200125 Estimating Prevalence of Human Trafficking and Forced Labor in Burmese Migrants in Thailand

Monday, November 9, 2009: 11:10 AM

Courtland Robinson, PhD , Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Georgina Calderon, MPH , Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Mandy Swann, MPH , Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Janka Flaska, MMSc, MPH , Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Sompong Srakaew, MA , Labor Rights Promotion Network, Samut Sakhon, Thailand
Due to unfavorable political and economic circumstances in Burma, human trafficking and forced labor have flourished along the Thai-Burma border. Samut Sakhon is the largest industrial seafood processing area in Thailand, employing 160,000 to 200,000 migrant workers, primarily from Burma. Most Burmese migrate and work illegally, thereby increasing their vulnerability. Many suffer exploitation through debt bondage, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, and threats of violence or retribution.

Our two-phase study—a collaboration between the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Labor Rights Promotion Network—will estimate the prevalence of human trafficking and forced labor among Burmese migrants working in the seafood processing industry in Samut Sakhon. The qualitative phase includes forty key informant interviews with migrant workers, brokers, and Thai community members. Domains included working and living conditions of migrant workers, patterns of migration, and job acquisition in Thailand. Current research indicates that brokers, employers and some law enforcement authorities engage in systematic exploitation of migrants from Burma in Samut Sakhon through deceptive recruitment practices, debt bondage, and unsafe and unfair work environments.

The quantitative phase will pilot the use of Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS) methodology to estimate the prevalence of trafficking into labor exploitation among Burmese laborers. The results of the survey (~n=400) will be analyzed to estimate prevalence of labor trafficking and risk factors for forced labor among Burmese migrant workers in Samut Sakhon.

Learning Objectives:
1. Use qualitative findings to describe migration patterns of Burmese laborers and recruitment practices into the seafood industry in Samut Sakhon. 2. Evaluate methods used to estimate prevalence of human trafficking and forced labor among Burmese migrant workers. 3. Identify risk factors associated with trafficking and forced labor among Burmese migrants.

Keywords: Methodology, Migrant Workers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: EDUCATION Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD Candidate for MPH. Concentration in Humanitarian Aid- degree expected in 2009. University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA Candidate for MD- degree expected in 2010. Williams College, Williamstown, MA (Class of ‘04) B.A. Degree in Chemistry & Political Science WORK EXPERIENCE Day-Treatment Counselor-Hathaway Children and Family Services Sylmar, CA (Sept. '04-Mar. '05) Developed an after-school curriculum at a residential mental health facility for children with histories of substance abuse, sexual and physical abuse and wards of the state of California. Developed research strategies and training programs for staff. Research Assistant-Williams College Chemistry Department Williamstown, MA (Sept. '03-Aug. '04) Worked on isolating and the characterization of the whiJ-cluster proteins in Streptomyces coelicolor. Applied various biochemical techniques including PCR, plasmid construction and recovery, cell transformation, protein overexpression, and developed an alternative protocol to isolate insoluble proteins. Research Assistant-Williams College Chemistry Department Williamstown, MA (Sept. '00-May '02) Studied repressor protein Lex A and its binding in the SOS DNA repair system of Bacillus Subtilis through a variety of biochemistry techniques, including animal handling and culture preparation. INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE -Investigator, UCSF School of Medicine Bethlehem, West Bank (Jun.–Sept. ’06) Conducted an epidemiological survey of pediatric cancers in the southern region of the West Bank. Developed survey and, with the help of local nurses, I collected demographic data on all the pediatric cancers reported in the region with the goal identifying risk factors that have led to a high incidence in the region. -Lead Investigator, Williams College Kingston, Jamaica & Havana, Cuba (Jun. – Sept. ’03) Qualitative study of the response of government officials and NGOs to HIV/AIDS in each country. Data was gathered through interviews with physicians, researchers as well as patient focus groups. The research culminated in drafting an essay based on Cuba's response, titled "Cuba's response to AIDS: a model for developing countries?" -Lead Investigator, Williams College Chalatenango, El Salvador (Jun.– Aug. ’02) Investigated the role of the Salvadorian Civil War on the delivery of health care in rural regions of the country and in my essay, Role of Promoters in the Health Care System of Rural El Salvador" I do a qualitative comparison of the government’s centralized system and the non-governmental health promoter system that was started by leftist communities during the war. Data was collected through interviews with community leaders, physicians and members of rural communities. PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS “Health Diplomacy in Palestine: A medical student’s perspective” Presentation given at the 9th Annual International Health Conference, War, Poverty, and Population in March 2007 at UC Berkeley. Groban ES, Johnson MB, Banky P, Burnett PG, Calderon GL, Dwyer EC, Fuller SN, Gebre B, King LM, Sheren IN, Von Mutius LD, O'Gara TM, Lovett CM. “Binding of the Bacillus subtilis LexA protein to the SOS operator”. Nucleic Acids Res. 2005 Nov 3;33(19):6287-95. Print 2005 Calderon, Georgina "Latin America in the New World Order: From Democratization to Radicalization?" Hemispheres: Tufts University Journal of International Affairs Online Journal 2004 Edition "Cuba's response to AIDS: a model for developing countries?" Presentation in April 2004 at Undergraduate Research Conference on Global Public Health at the Public Health Sciences Institute of Morehouse College. “Role of Promoters in the Health Care System of Rural El Salvador" Presentation at the Undergraduate Research Conference on Global Public Health at the Public Health Sciences Institute of Morehouse College in April 2003 at Morehouse College
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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