{"id":10924,"date":"2023-10-31T13:47:59","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T13:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/31\/thai-deaths-in-hamas-massacre-spotlight-poor-agricultural-workers-from-asia-who-toil-in-israels-fields\/"},"modified":"2023-10-31T13:47:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T13:47:59","slug":"thai-deaths-in-hamas-massacre-spotlight-poor-agricultural-workers-from-asia-who-toil-in-israels-fields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/31\/thai-deaths-in-hamas-massacre-spotlight-poor-agricultural-workers-from-asia-who-toil-in-israels-fields\/","title":{"rendered":"Thai deaths in Hamas massacre spotlight poor agricultural workers from Asia who toil in Israel\u2019s fields"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like his father Chumporn and dozens of other able-bodied men from their village in northeast Thailand, Manee Jirachart moved to Israel in search of work, <\/strong>dreaming of a better life. <\/p>\n

Jobs were hard to come by within his rural community so when Manee found a cleaning position at a government office in southern Israel near the Gaza it seemed like a real opportunity. <\/p>\n

He\u2019d been working that job for nearly five years when he was abducted and taken hostage last weekend by Hamas militants involved in last weekend\u2019s murder and kidnapping rampage within Israel. <\/p>\n

The 29-year-old was just one of the scores of foreigners who became caught up in the attack that has devastated families around the world. <\/p>\n

Dozens came from countries like the United States, Canada, the UK and France, with many holding dual Israeli citizenship and living in the kibbutzim targeted by Hamas gunmen or had been partying at the music festival where so many were killed. <\/p>\n

But among <\/strong>many of the foreigners killed and captured by Hamas were also migrant workers from Asia, without familial links to either Israel or the Palestinian Territories, who hail from mostly poor, rural families and work in the country\u2019s agricultural, construction and healthcare sectors. <\/p>\n

Two Filipinos were also killed, according to the Philippines government. <\/p>\n

But it is Thailand, which for decades has made up one of the biggest sources of migrant labor in Israel, that has suffered one of the highest tolls of any nation beyond Israel itself. <\/p>\n

So far at least 21 Thai nationals have been killed as of Thursday, according to Thai authorities, with at least 14 others believed to have been captured by Hamas, their current whereabouts unknown, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin confirmed. <\/p>\n

\u201cThailand has dominated the foreign migrant worker market in Israeli agriculture for the past decade,\u201d said Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs many as 20,000 Thai workers were living on various remote farms and desert areas all over Israel, including areas close to the Gaza Strip so it isn\u2019t surprising at all that many were right in harm\u2019s way when Hamas fighters arrived.\u201d <\/p>\n

Each day this week the number has ticked up as more details become known, sparking fresh heartbreak for Thai families living thousands of miles from the Middle East\u2019s latest conflict. <\/p>\n

In an interview on Thai television, Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said that around 5,000 Thais were employed in the \u201cfighting zone.\u201d Thousands of them are now hoping to return home to worried families, he added. <\/p>\n

With Israel massing hundreds of thousands of troops on the Gaza border amid speculation there could be a ground invasion, many in Thailand fear they could yet become caught in the crossfire. <\/p>\n

\u2018Begging for my son\u2019s release\u2019<\/h2>\n

Manee had talked <\/strong>to his father Chumporn on the phone just hours before the attack. <\/p>\n

At the time, rockets were being fired toward Israel and this reminded the elder man of his own experiences living and working there. Aware of how quickly the dangers could escalate, the 50-year-old urged his son not to go outside, other than to find a bunker and hide if he needed to. <\/p>\n

But hours later, he saw photos circulating on social media showing his son with his hands behind his back, sitting barefoot and cross-legged with other male hostages in front of an armed fighter pointing a rifle. <\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it. I thought it was some kind of prank,\u201d Chumporn said. \u201cI called him several times but there was no answer \u2013 that was when I started to believe it was real.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe (Thais) are not involved in any of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. We are just there to work and earn money so we can have better lives,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am begging for my son\u2019s release. I need to have him back, in good shape \u2013 like before he left Thailand.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2018Palestinian workers weren\u2019t welcome anymore\u2019<\/h2>\n

Migrant workers from Asia make up more than half of Israel\u2019s foreign work force, often taking on jobs as caregivers and within the construction industry. <\/p>\n

Construction workers from China, where multiple firms maintain lucrative contracts with real estate developers in Israel, have found themselves caught up the violence this week. <\/p>\n

One of the Filipinos killed, Paul Castelvi, had been working in Israel for five years and was a major breadwinner for his family, who expressed disbelief over his death at the hands of Hamas fighters. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey were heartless and did not show any mercy.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can ask anyone and they will tell you how kind and good my son was. He (would have) put up a fight to defend his employer and was shot there while they (Hamas fighters) took his employer and left Paul there to die with a gunshot wound,\u201d he said, breaking down in tears. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are left devastated by his loss. He was just there to earn a living so why would they do that to my son?\u201d <\/p>\n

Assia Ladizhinskaya, spokesperson for Kav LaOved, a non-profit advocating for labor rights in the region, said part of the reason for this was that an earlier \u201cmassive wave of terror acts in Israel\u201d meant \u201cPalestinian workers weren\u2019t welcome anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the 1990s, migrant workers (began to) replace Palestinians working in construction sites and agriculture fields as Palestinians workers became unwelcome and \u2018unreliable\u2019 due to regular lock downs and security issues,\u201d Ladizhinskaya added. <\/p>\n

Now many have found themselves caught up in those same security issues as a seemingly intractable conflict that has festered for decades without resolution flares up once more. <\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch called for the \u201cimmediate and unconditional release\u201d of all hostages and said that Thai workers, along with Nepalese and Filipinos, \u201cwere simply there to earn money to support their families. <\/p>\n

\u201cSuch targeting of civilians is clearly a war crime and inexcusable in any circumstance,\u201d said Robertson. <\/p>\n

\u2018Survivors return home\u2019<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, the first flight of 41 Thai landed in Bangkok on Thursday \u2013 many recounting harrowing escapes as they reunited with tearful family members. Agency photos and videos showed two were being through the airport in wheelchairs. <\/p>\n

Migrant workers migrating to dangerous conflict zones in search of work, with little protection and legal enforcement, has been a \u201cbig issue for decades,\u201d said British researcher and migrant worker rights specialist Andy Hall. <\/p>\n

Thailand itself is a major destination for migrant workers, mainly from poorer neighboring countries like Cambodia and Laos, as well as war-torn Myanmar. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt only shows the desperation of the situation and stronger protocols are needed to protect people even before they migrate. There needs to be more risk assessments and detailed consideration (on the part of authorities).\u201d <\/p>\n

For now, many of those workers in Israel find themselves trapped in a region described by the UN as at a \u201ctipping point\u201d as tensions escalate and Israeli retaliation against Gaza accelerates. <\/p>\n

Then there are those who, like Manee Jirachart, find themselves hostage in a foreign land they hoped would <\/strong>help them have a better life. <\/p>\n

There are up to 150 hostages being held in Gaza, Israeli authorities believe. It is unclear how many are foreign nationals. <\/p>\n

\u201cScores are being held captive, facing appalling threats to their lives,\u201d said the UN\u2019s top humanitarian official Martin Griffiths in a statement released this week. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe violence must stop. Those held captive must be treated humanely. Hostages must be released without delay.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like his father Chumporn and dozens of other able-bodied men from their village in northeast Thailand, Manee Jirachart moved to Israel in search of work, dreaming of a better life. Jobs were hard to come by within his rural community so when Manee found a cleaning position at a government office in southern Israel near <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":10925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10924","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}