Ex-slave labourer tells gruesome tales of torture, murder on Thai trawlers

[Phatcharanan]

Does anybody expect more from a nation that survives on lies, corruption, extortion, human trafficking, murder, torture, beating up old people, abusing women. narcotics, alcohol, no wonder its called the land of smiles.(because its people can do nothing else to hide the shame)

Guess the nation quiz:

Lies: A nation(s) that invaded another country based on alleged WMD

Corruption: Financial meltdown by banks and mortgage houses

Human trafficking: Migrants from Mexico etc

Murder: Enough said

Torture: Kidnaps, Water-boarding and HR abuses in prisons of various 'friendly' countries

Beating up old people, abusing women: Iraq and Afghanistan (soldiers jailed for murder and rape)

Narcotics and alcohol: Enough said

Which nation am I?

[kuiburi]

I live in a small fishing village , I know many of the guys here spend some time on the big trawlers , including my brother in law , they spend sometimes 6 to 8 weeks on the sea . Hard work bad conditions . The people that work on these ships are rough , hardend in life , but when ur a mate ur a mate for life . The crew is mixed , 1 Thai captain , 5 Thai nationals , majority is Birmese or Cambodian . Captain is armed most of the time a riotgun . Alcohol abuse and theft is common , so are deadly fights . If u die on the trip ur grave is the sea .

The story of slavery is probably true on some vessels , but on the majority of the vessels the Birmese and Cambodians have workpermits .

I know 2 captains that told me how it works on the sea , tough guys scared allover , some from fights with there own crew to keep control .

Slavery should end but who has the power or solution to do so ?

[northernjohn]

Isn't one simple solution to "trawl" the waters and stop vessels offshore and inspect their crew and documentation for that crew. Remove illegals, jail their captors, seize the vessels and sell them - create a zero tolerance atmosphere and this will all go away within the fishing industry.

If the government is serious about this and takes this sort of action they will get kudos for their efforts.

I see no downside to this approach other than raging confrontational boat owners and crews that may fight and run - but those rouge vessels and crew need to be identified and captured anyways.

Good mobile coastal marine policing units such as the international coast guards. The Thai Navy would get a lot of practices with this methodology and their daily interventions would do the trick 4 sure.

These atrocities against people, must be stopped abruptly with assertive actions - there really is no other way - this has been going on for hundreds of years and could be stopped within 1 year if done properly with the right coordinated initiatives in place.

The only thing stopping this is the totally corrupt Thai hierarchy that has been and always will be benefiting from the trafficking and labor exploitation of the fishing industries in Thailand.

How about just taking the crew off the boat and sinking it. Then proceed to make criminal charges against them.

The way the Thai legal system works they could be back fishing in a week but this way they would not have a boat or equipment.

[DeepInTheForest]

While human trafficking and slave labor exist with more horrific accounts than mentioned here ... I would wager this article and the events of this alleged individual are complete BS.

If there are even more horrific accounts than mentioned here, why do you doubt this one? And let's for a moment suppose that it is total bs. What about the accounts published in:

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Those lucky enough to escape report 20-hour work days, food deprivation, regular beatings and threats at the hands of the crew, many of whom are armed.

"The captain had a gun. We had no choice but to work," said one survivor.

So bad are conditions that those deemed expendable are tossed overboard.

http://www.irinnews.org/report/93606/

The Guardian

The men had been subjected to bonded labour, forced detention, and abuse and beatings by senior crew while working on ships operating in Thai waters, according to EJF.

Two of the men reported seeing fellow migrant workers tortured and executed for trying to escape, and witnessing the murder of at least five other men. Another man reported multiple murders and bodies being thrown out to sea with the crew forced to watch.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/may/29/thailand-slaves-sea-burmese-migrants

Agence France-Presse

Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch, who wrote the report, said marine police in one Thai coastal area told him they found up to 10 bodies a month washed up on the shore.

In a 2009 study, more than half of Cambodian migrants trafficked onto Thai boats surveyed by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) said they had seen their captains killing one of their colleagues.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iokCnEMYwj2uM8FqpeBWsjDVH6ng?docId=CNG.545a44ac10a100dc54c091263b3c2ff0.211&hl=en

The Irrawaddy

The 11 reportedly told their rescuers that they had been held as “slaves” on the fishing boats for seven months.

...He said that the victims had been interviewed after the raid, and had told officers that they had been locked on board the vessels, had been poorly fed, and had been beaten when they could not work.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/6822

Global Post

...if one more year passes without major strikes against Thai trafficking syndicates, the US State Department will be forced, by law, to hit Thailand with sanctions.

For four years running, a US State Department annual “Trafficking in Persons” report has labeled Thailand with its next-to-worst ranking. This year’s report, released this week, painted a similarly bleak portrait of Thailand’s efforts to fix what the report called “pervasive trafficking-related corruption.”

