From Our Eyes: Mekong Migrant Reflections 2000 - MAP Foundation

While waing for the Bangkok trip, the man who would bring me to Bangkok chaed
me up saying that he liked me, and that he wanted me to be his girlfriend or wife.
He said that he didn’t have a family yet and would truly love me. While waing
for him to take me to Bangkok for a month he helped me with everything, such
as buying food for me. He wanted me to stay with him in Chiang Mai.
When I arrived in Bangkok he took me to a plasc factory. I was really unhappy
with my work because my employer was very difficult, but at the same me
I didn’t have any money le. I worked there only five days then I contacted the
guy who brought me there. I wanted him to take me back to Chiang Mai, because
I was unhappy and worried about my physical health and state of mind. I wanted
to vomit everyday and I realised that I might be pregnant. If I carried on working
my womb was going to get bigger and bigger and I wouldn’t be able to work, also
other people would say that I had a son without a father. I phoned him and
explained about my situaon asking him to take me back to Chiang Mai. He didn’t
pick me up but gave me 350 baht to come by bus.
When I arrived at Chiang Mai I couldn’t contact him again. I didn’t know where
to go so I contacted to my former employer and went back to work there. My
womb got bigger day by day. I was so hurt I didn’t know what to do. The work
that I did was also very hard. I worked from early morning unl dark. I couldn’t
think properly. I decided to tell the truth to my employer about my pregnancy,
so they could find a way to help me. They took me to give birth at a hospital,
somewhere in Chiang Mai. I had to pay for the delivery-more than 10,000 baht.
My employer paid for me in advance and cut money back from my salary. I worked
there for another eight months. I knew that even though the work was very hard
I had to do it.
Aer nearly two years, I requested to work overme since I sll had to pay back
the debt for the gold chain. My employer said that he would increase my salary
to 2,300 baht. At the beginning they said that they would apply for a new job for
me, and pay me unl the day that I am going to work. Then they said that I was
rejected from that job. I felt so upset. When payday came, they cut my salary for
document costs. So I quit that job and stayed around Tanin Market with the
people from my village. They worked at a leuce preserve factory near Kham
Taeng Market.
Aer that I met a guy, who is now my husband. It was not love but I had no job
so we were living together out of pity only. I worked as a curry and food seller at
the market and my husband also worked at the leuce factory. Aer staying
together for more than a year I became pregnant, because I am allergic to the
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From Our Eyes: Mekong Migrant Reflections 2000-2012