Name: Khon Tit Maung
Age: 29
From: Pinlaung, Shan State, Myanmar
Currently working in Khuk Khak, Phang Nga, Thailand

At 23, Khon Tit Maung arrived in Thailand from Myanmar and has never gone back. Reluctant at first, he agreed to come because his wife wanted to, and knowing someone in Khuk Khak, Phang Nga province who could help him find work made the decision easier.

Khon Tit Maung was born into a farming family within the Pa-O ethnic group in Myanmar. As the sixth of nine siblings, he grew up working on his family's rice and corn fields, with their harvest primarily serving to feed themselves. Occasionally, they sold any surplus to make ends meet, but the income was never sufficient.

When he didn’t have to help his family, Khon Tit Maung worked as a day laborer for other larger landowners. Because his education was cut short at the age of ten, his opportunities were limited in Myanmar. With the necessary documents, Khon Tit Maung travelled to Thailand via the border at Ranong.

In Thailand, he has only ever lived in Khuk Khak sub-district in Phang Nga province, where he found work in palm plantations. Khon Tit Maung became part of a small team of 3-4 workers hired daily to cut palm fruit. They are paid $14 (500 Thai Baht) per ton of harvested fruit, which is then divided between the number of workers. On average, they can harvest around 4-5 tons per day, earning about $14 (500 Thai Baht) each every day. However, the job is not steady, and some days he finds himself without any work at all. In January 2024, he managed to earn $217 (8,000 Thai Baht) for his work.

Despite the challenges, Khon Tit Maung has no plans to return to Myanmar, especially considering the ongoing instability and the risk of being conscripted into the military.

He believes one of the biggest difficulties here is the price of renewing his work and residency documents, which is higher than the ‘official’ fee due to the monopoly that local agencies have on the application process. They inflate the official costs of renewal services, but because Khon Tit Maung, like so many other migrants, doesn’t speak Thai, he has to rely on them.

Khon Tit Maung hopes that new migrants, driven by ongoing unrest in Myanmar, will receive better treatment and assistance than he has, as many are not economic migrants but rather fleeing violence and injustice.

Photographer: Luke Duggleby