Nghe An laborers in Thailand - Part 1: Gambling on making a living

(Baonghean) - In recent years, the number of workers from Nghe An going to Thailand to seek employment has been increasing. They go with only a passport and it takes less than 24 hours to travel by land to Thailand; however, the journey to make a living is not easy, as they have to work illegally...

Bac Thinh and Nam Thinh are two hamlets located close to the coast, completely isolated from other residential areas of Nghi Thiet commune (Nghi Loc district). The only road leading into the hamlets, which used to be very difficult to navigate along the mountainside, has now been partially paved with concrete. The hamlets are less isolated, and the lives of the people have improved, with more and more modern, modern houses and multi-story buildings being constructed. This change is due in no small part to remittances from overseas workers. Among them are hundreds of people who went to Thailand to work as freelance laborers. However, to date, Thailand and Vietnam have not signed a labor cooperation agreement, so all these workers are "illegal" laborers, having gone on tourist visas and remaining illegally in their residences after their visas expire.

Female workers from Nghi Thiet commune (Nghi Loc district) return home after working in Thailand.

Currently, in the two hamlets of Bac Thinh and Nam Thinh alone, nearly 100 people are working as freelance laborers in Thailand, earning an income, but facing many pitfalls and risks… Dau Thi Hien and her friends of the same age in Bac Thinh hamlet are the ones who understand this most acutely. More than three years ago, after finishing 9th grade, Hien was invited by older friends in the hamlet to go to Thailand to work. Although young and with limited knowledge of the outside world, Hien was excited about the prospect of "going abroad" without anticipating the difficulties and hardships. After more than a day traveling along Highway 8 from Cau Treo border gate to Vientiane, Hien completed the procedures to enter Thailand through Nong Khai border gate and made her first stop in Udon Thani province. There, Hien was introduced by a fellow countryman to work as a waitress in a restaurant owned by a Vietnamese expatriate family. After a while, she followed her friends to Bangkok to continue working as a waitress in a Thai restaurant, earning 4-5 million Vietnamese dong per month. Hien said: "If you deduct the cost of food and accommodation, it's not much, but this is a job many Vietnamese people choose because with tips from customers, it can be around 7-8 million VND/month, or even more." Hien's busiest time is in the evening because customers usually eat late. However, during the day, even when she has free time, Hien and her fellow countrymen don't have many opportunities to meet because they're afraid of being caught by the Thai police if they go out.

Since the unrest in Thailand, police and military presence have been increased on all streets, and special attention has been paid to Vietnamese people to control illegal labor practices. Those caught are arrested and transferred to detention centers; release requires a ransom, otherwise, deportation. Hien has been working for about three years and has been "searched" twice – once in Bangkok and once in Udon Thani – with ransom costs of 10 million and 30 million VND respectively. "Usually, Thai police only search during the day, but both times I was arrested were at night while I was working at a restaurant. They're very cunning; they come in in plain clothes, knowing that Vietnamese laborers don't speak Thai well, so they strike up conversations. If we can't answer a few questions, they just arrest us. Each time I was detained, I was held in jail for 7-9 days. I had to rely on friends and relatives there to bail me out..." Hien shared.

In Bac Thinh hamlet, most children only study until the 9th grade before dropping out and either going south to work in industrial zones or to Thailand. Mr. Nguyen Van Chuong, the head of Bac Thinh hamlet, said: “Five years ago, going there required going through intermediaries, costing around 3-4, or even 6-7 million dong. Now, friends and villagers can go together for only about 1 million dong for the ticket and 200,000 dong for the passport. Although it's illegal work, the income is higher, so most people go there together.” To ensure peace of mind while working, once a month, laborers must go to the Noong Khai or Tha Khet border gates (Laos) to renew their visas before re-entering the country. Those who are luckier and work in large shops, where the owner "supports" them, don't have to go through this procedure. Previously, Vietnamese workers took this requirement quite seriously; however, since the entry fee doubled (to around 2 million VND) and the long travel distances involved, most have opted to live illegally. To return home, they sometimes have to pay "brokers" to transport them back by water across the Mekong River, which is extremely dangerous.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thuan from Nam Thinh hamlet recounted: “I used to work in Udon Thani. The salary was about 2-3 million VND/month, but with so many expenses, and having to renew my visa every month costing a lot of money, I stopped renewing it. Less than a month later, I was arrested by the Thai police and deported back to Vietnam…” Currently, Mr. Thuan’s two children are also working in Bangkok; his daughter works as a waitress in a restaurant, and his son is a truck driver. However, they are still “underground” workers, without labor contracts or insurance, so he is constantly worried… Because of this precarious situation, many workers from Nghi Thiet go to Thailand to work, but they don’t stay long.

