There are hundreds of men, women and children employed to transport commercial goods between Thailand and Cambodia. Through qualitative research, social mapping, and network theory we try to develop a better understanding of this complex livelihood. This case study paints a picture of Poipet's cart pullers and porters and the labour practices and the short-term cross-border migration situation of frontier workers. The research examines their reality and frames their situation in terms of personal and economic security, migration and labour protection mechanisms for cart pullers and porters. This research couples an overview of a complex socio-economic picture with the first-hand experiences and daily challenges that cart pullers and porters face at this bustling economic corridor.
Read MorePrevious research has acknowledged that labour migration have had huge benefits for both receiving and sending countries of migrant workers. Thai migrants seasonally traveling to Sweden to pick wild berries have been an ongoing trend since the past two decades. Simultaneously there has been a drastic decline of Swedish labour in the wild berry picking industry. Since the year 2000 there has been an increasing number of Thai berry pickers; in particular rural people from the North-east parts of Thailand. It has been recognized that migration and development are interdependent processes which profoundly influences one another, where migration policies nowadays are developed to take on a development approach.
Read MoreThe objectives of international refugee regime are to provide the three durable solutions for refugees in an attempt to end the cycle of displacement: voluntary repatriation, local integration, and third country resettlement. In case the voluntary repatriation and local integration are not viable options for those in exile, the UNHCR in collaboration with NGOs would seek another approach to protect the lives of refugees, and therefore the third country resettlement would be preferred.
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