Far from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic: Thais in Israel, South Korea among the luckier ones

Migrant workers are the backbone of many economies in Asia and the Middle East and a vital source of income for families back home. But the pandemic has hit these workers hard, leading some to lose their jobs or face salary cuts. The Straits Times correspondents around the region talk to migrant workers to hear their stories.

Stranded Thai citizens wait for officials to check their documents at a customs checkpoint at the Thailand-Malaysia border on April 18, 2020. PHOTO: AFP

For the 26,000 Thais working in moshavim, Israel's farming communities, life has not changed much as a result of Covid-19.

Each day, as he has done for the past four years, Mr Putta Chawernchai picks apples at a farm in the southern Israeli region of Arava and then goes back to his sleeping quarters in the compound.

He and other workers lived there in relative isolation even before there were lockdown measures for the pandemic.

"We usually don't hang out with anyone outside the farm. We don't go outside much, so I'm not afraid of contracting the virus," said the 43-year-old worker, who makes about $2,000 a month.

At his sleeping quarters for 10 workers, two share an air-conditioned bedroom.

His only regret is not being able to go home to see his children, as Thailand has banned all inbound commercial flights until May 31 except for repatriations and cargo.

Also sharing a room with another worker is Ms Namfon Phatchan, who works at another moshav pollinating flowers. Conditions are "okay", she said, but she would like to go home.

In South Korea, where there are 22,000 legal Thai workers and another 150,000 who are undocumented in various industries, Ms Pensri Nawong, a 45-year-old strawberry farm worker in the western city of Iksan, said: "I work as usual. My wages remain the same."

She has worked there for the past four years, earning about $1,620 a month. "My boss takes good care of me. I have free meals and free accommodation," she added.

As with those in Israel, farm workers here do not mingle with locals. There is no need even to leave the compound to buy groceries, as other Thais make their rounds to the farms selling essentials.

  • 20k

  • Number of Thai workers in Singapore, according to Thailand's Labour Ministry.

They are the luckier ones. Thousands of other Thai migrant workers have had their lives upended by the pandemic, by being laid off or put under lockdown. Just 838 Thais out of more than 205,000 documented workers in 11 countries have received their government's help to get back home.

Eighteen Thai workers in South Korea and Saudi Arabia have been given financial assistance by the Labour Ministry, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has set aside emergency money through embassies for Thais abroad in need of financial assistance.

In Singapore, the Thai Embassy has delivered care packages to workers sequestered in dormitories. Singapore has more than 20,000 Thai workers, according to Thailand's Labour Ministry. Most are in construction and live in dormitories, which are under strict measures to control the spread of Covid-19. Others work in manufacturing, maintenance, the maritime industry and agriculture.

While those in Singapore are confined to their dorms, thousands of Thais were left stranded when Malaysia imposed a lockdown and closed its borders in mid-March.

Desperate to go home, many waded across the Golok river spanning Kelantan in Malaysia and the Thai province of Narathiwat, some carrying children. On the other side, Thai authorities fined them 800 baht (S$35) each for illegal entry and sent them to quarantine facilities.

Meanwhile, most of the more than three million migrant workers in Thailand stayed put when Thailand closed its borders, as their factories continued to operate, said Mr Sutthisak Rungrueangphasuk, case manager at migrant worker group MAP Foundation.

Factories that were forced to suspend or slow their operations were required by Thai law to pay workers 75 per cent of their salaries.

Now that the coronavirus outbreak in Thailand appears to be under control, with daily single-digit increases in cases, tens of thousands of Myanmar workers who rushed home before the border closures are itching to return.

"Now, everybody wants to return to Thailand. If they stay at home, they have no work and no money," he told The Straits Times.

  • Additional reporting by Tan Hui Yee

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 04, 2020, with the headline Far from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic: Thais in Israel, South Korea among the luckier ones. Subscribe