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Burmese Boatmen Enslaved by Drugs in Southern Thailand
By KHIN OO THA
September 23, 2014
PHUKET, Thailand — Amidst the hustle and bustle of Ongkan pier, located in the largest fishing port in Phuket, southern Thailand, hundreds of Burmese workers were as busy as bees, unloading ice blocks from trucks and stacking fish into pushcarts with a plump Thai woman of Chinese descent giving instructions.
Among the workers were ethnic Mon, Tavoyan, Arakanese, Burman and others, some who had been there for more than a decade. Gorragot, the deputy chief of the port, said that Burmese workers accounted for 90 percent of the 300-strong workforce.
Every day at around 10 am, fishermen arrive at the port to deliver the fish they have caught the previous night. After unloading their catch, they have lunch, take a short rest and then head back out to sea at around 2 pm. This is their routine, although, sometimes they have to stay at sea for two to three months.
Fishermen tend to drink due to the nature of their work and often engage in serious quarrels and violence, port authorities and fishermen told The Irrawaddy. Homicides were also not uncommon.
“In the past, four to five people were killed in one month when workmates got drunk and fought,” said Kyaw Win Hlaing, the leader of a fishing boat. “But the number of homicide cases has decreased gradually because they no longer drink that much now. Instead, they use illicit drugs,” he said.
Some fishermen secretly deal in the stimulant drug ‘ice’; ‘Asean’ (a mixture of ten kinds of substances named after the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations); Ya ba; and speed, said Gorragot. Since they generally deal amongst themselves, it is difficult to take action against those involved, he added.
An illicit drug capsule or tablet costs 400 to 500 baht (around 15,000 kyat) while the minimum monthly salary of a fisherman starts from just 7,000 to 9,000 baht.
Since violence has decreased, port authorities may feel compelled to turn a blind eye to drug use. However, some abusers suffer from mental disorders, which may cause them to leave their jobs and become destitute.
Port authorities said more than half of the fishermen use drugs, while some of the fishermen themselves think the figure is even higher.
Continued here http://www.irrawaddy.org/?p=69039
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These people need to return to getting drunk like God intended us to!!!
By KHIN OO THA
September 23, 2014
PHUKET, Thailand — Amidst the hustle and bustle of Ongkan pier, located in the largest fishing port in Phuket, southern Thailand, hundreds of Burmese workers were as busy as bees, unloading ice blocks from trucks and stacking fish into pushcarts with a plump Thai woman of Chinese descent giving instructions.
Among the workers were ethnic Mon, Tavoyan, Arakanese, Burman and others, some who had been there for more than a decade. Gorragot, the deputy chief of the port, said that Burmese workers accounted for 90 percent of the 300-strong workforce.
Every day at around 10 am, fishermen arrive at the port to deliver the fish they have caught the previous night. After unloading their catch, they have lunch, take a short rest and then head back out to sea at around 2 pm. This is their routine, although, sometimes they have to stay at sea for two to three months.
Fishermen tend to drink due to the nature of their work and often engage in serious quarrels and violence, port authorities and fishermen told The Irrawaddy. Homicides were also not uncommon.
“In the past, four to five people were killed in one month when workmates got drunk and fought,” said Kyaw Win Hlaing, the leader of a fishing boat. “But the number of homicide cases has decreased gradually because they no longer drink that much now. Instead, they use illicit drugs,” he said.
Some fishermen secretly deal in the stimulant drug ‘ice’; ‘Asean’ (a mixture of ten kinds of substances named after the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations); Ya ba; and speed, said Gorragot. Since they generally deal amongst themselves, it is difficult to take action against those involved, he added.
An illicit drug capsule or tablet costs 400 to 500 baht (around 15,000 kyat) while the minimum monthly salary of a fisherman starts from just 7,000 to 9,000 baht.
Since violence has decreased, port authorities may feel compelled to turn a blind eye to drug use. However, some abusers suffer from mental disorders, which may cause them to leave their jobs and become destitute.
Port authorities said more than half of the fishermen use drugs, while some of the fishermen themselves think the figure is even higher.
Continued here http://www.irrawaddy.org/?p=69039
................................................................................................................................................
These people need to return to getting drunk like God intended us to!!!
