Thread: AP Tracked Supply Chain of Slave Caught Fish to US

Associated Press
March 25, 2015

A yearlong investigation into forced labor and trafficking in Southeast Asia's fishing industry led an Associated Press team to Benjina, a small town that straddles two islands in the far reaches of eastern Indonesia. There journalists interviewed more than 40 current and former slaves, mostly from Myanmar, also known as Burma. Many said they had been forced to work on boats overseen by Thai captains under extremely brutal conditions. They were paid little or nothing at all, and some were at sea for months or years at a time.

The AP also found a locked cell with eight slaves inside, and handed a video camera to a dockworker, himself a former slave, to take close-up footage. Under the cover of darkness, the AP team used a small wooden boat to approach a trawler with slaves who yelled to them, pleading for help to go home.

Reporters were led to a jungle-covered graveyard that held the bodies of slaves, according to villagers and nonprofit officials. They interviewed three men who said they had escaped into the island's jungle interior, and also spent a night sleeping in the forest on an adjacent island with other runaway slaves from Benjina.

The AP watched slave-caught fish being loaded onto a refrigerated cargo ship bound for Thailand. They tracked the reefer's 15-day journey using satellite signals and met the vessel in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, where they saw the seafood unloaded into dozens of trucks over four nights. The journalists followed the rigs to processing factories, cold storage facilities and Thailand's largest wholesale fish market.

The AP then worked to establish a chain, using U.S. Customs documents showing Thai companies that export to the U.S. The food goes to Europe and Asia as well as the U.S., but the AP was able to gather most information on specific companies in America, where custom records are public.

To ensure the safety of the men quoted, photographed or videotaped in the story, the International Organization for Migration and Indonesian Marine Police were alerted about the men and then worked to move them away from Benjina. They are now waiting for their cases to be processed so they can return home to Myanmar, but hundreds of others remain stranded in Benjina and on surrounding islands.


In this Saturday Nov. 22, 2014 photo, the Silver Sea Line, a 3,000-ton Thai cargo ship, is docked at
the compound of a fishing company in Benjina, Indonesia. The ship belongs to the Silver Sea Reefer Co.,
which is registered in Thailand and has at least nine refrigerated cargo boats. The company said it is
not involved with the fishermen. "We only carry the shipment and we are hired in general by clients,"
said owner Panya Luangsomboon. "We're separated from the fishing boats." (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

article with embedded video (you have to click on the photo link in the article to access the video): AP tracked supply chain of slave caught fish to US

Are they reporting the truth?

^ I'm more inclined to believe the AP in this case than Panya Luangsomboon. I would imagine there are those who wouldn't trust the AP, although I do not have any bias against them.

I think it's just too convenient for the Thai boat owner to claim their only role is the transport of the cargo and that they have no direct involvement with the fishing boats, which implies that they have no responsibility for the actions of those running those boats.

What is your opinion?

Originally Posted by Sumocakewalk

^ I'm more inclined to believe the AP in this case than Panya Luangsomboon. I would imagine there are those who wouldn't trust the AP, although I do not have any bias against them.

I think it's just too convenient for the Thai boat owner to claim their only role is the transport of the cargo and that they have no direct involvement with the fishing boats, which implies that they have no responsibility for the actions of those running those boats.

What is your opinion?

Pretty much similar. Fishing industry appears to be similar to the garment and shoe industry. Big companies prefer to distance themselves from the factories and source so as to avoid responsibility for conditions.

Stranded Thai fishermen to return tonight

A total of 21 Thai fishermen stranded at several islands in Indonesia for years will return to Thailand tonight.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee said Friday that 21 Thai fishermen will return on an AirAsia Flight QZ 252 and arrive at Don Mueang airport at 8.15 pm.

He said until now there are still 70 crew of Thai fishing boats stranded at Ambon island in Indonesia.

He added that the Foreign Ministry is still trying every effort to bring stranded Thai crew members to return safely.

Those who return will be primarily assisted by relevant government agencies, he added.

Stranded Thai fishermen to return tonight - Thai PBS English News

March 28, 2015

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The number of foreign fishermen stranded on several remote eastern Indonesian islands has spiraled to 4,000, including some revealed in an Associated Press investigation to have been enslaved.

Many are migrant workers abandoned by their boat captains after the government passed a moratorium on foreign fishing five months ago, according to the International Organization for Migration, which released the figure Friday. However, others have been trapped on the islands for years, after being dumped by fishing boats or escaping into the jungle.

"This is the worst moment in our life right now," one former slave told the AP, which is not releasing the names of the men for their safety. "It is even worse than being in hell. We have to work every day to survive. ... There is no hope for us anymore."

