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Aung Aung was used to long voyages at sea. Not seeing his family for weeks on end was his usual routine. At age 13, Aung Aung moved from his native Myanmar (also known as Burma) to Ranong, Thailand, to work on fishing boats in the Andaman Sea. Now 28, a typical fishing trip means 25 straight days at sea with 34 other crew searching for mackerel, sardines, and red mullet for Thailand’s fish markets and fish sauce manufacturers. At the end of each voyage, he would usually return to Ranong for a brief two-day break with his wife and seven-year-old son.
Then came the lockdown. |
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In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thai government declared a state of emergency and restricted travel and port access. Aung Aung was trapped in Kuraburi, Thailand, more than 120 kilometers from his home in Ranong. “Because of the pandemic we couldn’t travel,” he says. “We were stuck in Kuraburi for three months.” He and his coworkers continued to fish, but the typical two-day breaks on land, and any chance to see his family, disappeared. He was one of more than 400,000 seafarers stuck at sea because of border closures. |
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