Stranded Thai fishermen fear return
Dread taking on debt if they leave islands
More than 20 Thai crew members of undocumented fishing trawlers abandoned in Indonesia are reluctant to return home, fearing the cost of travelling will make them indebted again, according to the Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation (LPN).
The Thai nationals, abandoned on several Indonesian islands, have asked the government to pay for their flights home to prevent their sinking into further financial trouble, said the LPN, which previously helped 10 undocumented Thai workers return home.
Over the past two years, the LPN has pushed for state agencies to help bring back Thai workers living illegally on Tuan and Benjina islands in Indonesia, said LPN manager Patima Tangpratchayakul.
The Indonesian authorities have conducted surveys of Thais abandoned by fishing trawlers on the islands; however, due to language barriers, the Indonesian authorities have only recorded information related to their appearance rather than their names, she said.
According to the network, there are over 20 undocumented Thai workers on Tuan island wishing to return to Thailand.
Among them are three workers found in August who are still waiting for the results of a government inspection of their identity documents, known as seaman's books, and those kept by the trawlers.
This process is required before they are allowed to return home, Ms Patima said.
These people have been living a difficult life as they are forced to move from one place to another because of their illegal migrant status, she said, adding they have to do whatever job they can find to earn money to survive.
"They are worried about debt they may incur, and unless the Thai government can arrange for their air tickets, they are reluctant to seek help," she said.
These workers are worried they won't be able to find enough money to repay such debts, so the government should come up with a clear policy on how it can help them, Ms Patima said.
Among the workers which the group helped, along with the Foreign Ministry which paid for his airfare to Thailand, was Sarayuth Phuangsanthia, 33, from Nakhon Ratchasima who had been left on an Indonesian island for about seven years.
He was lured by a labour broker offering a monthly salary of 15,000 baht to work on a fishing trawler entering Indonesian seas illegally.
He was paid the salary immediately once he agreed to get on the trawler -- the first and last time he was paid for the job.
After the trawler was seized by Indonesian authorities in a crackdown, its crew members including Mr Sarayuth were abandoned on an island.
The owner of the trawler only cared about getting the boat back, said Mr Sarayuth.
During his years without documentation on Tuan island, Mr Sarayuth chose to live in the jungle to avoid being questioned by locals over his identity.
At one point he came close to dying of malaria, an ordeal that strengthened his resolve to return home.
After twice missing a chance to meet the LPN team visiting the island, he begged villagers to notify him when the LPN was next visting.
He finally met them on their third visit and was brought home.
Prasong Thoensaket, 44, from Buri Ram, had to fight for survival on an Indonesian island for nine years before the group and government stepped in to help.
All his family, apart from his niece, had little hope of finding Mr Prasong alive. But his niece Natthaphon Sonroi, 20, kept searching for Mr Prasong until one day she found a news article published on a popular webpage in Surin province about him having been rescued from Indonesia.
Ms Patima said many of the workers told their employers on the fishing trawlers that they wanted to return home -- a wish that was later ignored or denied.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1118437/