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/thailand/130621/thailand-human-trafficking-us-state-department-sanctions-fish-export

Do you think all these reports are made up from thin air? Myself, I don't think so, and I think that anyone who does is in denial.

[needforspeed]

While human trafficking and slave labor exist with more horrific accounts than mentioned here ... I would wager this article and the events of this alleged individual are complete BS.

If there are even more horrific accounts than mentioned here, why do you doubt this one? And let's for a moment suppose that it is total bs. What about the accounts published in:

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Those lucky enough to escape report 20-hour work days, food deprivation, regular beatings and threats at the hands of the crew, many of whom are armed.

"The captain had a gun. We had no choice but to work," said one survivor.

So bad are conditions that those deemed expendable are tossed overboard.

http://www.irinnews.org/report/93606/

The Guardian

The men had been subjected to bonded labour, forced detention, and abuse and beatings by senior crew while working on ships operating in Thai waters, according to EJF.

Two of the men reported seeing fellow migrant workers tortured and executed for trying to escape, and witnessing the murder of at least five other men. Another man reported multiple murders and bodies being thrown out to sea with the crew forced to watch.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/may/29/thailand-slaves-sea-burmese-migrants

Agence France-Presse

Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch, who wrote the report, said marine police in one Thai coastal area told him they found up to 10 bodies a month washed up on the shore.

In a 2009 study, more than half of Cambodian migrants trafficked onto Thai boats surveyed by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) said they had seen their captains killing one of their colleagues.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iokCnEMYwj2uM8FqpeBWsjDVH6ng?docId=CNG.545a44ac10a100dc54c091263b3c2ff0.211&hl=en

The Irrawaddy

The 11 reportedly told their rescuers that they had been held as “slaves” on the fishing boats for seven months.

...He said that the victims had been interviewed after the raid, and had told officers that they had been locked on board the vessels, had been poorly fed, and had been beaten when they could not work.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/6822

Global Post

...if one more year passes without major strikes against Thai trafficking syndicates, the US State Department will be forced, by law, to hit Thailand with sanctions.

For four years running, a US State Department annual “Trafficking in Persons” report has labeled Thailand with its next-to-worst ranking. This year’s report, released this week, painted a similarly bleak portrait of Thailand’s efforts to fix what the report called “pervasive trafficking-related corruption.”

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/thailand/130621/thailand-human-trafficking-us-state-department-sanctions-fish-export

Do you think all these reports are made up from thin air? Myself, I don't think so, and I think that anyone who does is in denial.

We picked up 1 young man few years ago from the sea, 2 other bodies been seen but because off bad weather and night time not able to lift from the sea.

1 guy been safed and stay on board in hospital for few days and been send to shore in chopper for further treatment. I talked with him for a long period and his story is still pinted in my mind even as the 2 body's of his friend as he confirmed that they past away a day earlyer.

Shame for all involved, shame for thailand and a shame for government not to take any action on this.

And i feel very sory for all this people still working under this conditions, i should be your own child. That would hurt

[belg]

pirate island

hookers & booze and slaves

possible it happens

but this story is to get asylum, i guess

those kind of made up stories are used everyday in my home country to get welfare, asylum, and most of them are just escaped criminals in their home countries..

stories like : i am guy and prosecuted in my home country, i will be forcely married to a 70+ year old, i am a political opposant to the regime (maybe he clicked on a like button on facebook), etc...

lawyers makes tonnes of money as they are part of the scam and paid with tax payers money

[simple1]

pirate island

hookers & booze and slaves

possible it happens

but this story is to get asylum, i guess

those kind of made up stories are used everyday in my home country to get welfare, asylum, and most of them are just escaped criminals in their home countries..

stories like : i am guy and prosecuted in my home country, i will be forcely married to a 70+ year old, i am a political opposant to the regime (maybe he clicked on a like button on facebook), etc...

lawyers makes tonnes of money as they are part of the scam and paid with tax payers money

There is absolutely no comparison to Europe & don't know how you can say most are escaped criminals. Burmese asylum seekers are held in detention camps until they can be relocated back to Burma or re-settled by UNHCR in a third party country that can take up to 10/15 years, sometimes longer. I guess you could say they are recipients of welfare in that they have shelter, food and some medical care. From UNHCR "asylum-seekers living outside the camps and in urban areas are regarded as illegal migrants under immigration law and are subject to arrest, detention and/or deportation"

Edited August 14, 2013 by simple1

[Nickymaster]

let's move on to more important issues like how to whitewash Thaksin.

[jaidam]

Marooned on tropical islands, fishing, booze, broads. Rather than claiming asylum with that story, they will be attracting working stiffs from around the world seeking to swap lives.

[coconutbar]

500 baht a year thats enuff for a short time......... he gets laid more than most of my mates back home.