Reflections on the Human Condition - Api-fellowships.org

360 SESSION V
order to go work abroad. The brokers look for people
in the villages or in Bangkok using several beguiling
and exploitative tricks. So far, international migration
has tremendously changed the norms and traditions of
people in primitive communities.
The people who really benefit from international
migration are not migrant workers, but the brokers
who possess wide connection networks, both local and
international networks. The migrant workers and their
families are vulnerable to losing in both the short and
long run.
From the macro level perspective, Thai immigrant
workers to Japan may be able to send large amounts of
remittance to their home country. But from the micro
level perspective, migrant workers and their families
require a great deal of money for the departure process.
In addition, some migrant workers need to work in risky
and social unacceptable jobs like commercial sex work.
They strive for survival and surrender to exploitive and
risky situations, especially in terms of their health.
Economic gain was the primary factor in Thai migrants’
decision to work in Japan. Although Thai migrant
workers earned less money than the local workers in
Japan by comparison, their wages could improve their
material standard of living in Thailand. Working in
Japan for only three to five days gave them the same
amount of money as working in Thailand for a whole
month. Although the living cost in Japan was very
expensive, they could still save large amounts of money
after converting from Japanese Yen to Thai Baht.
Due to stressful working conditions, these Thai migrant
workers needed to find ways of relaxing. If they chose
the right kinds recreation, they might be successful from
having come to work in Japan. However, if they chose
the wrong kinds of recreation, such as gambling, the
Pachinko [Japanese pinball game], snack bars, drinking,
etc., they might lose out by having come to work in
Japan. In these cases, even though they earned a large
amount of money, they had no savings. Therefore, selfcontrol
and making a plan for their period of working
abroad were the most important considerations for
those who wanted to go to work abroad.
The other consideration that we need to be concerned
with before going to work abroad is the families left
behind in Thailand. Migrant workers, especially those
who came to work in Japan illegally, might have no
chance to teach and socialize with their kids and this
might lead to a situation of family disintegration.
Although these migrant workers could earn a great deal
Ref lections on the Human Condition: Change, Conflict and Modernity
The Work of the 2004/2005 API Fellows
of money, they failed to raise their children. As a result,
the children might be more likely to spend money
extravagantly and be more vulnerable to addictive drugs.
For some families of migrant workers, the spouses and
families also spend money unwisely, and in the worst
case, the long distance may lead to divorce, leaving the
children alone with other family members.
Living abroad for several years can also lead to difficulties
in reintegrating to the original society. Therefore,
reintegration program should help those returning to
reassume their developmental role in nation building,
including socio-cultural and economic reintegration
that covers migrant workers and their families who
were left behind. The special objectives of reintegration
programs are to reunite the life of migrant workers
with their families and communities, and to adapt
their experiences abroad for developing their original
community and country.
References
Migrant Year Book. 1999. Hong Kong: Asian Migrant
Center.
Angsuthanasombat, Kannika. 1999. Thai Domestic
Helpers in Hong Kong: Background, Working Conditions
and Implications for The Reintegration Programme, thesis,
The National Institute of Development Administration
(NIDA), Bangkok, Thailand.
Asis, Maruja M.B. 2001. The Return Migration of
Filipino Women Migrants: Home, But Not for Good?
In Country Study: Philippines, Female Labour Migration
in South-East Asia: Change & Continuity, Bangkok:
Asian Research Center for Migration, Institute of Asian
Studies, Chulalongkorn University (25-26).
Azam, Farooq. 2003. International Organization for
Migration, Concluding Remarks at the 8 th IASFM
Conference on Forced Migration, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Bank of Thailand. 2004. Report on Total Remittances to
Thailand Through Banking System.
Chantavanich, Supang, et al. 2003. Preparedness
Management for the Protection of Thai Migrant Workers:
A Participatory Action Research for Model Development,
Return & Reintegration. Bangkok: Thai Research Fund.
Dinan, Kinsey Alden. 2002. Trafficking in Women from
Thailand to Japan. Harvard Asia Quarterly, VI: 4-5.
Human Rights Watch. 2000. Owed Justice Thai Women
Trafficked into Debt Bondage in Japan, United State
of America: Library of Congress Card Number: 00-
107963.