HR Group Calls for Justice for Burmese Fishermen

By LAWI WENG

A Thai human rights group, Labor Rights Promotion Network, has called for a total compensation package of 15 million baht (531 million kyat/ US $430,000) to be paid among the families of 39 Burmese fishermen who died aboard a Thai fishing fleet that lay adrift for three months without fresh water or food, and to the 38 surviving Burmese crew members.

The calls came after a labor court in Thailand ordered the owners of the Praphasnavee fishing fleet to recompense the survivors, but did not award compensation to family members of the fishermen who died of starvation in June 2006 aboard the deep-sea trawlers.

The 39 fishermen died after the fishing fleet Praphasnavee languished off the coast of Indonesia for three months without any food or fresh water, said Somporn Sakaew, the director of Labor Rights Promotion Network, a Thai human rights organization.

In a court case that has lasted two years, on September 17 the Labor Court in Samut Sakhorn, a port 30 km (19 miles) southwest of Bangkok, ordered the boats’ owners to pay 38 Burmese migrant fishermen who survived the ordeal a total of 4.9 million baht (about 173.5 million kyat/ US $140,450), an average of 128,947 baht (4.5 million kyat/ $3,696) each.

However, that figure includes salaries for the fishermen, many of whom had been working for 12 to 24 months without pay, said Somporn.

About 100 crew members were employed on the Praphasnavee—77 Burmese, mainly ethnic Mons, and the rest Thai.

The Thai crew, all of who survived, had already made an out-of-court deal with the fleet’s owners, said Somporn.

“The court said we didn’t have any photographic evidence that the deaths occurred at sea. That’s why they refused to give compensation to those who died,” said Somporn.

“However we will continue to fight. Our lawyers are currently collecting more evidence to appeal the case,” he said.

“We have only been able to claim a small amount of money because the Burmese fishermen didn’t have legal working documents,” said Somporn. “Also, many of the fishermen are living in remote and unknown places, so it has taken a long time to process the claim.”

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Oung Jai Nat, a survivor of the deadly voyage, said, “I have been to the courthouse many times. The case was delayed time and again, and the boat owners refused to pay up.

“Now they have offered compensation, but said they needed 20 survivors present to withdraw the money. All the victims live in different places. We can’t organize 20 people together in Samut Sakhorn at the same time.”

According to Oung Jai Nat, the survivors were all sick and vomiting when they finally arrived at hospital in Samut Sakhorn. He said they feared they had been poisoned. However, he said, the Thai authorities refused to investigate the case.

Ko Ko Aung, a member of the Labor Rights Protection Network, accused the court of dragging its feet on the case.

“They thought we would forget about it if they delayed,” he said. “Then the guilty parties would get away.

“Migrant workers are supposed to be protected under Thai law. However, it seems it only protects Thai businessmen,” he said.

The 77 Burmese migrant fishermen who were working aboard the Praphasnavee deep-sea trawlers had agreed to work for several years, said Somporn. Some crew members couldn’t return home or even get ashore for more than a year at a time.

The fleet had fished around Indonesia for about two years. However, in May-June 2006 they ran out of food and fresh water, but were too afraid of the Indonesian police to approach the shore, said Somporn. Eventually, the captain decided to return to port in Thailand. On the way back, the 39 men died. Two of them were buried on an island. The bodies of the 37 others were dumped at sea. When the rest of the crew returned to Thailand, they were suffering from swelling, severe fatigue, respiratory problems and vomiting—symptoms of acute malnutrition.

According to an editorial in Thai English-language daily The Bangkok Post on Friday, the surviving Burmese fishermen were treated like criminals, having to go into hiding during the court case because of their illegal status in Thailand.

The Post editorial said that the Thai immigration law “had robbed workers of their right to seek legal and financial redress from labor exploitation, while allowing abusive employers to get away with murder.”