Industry

• Citation: Vol. 31 No. 3
• Publication year: 2017

Show, Don't Tell: How Thailand Can and Must Make Advancements in the Fight Against Human Trafficking in the Thai Fishing Industry

Shelby Stephens

SHOW, DON'T TELL: HOW THAILAND CAN AND MUST MAKE ADVANCEMENTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE THAI FISHING INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT

Every year, millions of men, women, and children are victims of human trafficking. While there are numerous types of human trafficking, there is a specific problem with labor trafficking in the Thai fishing industry. There are some Thai laws regulating the country's fishing waters; however, enforcement of these laws leaves much to be desired. Often times, the Thai authorities actually are involved in or facilitate trafficking. High rates of labor trafficking in the Thai fishing industry have led the United States and the European Union to increase pressure on Thailand to combat this issue. Specifically, in 2014 the State Department listed Thailand as a Tier 3 country in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report. In response to this relegation, the Thai legislature recently implemented new legislation increasing the penalties for those found guilty of labor trafficking. However, this new legislation will mean nothing if it is not enforced properly. There is therefore still much room for improvement of Thai anti-trafficking legislation. The existing maritime labor laws and laws governing Thai waters must also improve. If Thailand does not make more progress in the fight against labor trafficking in its fishing industry, it could face sanctions from authorities like the United States State Department and the European Union. A regional authority with jurisdiction over the investigation, prosecution, and deterrence of labor trafficking would aid in combatting this problem. Additionally, it is important that there be more rigorous monitoring of supply chains throughout the world.

Introduction

In January 2009, Samart Senasook was searching for income stability.¹ Working as a fisherman was hardly his dream; however, when someone named "Vee" offered him a job on a fishing boat and promised decent wages, he could not afford to say no. This choice would result in the most difficult and

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treacherous six years of his life. The man he had known as "Vee" turned out to be a broker, a link in the chain of human trafficking that supplies the Thai fishing industry with thousands of migrant workers and turns many of them into virtual slaves.²

Senasook was promised work for one year; instead, he was held captive on the ship for six years, working twenty hours a day in the harshest of conditions.³ Those six years were characterized by "intimidation, sleep deprivation and regular beatings from the boat's captain."⁴ When asked about his experience on board the fishing vessel, Senasook said, "[the captain] kicked and punched me . . . My nose and mouth were bleeding. I still have blood clotted in my teeth. My jaw hurts every time I chew."⁵ Realizing he had no chance of escaping, Senasook contemplated suicide: "There were times, I was about to jump into the sea to kill myself. My friend from the engine room held me back. Otherwise I would have been dead by now."⁶

This story is only one example of the global problem of modern-day slavery. While it is difficult to obtain exact statistics, the Environmental Justice Foundation estimates that approximately "35.8 million men, women, and children are currently victims of human trafficking around the world."⁷ Thailand, in particular, has a human trafficking problem within its fishing industry.⁸ More than 800,000 people work in the Thai fishing industry, with its exports valued around six billion dollars.⁹ The International Labour Organization (ILO) presents statistics that 200,000 of the 800,000 people working in the Thai fishing industry—that is twenty-five percent of all Thai fishermen—are unregistered workers and victims of trafficking.¹⁰

This comment will argue that if any significant changes are to be realized in the Thai fishing industry, law enforcement should play a more active role in enforcing existing laws; a regional authority should be created to assist in the eradication of trafficking practices; and governments and corporations should

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monitor the supply chains of items imported from Thailand. Part I discusses the scale, conditions, and lawlessness of this issue along with why this is such a pertinent problem. Part II details the legal situation in Thailand, including newly passed anti-trafficking legislation. Part III explains the Thai government's refusal to make court proceedings publicly available to the world. Part IV suggests what changes should be made in the Thai law and government moving forward. Part V analyzes what the reality is of such changes being actualized. Lastly, Part VI briefly recaps what governments, corporations, and individuals can do to assist in the fight against human trafficking in the Thai fishing industry.

