Saturday, January 19, 2013

Burmese Migrant Worker Book

I am reading a book I bought online called "Thailand's Hidden Workforce", the subject of the book is Burmese migrant workers (mostly female) in Thailand (with some focus on Mae Sot). I wonder if I can get access to make photographs of the migrant workers, maybe on roadways and at their living areas but can I get access to their workspaces, the factories? Probably not.
 
From the book:
 
"Migrant factory workers are part of the million-strong army of migrant workers in Thailand who fill  the so-called 3D jobs-dirty, dangerous and demeaning- that most Thais, the beneficiaries of significant improvements in education and well-being over recent decades, are not willing to take. But the segregation of migrants within the Thai economy is not just about low-paid. physically exhausting and often unpleasant occupations; it is also about the fact that migrant workers, unlike their Thai counterparts, receive only very limited, and in many cases non-existent, protection from the authorities regarding level of pay and working conditions. Furthermore, they are in the country with, at best, only temporary state permit, have no job security and are there fore unable to organise to improve their situation."
 
 
This quote might be a possible photography series title if I am able to gain access and make photographs of the Burmese migrant workers in and around Mae Sot Thailand.
 
"The Burmese migrants in Thailand often find themselves in a hostile environment 'between the Tiger and the Crocodile"."


http://www.amazon.ca/Thailands-Hidden-Workforce-Burmese-Factory/dp/1848139845/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358600516&sr=8-1