Background

Globally, trade in fish products continues to reach record highs, and developing countries now contribute over half of the value of total exports. Within this expanding world market, Thailand has emerged as a major supplier, with the value of its seafood exports reaching US$6 billion in recent years. A significant contribution to the industry’s growth is given by the migrant labor force. Shortages of Thai workers willing to work on fishing vessels, emerging simultaneously with expanding structural differences in population demographics and economic development between Thailand and its neighboring countries, have transformed fishing crews to predominantly consist of migrant workers from Cambodia and Myanmar. Several hundred thousand women and men migrant workers are now employed at different levels within the seafood supply chain in Thailand, working precariously under various temporary labor migration regimes and constrained living and work conditions.

Recognizing the contribution of migrant workers to Thai society and the blue economy, the exhibition “Not Just Labor; Migrant Photo Voices from Thailand Fisheries” gives them a platform to showcase their photo voices. The display consists of photos taken on their mobile phone by migrants from Cambodia and Myanmar, who are now living in Phuket, Phang Nga and Chanthaburi to work in the fishing and seafood industry.

The displayed photo-stories capture the migrant’s overall day-to-day existence full of taxing, entertaining or simply mundane events, of interaction with their natural and social surroundings, and of dreams and expectations about the future. The message the photo voices convey, is that migrants are more than just labor and more than the sum of the difficulties and exploitation endured. Against the dehumanized portrayal of migrants as faceless ‘others’, this exhibition celebrates their identity, agency, personality and other features of our shared humanity. Moreover, the exhibition shows that migrant lives have become interconnected with the larger Thai society demanding more suitable integration policies for migrants. This comprehensive appreciation of migrants’ experiences and aspirations, is essential to create an inclusive and more equitable society that upholds everyone’s human dignity.

Description

Mg Myo Oo

I am 28 years old and come from Irrawaddy, Myanmar, while my wife comes from Bago. We met and fell in love here in Thailand. I have been here for more than five years and have been working on the fishing vessel for 5 years. My pictures show a pair of trawling boats. After catching the fish, we cook the pickled fish (Pla-ra). Normally, we would have 10 crew members and sail off for 7-10 days each round. We come back when our boat is fully filled with fish. To eat, we make potato soup on the boat. According to his belief, our boss does not allow us to bring beef onto the boat, so when we cook the potato soup we only put chicken and pork. I want other people to see our routines on the boat. How we eat, and how we work.

Ngeth Sarath

“I am a worker from Kampot. I am 43 years old and have lived in Thailand for about 20 years. I am a squid fisher, and sometimes I have to sail offshore for more than 10 days. My wife is from Prey Veng. We met in Thailand and now have two 8-year-old twin children, one lives in Kampot and one lives here. We rarely reunite as it takes a fortune for us to travel to Kampot.

“In Cambodia, we never had New Year parties because we only celebrate Songkran, so we enjoy doing it here. The photos are from the 2024 New Year party that we organized in the market with the other 40-50 Cambodian workers living in Laem Sing district. We held a fancy costume competition, with a 1st prize of 500 baht and a 2nd prize of 300 baht. The 1st prize winner was a construction worker. There was also a raffle, with gifts of at least 200 baht such as dishes, bed sheets, toiletries, and money. People were delighted to receive fans and rice but didn’t want the dishes and cups since they had them.

“A Cambodian monk from a forest temple also came and blessed us. A few Burmese migrants also participated. One of them has stayed here for a long time. He speaks Thai and Khmer and has a Cambodian wife. There are fewer fishing vessels right now, so Burmese people went to seek jobs in Mahachai. In the past, there were only Myanmar people in the area, but now only Cambodians come here. There were almost 100 Cambodian migrants at the party coming from Rayong, Koh Proet and Bangkok. During the pandemic, we could not do anything, but this year we were all smiles, so I took the photos to remember this happy moment.”

Bo Chanda

“I live in Ko Proet, Chanthaburi. In 2008, I worked in the mangosteen industry, but now I work as a shrimp sorter. My photo story narrates the wedding of my neighbour and friend, a Cambodian worker, who I have known since he was a child, with his Thai girlfriend who comes from Khao Luk Chang (Baby Elephant Mountain).

“The groom was born in Thailand and has been living with his parents. His father, who used to sail the boat offshore, has been in Thailand for more than 30 years. He now works on a shrimp farm, while his mother works as a domestic worker. My friend met the bride who is a mangosteen and durian farmer and moved to the farm to help her. However, he doesn’t have Thai citizenship, which is very difficult to apply for.

“For the wedding, we all dressed in pink according to the wishes of the groom. Since I came to Thailand with a small case, I bought the dress online, since the elegant Cambodian dresses available here for rent were too expensive. The groom’s mother rented the whole bus for our group to go together. We partied on the bus for almost two hours, drinking alcohol and dancing. People at the wedding party came from different places as Cambodian workers like to gather at weddings and other festive occasions. We have networks connecting us in Thailand.”