Dreams Draw Lao Workers to Thailand

By Manivone Luangsombath

SAVANNAKHET, Lao PDR — Lod is all of 18 years of age, but bears the scars of having been beaten up and tortured by her employer over in Thailand. Like many young women who end up in similar situations, she had been drawn across the border by visions of bringing home more money, new appliances, and sending her siblings to school.

After shelling out 1,000 baht (25 U.S. dollars) to pay the broker who brought her to Bangkok, Lod and two other friends, from Sork village in Khantanoury district in Savannakhet province, central Laos, found themselves working in a garment factory. "There were six boys and 10 girls who came to Thailand at the same time as me. I don't know where my other companions ended up,” she recalls.

At that time, Lod was just 12. Today, she says that many of the Lao youngsters who go to Thailand – by crossing the Mekong River that is the border between the two countries – are usually between 11 to 24 years old. Savannakhet, flanked by Vietnam to the east, is just across Mukdahan province in Thailand in the west.

For four years, Lod worked as a thread cutter at the factory, getting up at 5 a.m. daily and working until midnight. If there were large orders from customers, they would be forced to work until 2 or 3 a.m. "Some days we slept for only two to three hours and would have no time to eat. Sometimes we would feel so tired that we would fall asleep at work," said Lod.

One day, her employer came in and saw Lod and her friend chatting during working hours. "She yelled at us and said she would punish us because we weren't attending to our work. She told a boy from Laos to punish us and said to him, 'If you disobey my orders, I will punish you too’," recalled Lod.

Scared, the boy did as he was told. He poured a bottle of bathroom cleaning fluid on Lod's body, and stuffed her into a black plastic bag, tied it and left her in the bathroom. "I was left in the bathroom for a whole day without any food," said Lod. Her friend’s punishment was to have chillies poured and rubbed on her.

Risking their lives, some of Lod’s Lao friends took her away from the factory and reported the physical abuse to the police. Her employers were arrested the following day. Lod spent two years in a local hospital and another seven months at a hospital in Bangkok for the treatment of her burns. In late 2003, with the help of Thai and Lao authorities, Lod finally went back to her hometown.

"I wanted to be like the other young people in my village who went to work in Thailand and came back with lots of money to give to their parents. So I decided to work there as well," explained Lod. Her parents allowed her to go after seeing other people who, after finding work in Thailand, “brought home a new car, household equipment, or even built a new house”.

"I thought I would be able to save some money to support my family, build a new house, and send my younger sister and brother to school," added Lod.

Besides Lod, many Lao youth were also maltreated by their employers. Fourteen-year-olds Touk ta and Nang, and 16-year-old Soumaly, for example, were tricked into sex work by a middle-aged woman in a restaurant in Saraburi province, Thailand. After six months of working without pay, they escaped and went back to Laos in September 2005.

The youth of Savannakhet, Laos’ biggest province, find themselves unemployed after every harvest season. More than 80 percent of some 800,000 people in Savannakhet are engaged in agriculture, and live in poor conditions in the countryside.

This makes many look for work elsewhere. With families to support, many of them migrate to big cities in other provinces or go to Vientiane, the capital, to find temporary jobs. Some go across the border, especially to a more prosperous country like Thailand as seasonal migrants, and others stay on.

As of the end of 2005, officials say there were 27,303 Lao nationals working in Thailand and 15,494 of them are women. The real figure is higher.

Young people in particular believe that there is no work for them in the country. Moreover, they do not consider working in Laos ‘fashionable’, and often envy friends who have found jobs in Thailand.

   A Thai man who lives in Mukdahan says there are jobs available in Laos but many think they will not be able to earn enough money. "I think it's easier to find jobs in Laos than in Thailand,” he said. “I can say this because during summer, I send my son and daughter to work with my relative in Savannakhet. After earning money, they come back home again in time for the opening of school."

      According to Ms Bounhgueon Thippudthavong, vice president of the Women’s Union of Savannakhet, “Many people go to Thailand after failing to find jobs in their own communities. Some of them are enticed by friends who say they will get higher wages in Thailand. Some find work in restaurants, bars and pig farms. What's worse is that many of these workers become infected with HIV/AIDS. All these cost Laos its labour force."

Lod said, "Many Lao youth who go to Thailand earn more income than I did. Some work in garment factories, or in road construction projects, and many work in sugarcane or pig farms."

Looking Within

Local groups like the Lao Women’s Union (LWU) of Savannakhet province, in cooperation with the Labour and Social Welfare section, believe that having better job prospects at home will help prevent cases like that of Lod, although population mobility around borders will always exist. The union has set up a community fund to help young people find suitable jobs.

Thoummaly Vongphachanh, director of LWU’s consultation centre, said, "Many Lao youth who crossed the border to work in Thailand have been violated by their employers. To solve this problem, the government of Laos has forged cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, LWU, Trade Union and Youth Union, and other concerned ministries. Together, they plan to set up a livelihood programme to lure people, especially the young ones, back from Thailand and, if possible, give them permanent jobs.”

Looking back, Lod feels fortunate that she was at least able to file a case against her employer, who pleaded guilty. The court ordered Lod’s employer to pay her 75,000 baht (1,875 dollars) in unpaid wages, and 700,000 baht (17,500 dollars) for her medical treatment.

Kham Khong, Lod's father, clearly remembers the day he first saw his daughter at the hospital, "I didn't recognise her because her face was bloody and her skin had a very bad smell,” he recalled. “She was so pitiful and I could only cry.”

He subsequently sold two parcels of land to facilitate his daughter’s homecoming. "We are so poor and this is why I sent her to Thailand to work. Unfortunately, she became a victim. I feel really guilty for allowing her to leave home and work elsewhere," he said.

This article was also published in the Vientiane-based ‘Mae Ying Lao’ (Lao Women) newspaper.