I. Thailand's Labor Market Imbalance and Resulting High Rates of Human Trafficking in the Country's Fishing Industry

A. Large Scale of the Problem

It is often said you can never have too much of a good thing—a nice sentiment that is seldom true, especially in Thailand's labor market. In December 2012, Thailand's unemployment rate was documented at 0.5%.¹¹ At first glance, this appears to be an enviable unemployment rate; however, in Thailand, the labor market's imbalance—the supply of labor being outweighed by the demand for labor—has had a detrimental consequence: high rates of human trafficking in the country's fishing industry.¹²

upon examining relevant statistics, the seemingly counterintuitive correlation begins to make sense. The economic boom Thailand has experienced "since the late 1980s has seen a decline in the available Thai workforce needed to meet labour demand[,]"¹³ creating an imbalance in the country's labor market. With so many jobs available for workers, it is unsurprising that the available work force flocks to jobs with desirable conditions and good pay. Therefore, industries with undesirable conditions have difficulty finding a sufficient supply of workers to fill their demands for labor. Thailand's fishing industry, which requires "long hours, low and unpredictable pay, physically demanding work and long periods at sea,"¹⁴ illustrates this concept. The undesirable working conditions in the fishing industry contribute to the industry's labor shortage,

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"with a shortfall of labour for over 10,000 jobs in 2011."¹⁵ This desperation for workers creates an economic opportunity for labor trafficking.¹⁶

Cambodia, Laos, and Burma, all countries surrounding Thailand, lack the opportunities for their workforce that Thailand enjoys. Thus, victims of trafficking in the Thai fishing industry are typically smuggled from these border countries.¹⁷ This practice has become so lucrative that "some local fishermen in Thailand have been converting their boats to carry . . . migrants instead of fish."¹⁸ Unfortunately, the Thai seafood industry brings in billions of dollars in exports every year;¹⁹ thus, the labor market imbalance, which drives the practice of labor trafficking, continues to result in severe consequences for the laborers.²⁰

B. Harsh Conditions of the Thai Fishing Industry

One of the reasons the Thai fishing industry lacks local, voluntary workers is because of its detestable working conditions. Fishing ships usually stay out at sea for extended periods of time, subjecting trafficking victims, many of whom have never seen a large body of water before, to inhumane working conditions for months, or even years, at a time.²¹ Trafficking victims are often forced to work anywhere from sixteen to twenty hours per day, usually with little or no pay.²² Many captains even keep a large supply of amphetamines on board so the victims can work longer hours.²³ The vessels themselves bear no resemblance to humane living conditions. One vessel's deck was described as an "obstacle course of jagged tackle, whirring winches and tall stacks of 500-pound nets. Ocean spray and fish innards make the floor skating-rink slippery."²⁴ Below deck, roaches and vermin occupy as much space as trafficking victims do.²⁵ While conditions on each vessel vary slightly, victims' daily diets typically

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consist of a single rice bowl containing boiled squid and throwaway fish.²⁶ The vigorous work leaves victims' hands wounded from fish scales and the friction from fishing nets.²⁷

In an interview conducted by the Environmental Justice Foundation, victims spoke of their treatment while out at sea on fishing vessels:

The men were subject to bonded labour, forced detention, physical abuse and threats of violence on the boats and in port. All had been at sea for at least five months and spoke of beatings by senior crew. Two of the interviewees reported seeing a fellow crewmember tortured and executed for trying to escape as well as witnessing the murder of at least five other individuals.²⁸

Other studies and surveys have shown that over half of migrants trafficked aboard Thai fishing vessels have witnessed the murder of fellow workers.²⁹ Moreover, to prevent victims from escaping, they are not released between prime fishing seasons. Instead, some traffickers keep victims in "open-air prisons while they are ransomed to their relatives. . . . Many of those held in the camps [are] raped, tortured, or beaten to death."³⁰

C. Law Enforcement's Contribution to the Problem

The individuals and businesses directly involved in the Thai fishing industry are not the only ones that stand to benefit from the exploitation of migrant workers. A major factor contributing to trafficking in Thai industries is the involvement of the Thai police.³¹ Their involvement perpetuates the practice of human trafficking more significantly than the lack of relevant laws or international agreements regulating industry practices does.³²

The Thai police have discretion over the...