Abstract
Introduction
The Relational Studies on Global Crises project, a five-year research initiative launched in Japan in 2016, pursues the establishment of a new paradigm in multi-disciplinary and practical research. The project is centered within the social sciences and area studies, and is based on the fact that the scale encompassing the local to the global level—and the relationships between such levels—are constantly changing and mutually influencing one another due to the globalization of information, ideas, objects and money, as well as the movement of people. This project focuses on these multi-level relationships in order to analyze and understand the crises facing the modern global society since the turn of the century. Toward this end, this project focuses on issues related to contemporary global crises, of which the increasing number of migrants and refugees is one of the most serious and urgent. In addition, we promote research and debate not only among the project members, but within the wider networks of global scholarship.
In 2019, the project has focused on the topics of resources and human mobility, while considering that resources serve as both a base of production and the origin of conflict and crisis. The scarcity of tangible resources, such as water, land and other natural resources often results in territorial disputes among states, as well as inter-ethnic violence and the marginalization and displacement of people. Likewise, intangible resources, such as ideas as well as human capital and other types of assets, can be the source of creation, innovation and wealth; but are also at risk of conflict and humanitarian crises when the flow of such resources becomes mismanaged.
The rise of contemporary humanitarian crises can be understood as dynamics tied to resource scarcity and human mobility, or as a complex interplay of these two elements. For instance, refugees and migrants often flow from economic resource-poor countries and regions to areas that are resource abundant. In other cases, political resources, such as citizenship and safety, are the core pull factors behind the decision to migrate. Such human flows can create crises when migrants or refugees become targets of segregation and discrimination due to their nationality, religion or ethnicity, or when authorities effectively fail to protect them from human traffickers. Meanwhile, the flow of ideas and humans across borders may pose challenges to states.
International conference on Resources and Human Mobility
On 2–3 December 2019, the Center for Relational Studies on Global Crises at Chiba University co-hosted an international conference with Mahidol University International College (MUIC) in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand at MUIC’s Charinyarasami Hall. Titled “Resources and Human Mobility,” the conference was sponsored by the above project, and was held to address the conflicts and crises emanating from resource scarcity and human mobility in Asia and elsewhere in the world. Through cross-regional and cross-disciplinary research presentations and discussions, the conference tried to identify contemporary crises, and to unpack the dynamic and complex relations between resources and human mobility.
The conference invited Watcharas Leelawath, Executive Director of the Mekong Institute, Thailand, as keynote speaker. In his speech, titled “Labor migration in the Greater Mekong Subregion,” he demonstrated the ongoing change in the frameworks of migration in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), especially in Thailand. The speech emphasized the importance of protecting unskilled workers, both in the sending as well as the receiving countries.
Labor migration is an important factor for economic growth and poverty alleviation in the GMS, rendering intra-subregional migration and cross-border mobility significant issues. Questioned most is the treatment of unskilled GMS country workers, particularly in Thailand—which is estimated to be hosting four to five million migrants who are mostly from GMS countries.
There are currently two channels for migrants: memoranda of understanding (MOUs), or bilateral agreements between Thailand and neighboring countries; and three-month seasonal work permission. However, irregular migration also appears as another channel. This generates the key concerns, which include human trafficking, risk of infectious diseases and exploitation by both middlemen and employers. An assessment by the Mekong Institute (MI) found that the key causes of irregular migration are a lack of information among migrant workers regarding the laws, regulations and benefits of the regular channel, as well as their reluctance to deal with government formalities directly. The governments of both Thailand and the sending countries have been tackling these issues, by, for instance, establishing a one-stop service center (OSC) for the national verification process; holding pre-departure and post-arrival orientations; and establishing penalties for violating the regulations. However, more dialogue among governments, recruitment agencies, bank services, employers and migrant workers is needed in order to achieve safe migration within the GMS.
The approach to labor mobility has been a significant issue tackled by the MI. Dr Leelawath introduced a “capacity development program” as an example of an initiative that assesses and interviews various stakeholders, and also follows up with participants to receive feedback on the usefulness and applicability of the knowledge gained. Also, MI alumni developed a Quick Response (QR) code with audio features in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) languages in order to provide law-related information to migrant workers.
Besides noting improvements made to the situation of migrant workers in both the sending and hosting countries, Leelawath’s speech also emphasized the need for a scheme to provide support for return migrant workers in their home countries in order to utilize the skills they gained.
