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Thailand Accused of Abusing Immigrants

31 images Created 20 Jun 2014

The United States Department of State downgraded Thailand to the lowest rank in its Trafficking in Persons (TiP) report. Thailand is now ranked with North Korea, Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan or Saudi Arabia in the way it treats workers and protects them from abuse.

I've been photographing immigration in Thailand since 2009. These are some of the photos.

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  • 24 FEBRUARY 2008 -- MAE SOT, TAK, THAILAND: There are millions of Burmese refugees living in Thailand. Many live in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border, but most live in Thailand as illegal immigrants. They don't have papers and can not live, work or travel in Thailand but they do so "under the radar" by either avoiding Thai officials or paying bribes to stay in the country. Most have fled political persecution in Burma but many are simply in search of a better life and greater economic opportunity.  PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    ThaiBurmaBorder002.jpg
  • 24 FEBRUARY 2008 -- MAE SOT, TAK, THAILAND: Burmese migrants coming to Thailand use "tiger wheels" inner tubes with strings that resemble tigers' stripes, to cross the River Moei between Thailand and Burma. There are millions of Burmese refugees living in Thailand. Many live in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border, but most live in Thailand as illegal immigrants. They don't have papers and can not live, work or travel in Thailand but they do so "under the radar" by either avoiding Thai officials or paying bribes to stay in the country. Most have fled political persecution in Burma but many are simply in search of a better life and greater economic opportunity.  Photo by Jack Kurtz
    BurmaMigrants008.jpg
  • 25 FEBRUARY 2008 -- MAE SOT, TAK, THAILAND: A 14 year old Burmese boy works in a tomato field near Mae Sot, Thailand. He said he makes about $1.50 (US) per day. His father, who works at the same farm, makes about $2.00 (US) per day. Almost all of the farm workers in the Mae Sot area are Burmese migrants, who work for about half of what Thai farm workers are paid. There are millions of Burmese migrant workers and refugees living in Thailand. Many live in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border, but most live in Thailand as illegal immigrants. They don't have papers and can not live, work or travel in Thailand but they do so "under the radar" by either avoiding Thai officials or paying bribes to stay in the country. Most have fled political persecution in Burma but many are simply in search of a better life and greater economic opportunity.  Photo by Jack Kurtz
    BurmaMigrants022.jpg
  • 25 FEBRUARY 2008 -- MAE SOT, TAK, THAILAND: Illegal Burmese workers in a sewing factory in Mae Sot, Thailand. The factory owner allegedly bribes Thai officials not to raid his place. Workers here work seven days a week, 14 hours per day and make about $5 US per day. Their housing, which is provided by the factory owner, is in the factory compound. There are millions of Burmese migrant workers and refugees living in Thailand. Many live in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border, but most live in Thailand as illegal immigrants. They don't have papers and can not live, work or travel in Thailand but they do so "under the radar" by either avoiding Thai officials or paying bribes to stay in the country. Most have fled political persecution in Burma but many are simply in search of a better life and greater economic opportunity.  Photo by Jack Kurtz
    BurmaMigrants014.jpg
  • 25 FEBRUARY 2008 -- MAE SOT, TAK, THAILAND: Illegal Burmese workers in a hosiery factory in Mae Sot, Thailand. The factory owner allegedly bribes Thai officials not to raid his place. Workers here work seven days a week, 14 hours per day and make about $5 US per day. Their housing, which is provided by the factory owner, is in the factory compound. There are millions of Burmese migrant workers and refugees living in Thailand. Many live in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border, but most live in Thailand as illegal immigrants. They don't have papers and can not live, work or travel in Thailand but they do so "under the radar" by either avoiding Thai officials or paying bribes to stay in the country. Most have fled political persecution in Burma but many are simply in search of a better life and greater economic opportunity.  Photo by Jack Kurtz
    BurmaMigrants013.jpg
  • Oct. 6, 2009 -- SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND: A Burmese migrant who works in a Thai fishing processing plant puts his name on work boots inside his one room tenement in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. The Thai fishing industry is heavily reliant on Burmese and Cambodian migrants. Burmese migrants crew many of the fishing boats that sail out of Samut Sakhon and staff many of the fish processing plants in Samut Sakhon, about 45 miles south of Bangkok. Migrants pay as much $700 (US) each to be smuggled from the Burmese border to Samut Sakhon for jobs that pay less than $5.00 (US) per day.   Photo by Jack Kurtz / ZUMA Press
