Flood Report
*** This is the fourth in a series of reports by Zashnain (@bedlamfury) detailing first-hand accounts of relief efforts in response to the tragic floods in Thailand that have affected millions so far.
Read previous installments:
Tip, A Streetkid Living In A Flooded Bangkok
Flood Report: Unprecedented Damage to Thailand and Its People
Thailand: Relief Work Made Dysfunctional By. . .
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An estimated 7,000 migrant workers are stranded in flooded factories and industrial estates in Bangkok’s province.
According to Thai relief workers, they need clean drinking water, rations, mobile latrine, safe bathing areas, public health awareness and medicine.
I’m extremely worried about unregistered migrant workers, those working without a work permit. Because they are ‘illegally’ working in Thailand, they technically don’t exist, as such they fear repercussion from the authorities.
Many have sought the help of syndicates, paying outrageous fees for protection. Defenceless not against the flood but against human trafficking elements. Greed fuels their motives.
Thailand’s flood is not a conventional natural disaster. It is more than that. Communities are made vulnerable by power. The power to control, and the power to make money at the expense of people’s lives and misery. I am confident, similar problems are faced by marginalised communities in flood-stricken nations like Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines.
Bangkok’s migrant population is at risk. Many abandoned by their multi-national employers to fend for themselves.
The corporations make money, and when things go against them, they flee to safety leaving their workers behind.
The dilemma of migrant workers is placed in Thailand’s government and NGO hands, but it’s a race against time. Corporations must take urgent measures to evacuate their employees and ensure their human rights are protected. If not, then this madness recycles itself, leaving humanity in the vicious cesspool of prejudice and greed.