Panels on migration-related issues
Four of the eight panels at the conference concentrated on migration-related issues, and the related presentations and discussions are covered in this report. 1
Mobility of agro-based workers
Panel 1, “Cross-border mobility of agro-based workers,” had three presentations. The first, titled “Impacts of out-migration on the traditional swidden system: Case studies in Southern Chin State, Myanmar,” was presented by Nyein Chan from Kyoto University. Research conducted within communities traditionally engaged in swidden agriculture showed that out-migration to other countries during the past decade resulted in labor shortages and other changes, leading households to begin engaging in gardening, animal husbandry and vegetable farming due to the insufficient crop production of swidden agriculture. Out-migration also brought alternative cash income-generating activities, and, as a combined result, the area of traditional swidden agriculture decreased—thereby increasing the forest cover at the local level.
The second speaker, Teeranong Sakulsri from the Institute of Population and Social Research at Mahidol University, gave a presentation titled “Challenge of labor migrants with the new regulations: Case study of agro-based workers.” The presentation examined migrants’ challenges in the face of bilateral agreements between Thailand and its GMS neighbors to facilitate legal workers in the Mekong River region. The empirical research showed that a large number of non-Thai migrant laborers in agriculture were hired illegally to avoid the cost of processing work permission and travel documents—thereby resulting in border area migrants utilizing border passes. This resulted in fewer migrant workers within the other provinces further from the border areas, which in turn led to scarcity within the workforce. Given these issues, the researcher suggested the establishment of a new scheme to introduce four to six months’ seasonal work permission.
Lastly, Akira Kato from Chiba University introduced how artificial intelligence (AI) has been integrated within high frequent data acquisition using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology. Utilizing several examples from precision agriculture and forestry, the research showed the potential of drone technology with AI to open a new era for local resource management, while also improving the labor situation for unskilled workers. There were discussions on both positive and negative possible outcomes of applying drone technology to agricultural or unskilled labor work.
Labor migration and resources
Panel 4, titled “Labor migration and resources,” had three presentations. The first, titled “Cross-border movement of factor endowments and development of export-oriented agriculture in Laos,” was presented by Souknilanh Keola from the Institute of Developing Economics, Japan. Keola documented that the rapid expansion of crops in Northern Laos is related with exports to China. He argued that the growth of industry in Laos is a result of cross-border demand and mobility of resources and concluded that remote sensing data should be used more in the field of assessing environment impact.
Meanwhile, the other two presentations discussed the models of accommodation among migrants and refugees in Thai society. Under the title “Out of the ordinary: Thai language as social and cultural capital of female migrant workers in Little Myanmar, Mahachai, Thailand,” Wimonsiri Hemtanon of Mahidol University International College elaborated how Thai language acquisition has helped migrants from Myanmar to achieve upward mobility by using Bourdieu’s concept of cultural and social capital. She disclosed that various efforts have been made in Thailand to offer language skills to female migrant workers from Myanmar. Having access to language education enabled them to have more confidence in the workplace, leading to empowerment in seeking upward mobility.
The third presentation, by Analiza Liezl Perez-Amurao from Mahidol University International College, was entitled “Religion and Philippine migrant work in Thailand.” Based on her research on Filipino teachers’ mobility, she argued that both economic and non-economic factors are the driving force for migration, which is socially constructed. Religion tends to shape the values and spiritual needs of Filipino migrants, who often leave their families behind. The values of endurance and sacrifice for the sake of the family and loved ones underpin the migration trajectories of Filipino teachers in Thailand—with religious institutions often serving as their community in the destination countries.
Since the three speakers were from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, the discussion revolved around ASEAN integration and the social protection of migrant workers. Despite ASEAN encouraging mobility within the region, high-level discussion and action on regional mobility and social protections are not taking place at sufficient levels. The national social security system can be portable, but many institutional barriers still exist and need to be tackled to ensure safe migration corridors within the region.
Human trafficking and migration
Panel 7, titled “Human trafficking and migration: The situation in Asia,” began with a presentation titled “Migrant workers and refugees in Thailand: A public health perspective” by Chulathida Chomchai, Dean, Mahidol University International College. Being a medical doctor, Chomchai focused on migrant workers’ health-related quality of life. Many migrants are working in the low-skilled sector, which is characterized by harsh working conditions and a high risk of occupational injuries. This has been accelerated by the lack of language proficiency and information, as well as lack of training and no provision for personal protective equipment. Migrant women and children are particularly vulnerable because of limited access to healthcare, formal employment, adequate vaccination and quality childcare.
Secondly, Reiko Ogawa of Chiba University made a presentation on the “Use and abuse of trafficking discourse in Japan,” discussing the interpretation and appropriation of the policy on human trafficking, which focused primarily on the sexual exploitation of those coming under entertainer visas. She argued that the trafficking discourse obscures the fact that legal labor migration can also lead to trafficking under exploitative conditions, while strengthening the image of a strong masculine state by legitimizing and increasing securitization of border control.