    BurmeseFishingImmigrants034.jpg
  • Oct. 6, 2009 -- SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND: Burmese migrant workers in a Thai language class in a roof top classroom in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. The Thai fishing industry is heavily reliant on Burmese and Cambodian migrants. Burmese migrants crew many of the fishing boats that sail out of Samut Sakhon and staff many of the fish processing plants in Samut Sakhon, about 45 miles south of Bangkok. Migrants pay as much $700 (US) each to be smuggled from the Burmese border to Samut Sakhon for jobs that pay less than $5.00 (US) per day.   Photo by Jack Kurtz / ZUMA Press
    BurmeseFishingImmigrants025.jpg
  • Oct. 6, 2009 -- SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND: Tenements that house Burmese workers in the Thai fishing industry in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, Oct. 6. The Thai fishing industry is heavily reliant on Burmese and Cambodian migrants. Burmese migrants crew many of the fishing boats that sail out of Samut Sakhon and staff many of the fish processing plants in Samut Sakhon, about 45 miles south of Bangkok. Migrants pay as much $700 (US) each to be smuggled from the Burmese border to Samut Sakhon for jobs that pay less than $5.00 (US) per day.   Photo by Jack Kurtz / ZUMA Press
    BurmeseFishingImmigrants024.jpg
  • Oct. 6, 2009 -- SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND: Burmese crew members of Thai owned fishing trawlers leave their boats in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, after a night in the Gulf of Siam, Oct. 6. The Thai fishing industry is heavily reliant on Burmese and Cambodian migrants. Burmese migrants crew many of the fishing boats that sail out of Samut Sakhon and staff many of the fish processing plants in Samut Sakhon, about 45 miles south of Bangkok. Migrants pay as much $700 (US) each to be smuggled from the Burmese border to Samut Sakhon for jobs that pay less than $5.00 (US) per day.   Photo by Jack Kurtz / ZUMA Press
    BurmeseFishingImmigrants017.jpg
  • Oct. 6, 2009 -- SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND: Burmese children work in a Thai owned shrimp processing plant sorting and grading shrimp in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, Oct. 6. The Thai fishing industry is heavily reliant on Burmese and Cambodian migrants. Burmese migrants crew many of the fishing boats that sail out of Samut Sakhon and staff many of the fish processing plants in Samut Sakhon, about 45 miles south of Bangkok. Migrants pay as much $700 (US) each to be smuggled from the Burmese border to Samut Sakhon for jobs that pay less than $5.00 (US) per day.   Photo by Jack Kurtz / ZUMA Press
    BurmeseFishingImmigrants010.jpg
  • 30 APRIL 2013 - MAHACHAI, SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND:  A Burmese man goes into his apartment in the Thai fishing port of Mahachai. The Thai fishing industry is heavily reliant on Burmese and Cambodian migrants. Burmese migrants crew many of the fishing boats that sail out of Samut Sakhon and staff many of the fish processing plants in Samut Sakhon, about 45 miles south of Bangkok. Migrants pay as much $700 (US) each to be smuggled from the Burmese border to Samut Sakhon for jobs that pay less than $5.00 (US) per day. There have also been reports that some Burmese workers are abused and held in slavery like conditions in the Thai fishing industry.          PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    BurmeseWorkers0430044.jpg
  • Oct. 6, 2009 -- SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND: A Burmese crew member of a Thai fishing trawler unloads the boat after it returned to port in Samut Sakhon. The Thai fishing industry is heavily reliant on Burmese and Cambodian migrants. Burmese migrants crew many of the fishing boats that sail out of Samut Sakhon and staff many of the fish processing plants in Samut Sakhon, about 45 miles south of Bangkok. Migrants pay as much $700 (US) each to be smuggled from the Burmese border to Samut Sakhon for jobs that pay less than $5.00 (US) per day.   Photo by Jack Kurtz / ZUMA Press
    BurmeseFishingImmigrants003.jpg
  • 30 APRIL 2013 - MAHACHAI, SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND:   A Burmese crewman sorts and grades fresh caught mackerel in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon province, Thailand. The Thai fishing industry is heavily reliant on Burmese and Cambodian migrants. Burmese migrants crew many of the fishing boats that sail out of Samut Sakhon and staff many of the fish processing plants in Samut Sakhon, about 45 miles south of Bangkok. Migrants pay as much $700 (US) each to be smuggled from the Burmese border to Samut Sakhon for jobs that pay less than $5.00 (US) per day. There have also been reports that some Burmese workers are abused and held in slavery like conditions in the Thai fishing industry.         PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    BurmeseWorkers0430016.jpg
