There are an estimated 610,000 people living in conditions of modern slavery in Thailand (GSI 2018). Men, women and children are victims of human trafficking for forced labour in the Thai fishing industry, subjected to physical abuse, excessive and inhumane working hours, sleep and food deprivation, forced use of methamphetamines and long trips at sea confined to the vessel. Due to the fishing industry relying on trans-shipments at sea to reduce expenditure, some find themselves trapped on long-haul trawlers for years at a time. This makes the monitoring of enslaves labour on fishing vessels costly and difficult.
Boran was trafficked on to a Thai fishing vessel where he was subjected to physical violence and threats daily.
Some people are beaten until they lose consciousness and until they have mental problems. The equipment on the boat is dangerous; some were injured and lost hands or legs. One of my co-workers died so they burned the body on an Indonesian island. I suspect the man was beaten and drowned. The Thai captain had a gun, that’s how they could guard the people. No one could leave the boat.
Narrative provided by Hagar International, reported in Reintegration of Cambodian Trafficked Men, written by Kate Day