Thirdly, Keane Shum from the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) gave a presentation on “The role of UNHCR globally, and with Myanmar refugees in particular.” Shum referred to the Global Compact on Refugees and stressed different ways of sharing responsibility. He described the situation of statelessness and denial of rights to the Rohingya as a major humanitarian crisis in Asia. Campaigns against human trafficking can be a double-edged sword, as on one hand, it takes a number of protective steps, while on the other hand, crackdowns and prosecution may shut down the few escape routes that the refugees have. Shum concluded, therefore, that refugees must be offered alternative pathways for education and work.
Questions were raised regarding the motivations for the state to adopt international conventions, as well as the support system for migrants and refugees.
Human mobility among Muslim communities in Southeast Asia
In the last panel, titled “Muslim communities in Southeast Asia and their networks with the Middle East,” two papers focused on migration and human mobility. The paper by Ryoko Nishii of the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies was on “Convert’s body as an arena of entangled Muslim–Buddhist relationships in a Southern Thai village.” Her presentation showed the dynamics of Muslim–Buddhist co-existence in a Thai village, focusing on Thai-speaking Muslims who mainly live in the west coast province of Satun, where political problems involving Muslims are rarely seen. As the intermarriage rate between Muslims and Buddhists is high, individuals often convert to the other faith, and then back to the original one. Moreover, both Muslims and Buddhists in the region share crucial religious concepts for merit-making. However,the two groups diverge when it comes to dealing with the dead body in terms of merit-making.
The second paper, by Suchart Setthamalinee of Payap University, focused on Chinese Muslims in Northern Thailand, particularly in Chiang Mai. Tracing family histories, he demonstrated how Chinese Muslims who migrated from Yunnan have developed their identities over three generations. The first generation of migration involved mostly merchants, followed by the second wave of migration from 1941 to the 1990s—with second- and third-generation migrants becoming members of the middle class through education in Thai society. The research showed how Chinese Muslims in Thailand have developed their identities in the context of their lives and communities, including, for example, the use of Chinese; reading the Quran in Arabic with a Chinese accent; the use of Arabic characters in Chinese motifs that differ from those written in the Arab world; and the diet culture mixed with foods from various cultures. Dr Setthamalinee emphasized that Chinese Muslims living in Thailand flexibly encompass multiple identities. At the same time, it should be noted that although later generations of Chinese Muslims may not speak or write Chinese “properly,” they retain some aspects of Chineseness (such as the use of Chinese names), which somehow counters the trend toward a fundamentalist discourse in Islam in the world today. The discussion revolved around the issues regarding multiple identities and choices of identities as well as the conflict in Southern Thailand.
Evaluation of the conference
Throughout the two-day conference, participants’ discussions revolved mainly around two topics. One was the conflict over resources, which is caused by economic factors (agricultural, industrial and/or infrastructural developments in the GMS, South China Sea, etc.), by political factors (territories subject to regional power struggles, as seen in the South China Sea) or the convergence of both (as in the case of the Philippines). The conflicts often develop over identity, considering that the land represents not only economic resources, but also a symbol for the nation.
Another focal point of the discussion was about the mobility of labor. Multidirectional mobility (in- and out-migration) of the labor force is witnessed widely within Southeast Asia, and more and more countries are facing the necessity to accept migrant workers in order to solve their labor shortages. Some labor-sending countries, such as Myanmar, are now gradually experiencing labor shortage. With more and more attention being paid to accommodate labor migrants and integrate them into the host society (such as Thailand, for example), various approaches are being introduced to address irregular migration.
The two-day intensive conference could not cover all of the necessary subjects, and what was lacking most was more in-depth arguments on the exclusionary aspect of host societies vis-à-vis refugees and migrants. Although several negative consequences were pointed out (i.e., human trafficking and the poor health and living conditions within refugee communities), we need to collect more data and information on the situation of refugees and migrants who are being marginalized in various regions. Given the global networks of trafficking and illegal migration brokers, it is necessary to conduct large-scale research on the transnational/transregional networks of the underground human trade, as well as comparative studies on various cases from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and developed countries.
Another missing point was the role of social factors to explain the inclusion/exclusion of refugees and migrants in the host society. Religious and ethnic factors can either facilitate migrants’ adjustment to their new circumstances (e.g., the case of Filipinos in Thailand), or foster discrimination and marginalization (e.g., the case of Rohingya refugees). We need to further explore the possibility of overcoming social and communal division based on the notion of us vs them, by establishing socio-economic-political institutions that promote trust and mutual dependency.
Footnotes
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this paper.
Funding
This conference was funded by the Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Grant-in-aid (KAKENHI), 2016-2021).
