Seeking Haven and Seeking Jobs: Migrant Workers' Networks in Two Thai Locales

概要

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Thailand has seen a large increase in migrant workers from Myanmar since the1990s. A constant flow of migrants arrive to seek refuge from dire circumstancesin their homeland and/or to seek better work opportunities. They have adapted tochanging state policy regarding their migrant status and work permits as well as tomore immediate means of control. Previous works on this subject have tendedeither toward macro-level policy and economics, or more journalistic accounts ofindividual migrant experiences. Little attention has been paid to differences in themigrant processes and networks formed across the border and within the country.In this paper two locales, one on the border (Mae Sot) and one in the interior(Samut Songkhram), are compared based on interviews conducted with migrantworkers on their mode of arrival, living and working conditions, migrant status andcontrol, and how they form networks and relations within and across the border.By comparing the two locales, rather than emphasize how the state and geopoliticalspace define mobility we argue that transnational migrant workers formulate anddefine their space through adaptive networks in articulation with geopolitical factorsas well as local socioeconomic and historical-cultural dynamics. The dynamicsamong macro policies, micro-level agency of migrants, and meso-level networksdefine each locale.
2013-08-22