Many of the stranded are men from Myanmar who went to neighboring Thailand in search of work. They were taken by boat to Indonesia, which has some of the world's richest fishing grounds. Others left behind on the islands are Cambodian and a few from the poorer parts of Thailand.

Steve Hamilton, IOM's deputy chief of mission in Indonesia, said for every man they've already rescued, many more now need help. With the fishing ban, boats have docked or fled, ditching their crews.

"It is reasonable to expect many are victims of trafficking, if not outright slavery," he said.

full article: About 4,000 fishermen stranded on Indonesian islands

All the news, and then some of the news . . .

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1427268620§ion=

Which way to the nearest happy camp?

Do I get bonus points for turning myself in for 'attitude adjustment' before being officially summoned?

Will it help if I tell them I don't really like seafood?

More than 300 enslaved Burmese fishermen rescued from island after AP investigation


Burmese fishermen raise their hands as they are asked who among them wants to go home at the compound of Pusaka Benjina Resources fishing company in Benjina, Aru Islands, Indonesia, Friday, April 3, 2015

BENJINA, Indonesia (AP) — At first the men filtered in by twos and threes, hearing whispers of a possible rescue.

Then, as the news rippled around the island, hundreds of weathered former and current slaves with long, greasy hair and tattoos streamed from their trawlers, down the hills, even out of the jungle, running toward what they had only dreamed of for years: Freedom.

"I will go see my parents. They haven't heard from me, and I haven't heard from them since I left," said Win Win Ko, 42, beaming, his smile showing missing teeth. The captain on his fishing boat had kicked out four teeth with his military boots, he said, because Win was not moving fish fast enough from the deck to the hold below.

The Burmese men were among hundreds of migrant workers revealed in an Associated Press investigation to have been lured or tricked into leaving their countries and forced into catching fish for consumers around the world, including the United States. In response to the AP's findings, Indonesian government officials visited the island village of Benjina on Friday and found brutal conditions, down to an "enforcer" paid to beat men up. They offered immediate evacuation.

The officials first gave the invitation for protection just to a small group of men who talked openly about their abuse. But then Asep Burhanuddin, director general of Indonesia's Marine Resources and Fisheries Surveillance, said everybody was welcome, including those hiding in the forest because they were too scared to go out.

"They can all come," he said. "We don't want to leave a single person behind."

About 320 men took up the offer. Even as a downpour started, some dashed through the rain. They sprinted back to their boats, jumped over the rails and threw themselves through windows. They stuffed their meager belongings into plastic bags, small suitcases and day packs, and rushed back to the dock, not wanting to be left behind.

A small boat going from trawler to trawler to pick up men was soon loaded down.

Throughout the day and until darkness fell, they kept coming, more and more men, hugging, laughing, spilling onto the seven trawlers that were their ride out. Even just before the trawlers pushed off Benjina on the 24-hour trip to neighboring Tual island, fishermen were still running to the shore and clambering onto the vessels. Some were so sick and emaciated, they stumbled or had to be carried up the gang plank.

While excitement and relief flooded through many of the fishermen on the dock, others looked scared and unsure of what to expect next. Many complained they had no money to start over.

"I'm really happy, but I'm confused," said Nay Hla Win, 32. "I don't know what my future is in Myanmar."

Indonesian officials said security in Benjina is limited, with only two Navy officials stationed there to protect them. The men will be housed at a government compound while immigration is sorted out. Officials from Myanmar are set to visit the islands next week and will assist with bringing the men home and locating others.

The dramatic rescue came after a round of interviews Indonesian officials held with the fishermen, where they confirmed the abuse reported in the AP story, which included video of eight men locked in a cage and a slave graveyard. The men, mostly from Myanmar, talked of how they were beaten and shocked with Taser-like devices at sea, forced to work almost nonstop without clean water or proper food, paid little or nothing and prevented from going home.

There was essentially no way out: The island is so remote, there was no phone service until a cell tower was installed last month, and it is a difficult place to reach in the best of circumstances.

The abuse went even further at the hands of the man known as "the enforcer." This man, deeply feared and hated by the workers, was hired by their boat captains to punish them for misbehavior, they said.

Remainder of story and video here:

AP investigation prompts emergency rescue of 300 plus slaves - US News

from the full article:

The findings documented by Indonesian officials and the AP came in stark contrast to what a Thai delegation reported from a visit to Benjina earlier this week to find trafficked Thai nationals. They denied mistreatment on the boats and said the crews were all Thai, even though the AP found many migrant workers from other countries are issued fake documents with Thai names and addresses.

"We examined the boats and the crews, and the result is most of the crews are happy and a few of them are sick and willing to go home," said Thai police Lt. Gen. Saritchai Anekwiang, who was leading the delegation. "Generally, the boat conditions are good."

Right on cue.