Thailand is still incredible, and my internship is as interesting as ever! My main assignment for this internship is to write a paper regarding human trafficking in Thailand. My supervisor left the topic very open to allow me to write about any aspect that interests me, so I have chosen to write about §49 of the new Thai law to prevent and suppress human trafficking. This section states that if a foreigner enters Thailand illegally, and then falls victim to human trafficking, the government is not allowed to charge that victim with the illegal entry. The interesting part is that the police force decides whether the person is actually a victim of human trafficking. In many cases it is obvious that they are or are not, however the definition of human trafficking is a little fuzzy when it comes to borderline cases. For example, there are often cases when workers enter illegally for legitimate work, only to find themselves abused or exploited. Many social workers and legal professionals see these cases as those of trafficking, however one of the Thai government’s goals is to cut down on the extreme amount of illegal immigration, so police officers are likely to decide that those foreigners are victims of human smuggling, rather than trafficking, so that they can be charged and punished.
Before the section was part of the law, it was an agreement in a memorandum of understanding between the Thai government and NGO’s. At that point many officers completely disregarded it, defending their decisions by stressing that MOU’s are not law. Many social workers and NGO workers here have hopes that since the agreement was added to the law, officers will acknowledge it. Even if they do acknowledge it in obvious cases of trafficking, it is likely that a lot of them will disregard it in borderline cases simply by deciding that the victims are not those of human trafficking.
Right now I am in the middle of the Surat Thani province visiting the Sri Surat Shelter, where I will have the opportunity to interview prosecutors, social workers, and police officers about their feelings toward the new law, the prevention of illegal immigration, and their predictions concerning victim identification in light of the new law. This is the second shelter I’ve visited. It is so interesting to learn about the victims that they protect, and the types of protection that they provide. Last week I was able to accompany a group from the first shelter to labor court where they were given the wages that had been withheld by their abusive employer. I also had the opportunity to sit in on a criminal trial for girls from Laos who were trafficked into prostitution. While it is sad to meet these girls and learn about their experiences, it is very moving to watch their faces when they win cases and find out that they can go back to their home countries. Today I met girls as young as 13 who were brought in from the streets of Koh Samui, where they were forced to sell flowers in the streets all day, and given little or no food or care.
Surat Thani is so different from Bangkok! While in Bangkok there are foreigners (called farang) everywhere, here I think I just may be the only one, which attracts a lot of stares and giggling- especially when I try to speak the small amount of Thai that I know! Aside from the people that I’ve met through the shelter, the only English speaking person I know is the fabulous hostel owner nicknamed “Ma.” At first I was skeptical about staying at an hourly hotel with an owner named “Ma,” but she has been incredible, driving me wherever I need to go and even taking me to see the night market in the main town. Tomorrow I will go to a training program for victim identification, and then back to Bankok! Can’t wait to share more!
Best, Jill.
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