Photo: Migrant mother, Thailand

Photo: Emily Holland

Former International Rescue Committee communications officer Emily Holland shares this photo from Thailand on International Migrants Day (December 18):

Saw Khu (left), the IRC’s senior advocacy officer in Thailand, chats with a migrant mother working on the docks of the capital, Bangkok.

Many migrants come to Bangkok hoping for a better life only to confront enormous challenges, including prejudice. 

Saw was once a Burmese migrant living in Singapore and understands the plight of the displaced.

“Once in Thailand,” he says, “migrants need work. But the only jobs left are the ones no locals will take.”  

Even migrant children work on the docks from dawn to dusk to make a living, crushing ice with large axes and shelling mussels with their bare hands. 

Read Emily's recent blog post to learn more about the IRC's work on behalf of migrants and refugees in Thailand.