  • 30 APRIL 2013 - MAHACHAI, SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND:  A Burmese crewman walks away from the fishing trawler he works on after it returned to port in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon province, Thailand. The Thai fishing industry is heavily reliant on Burmese and Cambodian migrants. Burmese migrants crew many of the fishing boats that sail out of Samut Sakhon and staff many of the fish processing plants in Samut Sakhon, about 45 miles south of Bangkok. Migrants pay as much $700 (US) each to be smuggled from the Burmese border to Samut Sakhon for jobs that pay less than $5.00 (US) per day. There have also been reports that some Burmese workers are abused and held in slavery like conditions in the Thai fishing industry.          PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    BurmeseWorkers0430019.jpg
  • 30 APRIL 2013 - MAHACHAI, SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND:   Burmese workers repair a fishing nets in the port of Mahachai, Samut Sakhon province, Thailand. The Thai fishing industry is heavily reliant on Burmese and Cambodian migrants. Burmese migrants crew many of the fishing boats that sail out of Samut Sakhon and staff many of the fish processing plants in Samut Sakhon, about 45 miles south of Bangkok. Migrants pay as much $700 (US) each to be smuggled from the Burmese border to Samut Sakhon for jobs that pay less than $5.00 (US) per day. There have also been reports that some Burmese workers are abused and held in slavery like conditions in the Thai fishing industry.         PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    BurmeseWorkers0430024.jpg
  • 05 SEPTEMBER 2013 - BANGKOK, THAILAND:  Construction workers drink after their shift on a pile of cement water mains they are installing on the construction site of a new high rise apartment / condominium building on Soi 22 Sukhumvit Rd in Bangkok. The workers live in the corrugated metal dorms on the site. Most of the workers at the site are Cambodian immigrants.             PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    ConstructionWorkersResendAlsoToZUMA0...jpg
  • 05 SEPTEMBER 2013 - BANGKOK, THAILAND:  A Cambodian woman washes her dishes in the makeshift hallway between corrugated metal dormitories that serve as worker housing at the construction site of a new high rise apartment / condominium building on Soi 22 Sukhumvit Rd in Bangkok. The workers live in the corrugated metal dorms on the site. Most of the workers at the site are Cambodian immigrants.             PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    ConstructionWorkersResendAlsoToZUMA0...jpg
  • 16 JUNE 2014 -  A Thai immigration police truck takes Cambodian migrants back to Cambodia through Aranyaprathet, Thailand. More than 150,000 Cambodian migrant workers and their families have left Thailand since June 12. The exodus started when rumors circulated in the Cambodian migrant community that the Thai junta was going to crack down on undocumented workers. About 40,000 Cambodians were expected to return to Cambodia today. The mass exodus has stressed resources on both sides of the Thai/Cambodian border. The Cambodian town of Poipet has been over run with returning migrants. On the Thai side, in Aranyaprathet, the bus and train station has been flooded with Cambodians taking all of their possessions back to Cambodia.PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    CambodianExodus001.jpg
  • 16 JUNE 2014 - POIPET, CAMBODIA:  A Cambodian woman hands her son to waiting Cambodian soldiers after she returned to Cambodia from Thailand. More than 150,000 Cambodian migrant workers and their families have left Thailand since June 12. The exodus started when rumors circulated in the Cambodian migrant community that the Thai junta was going to crack down on undocumented workers. About 40,000 Cambodians were expected to return to Cambodia today. The mass exodus has stressed resources on both sides of the Thai/Cambodian border. The Cambodian town of Poipet has been over run with returning migrants. On the Thai side, in Aranyaprathet, the bus and train station has been flooded with Cambodians taking all of their possessions back to Cambodia. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    CambodianExodus020.jpg
