The singular most important event of 2023 in Thailand was the Thai hostage crisis that began on Oct 7 when Hamas launched its surprise onslaught on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Several thousand Thai workers were caught up in the crisis, and several dozen were taken hostage along with over 240 men, women and children of almost two dozen nationalities. Apart from Israeli citizens, the number of Thais taken prisoner was the highest among foreigners, and at least 39 were confirmed killed. At the end of November and in the weeks that followed, a total of 23 Thais were freed. Today, eight remain in Gaza, and their fate is unknown. In modern Thai history, this is the first time such a huge number of Thai citizens have been abducted.
The crisis caught the incoming Srettha administration by surprise as nobody would have expected this latest round of the Hamas-Israeli conflict to generate such a devastating outcome for the Thai workers in Israel. The tragedy three months ago has also shown the country's attitude towards its citizens seeking to earn a living abroad under death-defying circumstances.
Furthermore, it has also revealed that some of the country's policymakers were gullible enough to have believed that since Thais are not a party to this Middle Eastern conflict, they would not be harmed, even though they have been working there for over two decades.
In retrospect, the government could have done a better job in handling the crisis, especially the subsequent repatriation and assistance to Thai workers, if they had been better prepared before they took the jobs. They could have avoided being some of the first casualties of the war because out of the estimated 27,000 Thai workers in the country at the time, some 5,000 were working in the so-called red zones -- in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip.
In addition, the Thais have extremely limited English skills and a poor understanding of the severity of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Whenever a conflict between the Palestinians and Israel erupts, they have suffered and are often at a loss about what was happening.
As the Oct 7 massacre showed, the Thais fell prey to unexpected circumstances. Listening to the incoherent interviews by those who were released, it is clear the Thai government must overhaul its labour policy in foreign countries. It has been unfortunate that despite the government's efforts to repatriate the Thai workers from Israel, several thousand want to stay on.
Once beaten twice shy, should be the government's mantra. Indeed, there have been several occasions when Thai workers have been killed by Hamas rocket attacks. The latest incident was in May 2021, when two Thais perished. This time around, the conflict has to do with the scale and durability of Hamas' offensive. Given the key economic priorities of the Srettha government, the freedom of the remaining hostages is hanging in the balance. Politicians tend to move on to more immediate issues that make the headlines. In the past months, the news about the Thai hostages seems to have faded away as the media has been overwhelmed with reporting about the government's domestic subsidy schemes.
Indeed, as long as the Thai workers remain captive, the government is responsible and must continue to work with all stakeholders in the Middle East to secure their release and safety. Truth be told, at this juncture, Israeli leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that the war against Hamas will continue and intensify. As such, the prospects for the release of all the hostages held by Hamas are vanishingly small.
In the case of the Thai hostages, various factions within the Palestinian fighters in Gaza abducted them, making the chances of their future release even more difficult. Nonetheless, the government must reinvigorate talks to free the Thai abductees. Previously, according to various reliable sources, assistance from friendly governments and non-governmental organisations such as Malaysia, Qatar, Iran, and Egypt was instrumental in bringing the loose ends together.
In a nutshell, it was a collective effort that was based on Thailand's existing goodwill with these key players and political neutrality regarding the longstanding Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Thailand, along with Asean members, supports a two-state solution and recognises the rights of Palestinians to have a state of their own, living side by side with the state of Israel. Bangkok has also called for a ceasefire to halt the ongoing fighting.
In retrospect, Thailand should have taken the Hamas-Israeli conflict more seriously in determining whether Thai workers should be sent to work in Israel. With the largest number of workers in the agricultural field there, the Thais could not claim to be innocent concerning the war, which has now seen over 21,000 Palestinian civilians, 1,200 Israelis as well as 69 journalists slain. But truth be told, the Palestinians based in Gaza have long treated Thai workers as willful accomplices to the Israelis.
It is well-known that Israel brought in migrant workers after the first intifada in 1987-93 to replace Palestinian workers. Before Oct 7, many of the Thai workers were working in the southern part of Israel, and they were unaware of the geopolitical ramifications as they were simply working for high wages to send home and pay back debts.
More than anything else, the Ministry of Labour has to be accountable for putting the Thai workers in such dangerous areas. The saddest thing was that the Thai authorities knew full well the risks but still allowed them to go and work.
In contrast, the Philippines, which has a larger number of workers in Israel at about 36,000, suffered only four casualties. The reason is simple: the Philippine government does not allow them to work in the red zones. Before they go, they are well prepared to face the realities on the ground, such as language and socio-cultural aspects, while official assessments are also made on the ground.
For the time being, the Thai government has pleaded with Thai workers, especially those who have been repatriated safely, not to try to return to Israel. The Thai Ambassador to Israel, Pannabha Chandraramya, recently warned that the situation remains too precarious for any Thai to return to work in Israeli kibbutzim. Indeed, from a geopolitical point of view, from now on, no place in Israel seems safe. Therefore, the Thai government needs to rethink its labour strategies and agreements with Israel.
At this juncture, stopping all Thai workers from going to Israel would be a good start. So far, hundreds of them have completely ignored the warnings and returned through a third country to Israel. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin must find appropriate measures to compensate those repatriated workers as the current schemes, with tiny compensation amounts, are no more than a knee-jerk reaction. The government needs a long-term plan for Thai workers. Otherwise, they will go back, and those who are stuck in Israel will also remain there regardless of the danger.
The kibbutzim in southern Israel pay Thai workers very well in comparison with wages in Thailand. Even during the war, they have been offered extra wages to stay put. Whenever Thai workers have been killed, the Israeli government has been very efficient in engaging with the Thai government and victims' families. Their families would quickly receive compensation and allowances as well as personal condolences from the government's top leaders, including the president and the ambassador. For instance, Orna Sagiv, the Israeli ambassador to Thailand, has already visited the victims' families in Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Buri Ram and held numerous press conferences and penned op-eds to explain her country's position while expressing condolences and appreciation to the bereaved families.
Frankly speaking, Israel needs Thai workers, although there are current efforts to find replacements from South Asia. But the Thais are still preferred by the kibbutzim. As such, Thailand has enough leverage to ensure that in the future, if Tel Aviv wants Thais, much-improved protection for their lives is needed -- not just high wages and compensation. After their tenure, they must come back home alive because they are valuable assets for the country.