Nguyen Van Ngoc and his mother (Hamlet 6, Nghi Tan Ward, Cua Lo Town) are recounting their days working in Thailand.

In reality, the labor market in Thailand has a significant demand, but not all Vietnamese people find it easy to get work there. Most are unskilled laborers with low qualifications and many lack discipline. Because they are working illegally, no employer signs long-term contracts, and naturally, they don't receive insurance or any labor benefits. Nguyen Van Ngoc (Hamlet 6, Nghi Tan Ward, Cua Lo Town) is one such example. He went to Udon Thani with his mother in 2009, when he was only 17 years old. In the early days in Thailand, Ngoc and his mother were completely clueless. Even though they paid a broker 3 million dong for a promise of a "stable job with a salary of 5-6 million dong/month," Ngoc discovered upon arrival that it was only a job selling pork at the market, earning less than 2 million dong/month. With the high cost of living in Thailand, that amount of money wasn't enough for the mother and daughter to make ends meet. Desperate, Ngoc had to continue relying on intermediaries to find work for her mother as a domestic helper, while she herself traveled to many provinces and cities doing all kinds of jobs, from selling rice and pork to washing cars and working as a painter...

Because she wasn't fluent in Thai, she was constantly exploited. It took almost five years in Thailand for Ngoc to get used to the terrain and become proficient in the language. She then found work as a mechanic at a Thai shop, earning a stable income of 10 million VND per month and securing employment for her younger brother. Just when she thought her hardships in a foreign land were over, a traffic accident occurred, leaving Ngoc seriously injured. The driver of the car that caused the accident fled, but didn't dare pursue legal action because he was an undocumented worker. When she was hospitalized, unconscious, Ngoc's mother frantically sought help, even going to the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand to plead for assistance. Fortunately, there were many Vietnamese people there, and seeing Ngoc and her mother's tragic situation, they donated money to help with medical expenses. After being discharged from the hospital, Ngoc was still dazed and confused, and the two of them had no choice but to return to their hometown.

In Hung Tay commune (Hung Nguyen district), hundreds of people who previously worked in Thailand are concentrated in Hung Thinh 1, 2, 3 and Nam Phuc Long hamlets. According to local leaders, they travel back and forth freely without reporting to the authorities, only requesting confirmation from the local government when an incident occurs. In fact, many years ago, there were cases of laborers going to Thailand for work who were exploited, had their labor exploited, and disputes led to deaths. The perpetrators were subsequently imprisoned... And who knows how many other dangers they might face in a foreign country, not to mention the possibility of sexual exploitation or being forced into illegal activities…

In Nghe An province, not only in the lowland districts but also in some mountainous districts, the movement of people going to work illegally in Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, is quite common. According to statistics from Con Cuong district, there are currently 85 people working illegally and residing in Thailand, and this number is actually increasing (mainly men and women aged 15-30). Due to the mountainous terrain, diverse ethnic groups, difficult living conditions, ample free time, and limited legal awareness regarding regulations on working abroad, people are encouraged to go after hearing from those who have previously worked abroad that they can earn a lot of money, the work is easy, and the procedures are simple. They obtain travel documents to go to Laos for tourism purposes, and from there continue on to Thailand to work in various jobs from washing dishes, parking cars, serving in restaurants, tailoring, construction work, domestic help, etc.

Every month, they go to the border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia to get their visas stamped. Those who go first, familiar with the route and the area, bring those who follow to earn a few million dong in commission. Many cases involve arrest, detention, and deportation by local authorities for not having passports, or for having documents that contradict the purpose of the visa. The number of Vietnamese women marrying Thai men is relatively high and is trending upwards, posing potential security and order problems. In fact, there have been several cases of women being trafficked to Thailand as wives or falling into prostitution rings... According to Mr. Bui Bac Thai, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Association: “There is a relatively large demand for labor in Thailand, especially for domestic help. I haven't seen it in Vinh, but in Ha Tinh, there is a private center with cars running regularly on the Vietnam-Laos route that specializes in finding domestic helpers to send to Thailand under the guise of family members, then handing them over to a Vietnamese contact there for distribution. Quite a few people from Nghe An go through this method.” Many undocumented workers are aware of the risks, but driven by the need to make a living, they are still willing to gamble with fate in the hope of finding a high-paying job abroad.

(To be continued)

Khanh Ly - My Ha