  • 16 JUNE 2014 - POIPET, CAMBODIA:  Cambodian migrants in a Cambodian army truck waiting to go home after they returned to Cambodia from Thailand. More than 150,000 Cambodian migrant workers and their families have left Thailand since June 12. The exodus started when rumors circulated in the Cambodian migrant community that the Thai junta was going to crack down on undocumented workers. About 40,000 Cambodians were expected to return to Cambodia today. The mass exodus has stressed resources on both sides of the Thai/Cambodian border. The Cambodian town of Poipet has been over run with returning migrants. On the Thai side, in Aranyaprathet, the bus and train station has been flooded with Cambodians taking all of their possessions back to Cambodia. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    CambodianExodus035.jpg
  • 16 JUNE 2014 - POIPET, CAMBODIA:  Cambodian migrants get off a bus in Poipet, Cambodia. More than 150,000 Cambodian migrant workers and their families have left Thailand since June 12. The exodus started when rumors circulated in the Cambodian migrant community that the Thai junta was going to crack down on undocumented workers. About 40,000 Cambodians were expected to return to Cambodia today. The mass exodus has stressed resources on both sides of the Thai/Cambodian border. The Cambodian town of Poipet has been over run with returning migrants. On the Thai side, in Aranyaprathet, the bus and train station has been flooded with Cambodians taking all of their possessions back to Cambodia.   PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    CambodianExodus097.jpg
  • 16 JUNE 2014 - ARANYAPRATHET, THAILAND: A Cambodian woman carries her son after they got off a train at the end of the train line in Aranyaprathet, Thailand. They were among the thousands of Cambodians going back to Cambodia Monday. More than 150,000 Cambodian migrant workers and their families have left Thailand since June 12. The exodus started when rumors circulated in the Cambodian migrant community that the Thai junta was going to crack down on undocumented workers. About 40,000 Cambodians were expected to return to Cambodia today. The mass exodus has stressed resources on both sides of the Thai/Cambodian border. The Cambodian town of Poipet has been over run with returning migrants. On the Thai side, in Aranyaprathet, the bus and train station has been flooded with Cambodians taking all of their possessions back to Cambodia. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    CambodianExodus100.jpg
  • 16 JUNE 2014 - ARANYAPRATHET, THAILAND:  A Cambodian girl, a migrant in Thailand, sits in the window of a train at the end of the train line in Aranyaprathet, Thailand. More than 150,000 Cambodian migrant workers and their families have left Thailand since June 12. The exodus started when rumors circulated in the Cambodian migrant community that the Thai junta was going to crack down on undocumented workers. About 40,000 Cambodians were expected to return to Cambodia today. The mass exodus has stressed resources on both sides of the Thai/Cambodian border. The Cambodian town of Poipet has been over run with returning migrants. On the Thai side, in Aranyaprathet, the bus and train station has been flooded with Cambodians taking all of their possessions back to Cambodia. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    CambodianExodus102.jpg
  • 16 JUNE 2014 - ARANYAPRATHET, THAILAND:  Cambodian migrant workers returning to Cambodia sit on the ground in front of the Aranyaprathet, Thailand, train station. The Cambodians were marched from the train station to the immigration police station in Aranyaprathet where they were processed and returned to Cambodia. More than 150,000 Cambodian migrant workers and their families have left Thailand since June 12. The exodus started when rumors circulated in the Cambodian migrant community that the Thai junta was going to crack down on undocumented workers. About 40,000 Cambodians were expected to return to Cambodia today. The mass exodus has stressed resources on both sides of the Thai/Cambodian border. The Cambodian town of Poipet has been over run with returning migrants. On the Thai side, in Aranyaprathet, the bus and train station has been flooded with Cambodians taking all of their possessions back to Cambodia. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    CambodianExodus076.jpg
  • 20 JUNE 2014 - SAMUT SAKHON, SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND: A Burmese migrant worker carries a bucket of shrimp through a processing center in Samut Sakhon. Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from Myanmar work in the Thai fishing industry. Samut Sakhon, (sometimes still called Mahachai, its historical name) is a large fishing port. Many Burmese live in the town and work in the fish process plants. Although hundreds of thousands of Cambodians fled Thailand last week after the military coup, the Burmese workers have stayed and are still working in many Thai towns.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    BurmeseMigrantWorkersMahachai0620140...jpg
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Jack Kurtz, Photojournalist & Travel Photographer

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