Labour rights advocates are urging the government to step up efforts to help hundreds of Thai fishermen believed to have escaped from exploitative work on trawlers to hide on Indonesian islands.
Thai fishermen repatriated from the Indonesian island of Ambon are interviewed by staff from the Foreign and Social Development and Human Security ministries after 10 of them arrived at Don Mueang airport late on Tuesday. They fled their fishing trawlers after experiencing what they said were unbearable working conditions. Thiti Wannamontha
Ambon Island, where many Thais were earlier found sheltering, is among several places where victims, who could not bear the hardships on fishing vessels, fled, said activist Patima Tangpratyakun, asking Thai authorities to play a larger role in search and rescue missions.
Her non-governmental organisation, the Seafarers Action Centre, along with the Labour Rights Promotion Network (LPN), and state officials have jointly helped bring Thais on Ambon Island back home since October.
However, she said, the government, which has more authority and resources, needs to act faster amid media reports that some victims are at risk of dying because of harsh living conditions on the island.
While Indonesian police and local villagers on Ambon Island have helped locate these workers, "Thai authorities seem to make little progress in helping them," Ms Patima said.
Rescuers are currently facing difficulties in proving the fishermen are Thais because their identity cards and seaman books, which are carried by workers on fishing boats, were being kept by their boat skippers, she said.
As for those who have seaman books, the documents have been found to be fake or belong to other people, causing confusion about the stranded workers who come from Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, Ms Patima said.
Despite these problems, if the government increases its efforts, all the workers can be reunited with their families instead of living as vagabonds working for food "just for their day to day survival", on Ambon Island, she said.
So far, a total of 28 Thai fishermen have been saved and returned to Thailand. The numbers also include 10 workers from Ambon Island who arrived at Don Mueang airport late on Tuesday night, said LPN director Sompong Srakaew, who estimated that between 100 and 200 Thais are still awaiting help.
Authorities should not stop their action once all the workers return home. Mr Sompong said they need to act against wrongdoers who fool or force people to work in bad conditions — with long working hours and low wages — on fishing trawlers.
In the long term, the government must also improve laws to better monitor fishing vessel registration and increase penalties against the wrongdoers, he added.