UPDATE: Link to 2014 report just went live.
The United States on Friday lashed Thailand, Malaysia and Venezuela for failing to make greater efforts to tackle the scourge of human trafficking.
All three countries, plus Gambia, were downgraded to the lowest level of the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons report — a move which could trigger US sanctions.
Story developing.
Story: AFP / Photo: U.S. Dept. of State
Here are some what it says about Thailand:
“Thailand is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.”
“The majority of the trafficking victims within Thailand— tens of thousands of victims, by conservative estimates—are migrants from Thailand’s neighboring countries who are forced, coerced, or defrauded into labor or exploited in the sex rade. A significant portion of labor trafficking victims within Thailand are exploited in commercial fishing, fishing-related industries, low-end garment production, factories, and domestic work; some victims are forced to beg on the streets.”
From the “Victims’ Stories” glossary, the case of a Burmese migrant similar to those depicted in last week’s Guardian feature on the slaves catching our fish:
“Burma – Thailand: Trusting his recruiters, Myo believed he was leaving his home in Burma to work in a pineapple factory in Thailand. Yet, when he arrived, he was sold to a boat captain for the equivalent of approximately $430. He was held on the boat for 10 months, forced to work, and beaten regularly. On the rare occasion that the boat docked at port, the officers bribed local police to allow them to keep the fishermen on the boat rather than risking them escaping if they were allowed to set foot on shore. Myo was finally able to escape and sought refuge in a temple. He continues to struggle with deafness, having had his head and ear smashed into a block of ice on the fishing boat.”
Related:
Thailand awaits trafficking report verdict from US
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