Over the past decade, numerous fishing raft operations from the Irrawaddy region have moved to the coast of Mon state for the greater business potential from the shoreline.

The fishing raft industry has brought with it many migrant workers. These fishermen are settling down in Pattamyar Than, or AhBaw Kyar-Than as it is locally known, in AhBaw village tract, five miles away from western Ye Town. Over 700 households are legally registered in the area, but many of the [other] fishermen are unregistered.

According to Ko Aung Naing Win of the Ye Social Society (YSS), “brokers,” as they are known within the industry, take advantage of fisherman in the off-season. The Ye Township Fishery Department forbids fishing operations in offshore areas from June 1 to August 31 to allow fish and shrimp to reproduce. Fishermen usually take a break during this three-month period and live in the village.

“When fishermen are back from fishing, brokers take fishermen under their control. The brokers force the fishermen to do work on the fishing rafts and other fishing projects for the next season, and look for jobs in different ways and from different people to get the fishermen jobs. Don’t people notice the incident of human trafficking there?” said Ko Aung Naing Win, drawing attention to the issue of human trafficking.

According to the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law of Myanmar established in 2005, human trafficking is defined as the recruitment, transfer, hiring, sale, purchase, lending, harboring or receipt of a person after committing acts of exploitation of a person with or without his consent.

“Each broker harbors around 15-30 workers and they hold them in one place until the fishing season starts again. Workers live and spend their days in the house. The cost and what they have spend is recorded. Everyone drinks alcohol regularly, but I’m not sure what else is going on there.” said a villager.

Most of the brokers live in the old town area of Ahzin. They set up places behind their houses to accommodate their workers.

“Beginning last year, most brokers stopped housing the workers in their compounds as they became more cautious of human trafficking laws. Now, they keep the workers in rental rooms at restaurants. Those workers can do whatever they want, such as drinking alcohol and playing cards. Lately, there have been so many restaurants popping up in this area.” said a Kyar-Than villager.

There are more than 10 KTV restaurants between Aung Mingalar train station and the farming zone of Ahbaw village, the western of Ye Town. Some restaurants have licenses, but some do not.

The fishing raft operators’ use of brokers to find new employees enables brokers to take advantage of the fishermen.

“We have already started looking for new fishermen for the next fishing reason. Seeking workers on your own is not that easy. We often receive workers from brokers” said a fishing raft owner.

When the raft fishing season begins, brokers travel as a group of six on three motorbikes to look for workers. Drunk men alone on the street are susceptible to being kidnapped and sent to fishing operators. With collaboration from restaurant owners in the area, brokers sometimes send men who cannot afford the restaurant bill to work in the fishery industry.

Helmsman make between 1 million -1.2 million Kyats per year, while fishermen earn even less, between 500,000 and 600,000 Kyats. Each fishing vessel has three people: one captain and two fishermen. They work offshore for 8 months and each vessel is stationed at least a half-mile away from other vessels.

Living in isolated conditions with people from different backgrounds makes fishermen working on fishing rafts more susceptible to trafficking, forced labor, and exploitation. There are monthly cases of physical abuse and murder taking place on the fishing rafts .

Within the first six months of 2019, five murders, twenty deaths, and nine other related cases were investigated on Ye Township fishing rafts alone, according to Ye Township Police records.

The exploitation of industry workers has negative impacts on both the workers and business.

“A broker would bring a stranger to work and get 600,000 Kyats from the company owner. After a while, the fishermen do not want to do this and they have no wish to do it. Then, they approach us, so we also have to solve it at the police station. We even have to go to trail and spend our own money” said Ko Aung Naing Win of the Ye Social Society (YSS).

According to Ko Aung Naing Win, the brokers’ exploitation of workers collectively costs the fishing operators around 30-50 million Kyats each year, typically spread over five separate cases.

Ko Myint Maung from Myint Myat Chanthar Fishery, which is responsible for over 100 fishing vessels and 400 fishermen, does not accept any workers from brokers, so he has never been charged for any work-related issue.

“As I never hire a worker from any brokers, I have never faced allegations related to the issue. But, I lose over 20 million kyats per year because fishermen have cheated us” added Ko Myint Maung.

Some workers request their salaries in advance. Then, they disappear and move to other fishery companies after getting their payment, even though they have signed a work contract. The brokers help fabricate this scheme.

“They transfer the worker [let’s say] for one Kyat for one place but charge another two-to-five Kyats for another three-to-four places,” added Ko Myit Maung.

Ko Myint Maung complies with the rules and regulations of the fishery industry by getting all his workers registered and providing a legal work contract, so his business has been successful.

Ye Township Fishery Industry Department issued permits for about 4,500 fishermen last year, said U Ko Ko Lyn, the officer of Ye Township Fishery Industry Department.

“With collaboration from fishery industry operators, our department has not yet faced any problems. As we instructed, they come to provide their cards when they go fishing.” he added.

In the area, there are 387 inshore fishing boats, 195 offshore fishing boats, and over 1,000 fishing rafts/barges. To eliminate human trafficking and promote a fair payment system, the Ye Township Fishery Industry Department helps to negotiate between industry owners and fishermen.

After Thingyan festival [New Year], many brokers, whose specific whereabouts are unknown, arrived in AhBaw-Kyar-Than village. They have been living in the area like local people. The brokers on the east coast disappear after transferring their workers to different fishing rafts.

AhBaw Kyar Than Village lying along the river with new and old fishing boats (Photo: Aung Nang Win)