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African Migration to Thailand This book, based on exploratory ethnographic research, analyzes the experiences of African migrants in Thailand. Thailand has always been a regional migration hub with Africans being the most recent. Sitting at the intersection of race and migration studies, this book focuses on the challenges Black and labor migrants face trying to integrate into a society that has had very limited contact with and knowledge about Black Africans. Bringing together research from African, Thai, and European scholars, this volume focuses on forced migrants, such as Somali asylum seekers, and labor migrants, largely African men seeking better livelihoods in niche economies such as gem trading, garment wholesale, and football playing and coaching. The book also includes theoretical contributions to the understanding of precarity and human security, the concept of in/visibility to analyze the challenges African migrants face in Thailand as well as the concept of othering to understand discrimination against Africans. The book also analyzes the Thai migration policy context and the challenges facing Thai policy-makers, law enforcement representatives, and the migrants themselves. While not comparative in nature, this volume directly connects with studies of Africans in other parts of Asia, especially China. Addressing an important gap in migration research, this book will be of interest to researchers across the fields of migration and mobility studies, African Studies, and Asian Studies. Elżbieta M. Goździak is a former visiting professor at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland, (2018–20) and Research Professor at the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) at Georgetown University (2002–18) and Editor-in-Chief of International Migration. In 2016, she was the George Soros Chair of Public Policy at the Central European University in Budapest. Supang Chantavanich is Professor Emerita in the Faculty of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University. She was the first Chairperson of the Asia-Pacific Migration Research Network (APMRN). Her research covers a wide range of topics, including forced displacement and labor migration. Routledge Series on Asian Migration Series Editors: Yuk Wah Chan (City University of Hong Kong), Jonathan H. X. Lee (San Francisco State University, US) and Nicola Piper (The University of Sydney, Australia) Editorial Board: Steven J. Gold (Michigan State University, US), David Haines (George Mason University, US), Pei-Chia Lan (National Taiwan University), Nana Oishi (University of Melbourne, Australia), Willem van Schendel (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Biao Xiang (University of Oxford, UK), Brenda Yeoh (National University of Singapore) 6. Immigration Governance in East Asia Norm Diffusion, Politics of Identity, Citizenship Edited by Gunter Schubert, Franziska Plümmer and Anastasiya Bayok 7. Safe Migration and the Politics of Brokered Safety in Southeast Asia Sverre Molland 8. New Chinese Immigrants in New Zealand Floating Families? Liangni Sally Liu and Guanyu Jason Ran 9. Protecting the Rights of Women Migrant Domestic Workers Structural Violence and Competing Interests in the Philippines and Sri Lanka Sophie Henderson 10. The Criminalisation of People Smuggling in Indonesia and Australia Asylum out of reach Antje Missbach 11. African Migration to Thailand Race, Mobility, and Integration Edited by Elżbieta M. Goździak and Supang Chantavanich For more information about this series, please visit: www .routledge .com / Routledge- Series -on -Asian -Migration/ book -series /RSAM African Migration to Thailand Race, Mobility, and Integration Edited by Elżbieta M. Goździak and Supang Chantavanich First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Elżbieta M. Goździak and Supang Chantavanich; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Elżbieta M. Goździak and Supang Chantavanich to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Goździak, Elżbieta M., 1954- editor. | Suphāng Čhanthawānit, editor. Title: African migration to Thailand: race, mobility, and integration/ edited by Elżbieta M. Goździak and Supang Chantavanich. Description: New York: Routledge, 2023. | Series: Routledge Series on Asian Migration | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2022023814 (print) | LCCN 2022023815 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Africans–Migrations. | Africans–Thailand–Social conditions. | Africans–Cultural assimilation–Thailand. | Political refugees–Legal status, laws, etc.–Thailand. | Political refugees–Government policy–Thailand. | Migrant labor–Employment–Thailand. Classification: LCC JV8790 .A64 2023 (print) | LCC JV8790 (ebook) | DDC 304.8/59306–dc23/eng/20220729 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022023814 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022023815 ISBN: 978-1-032-26108-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-26110-2 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-28655-4 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003286554 Typeset in Times New Roman by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India Contents List of contributors vii Preface ix Acknowledgments xi 1 Africans in Thailand 1 ELŻBIETA M. GOŹDZIAK AND SUPANG CHANTAVANICH 2 Africans in Thailand: Mobility, race, and integration 10 ELŻBIETA M. GOŹDZIAK 3 ‘Good guys in, bad guys out’: Thailand’s immigration policy and perceptions of African immigrants 24 SUPANG CHANTAVANICH AND WARANYA JITPONG 4 Somali asylum seekers in Bangkok: Coping strategies of the (in)visible and (in)secure 42 FATMA ISSA 5 Escaping Al-Shabaab and seeking safety in Thailand: Somalis in Bangkok 58 GEORGE KIARIE 6 Being Black and trying to survive in a niche economy: Nigerian traders in Bangkok 74 ANTHONY UNOR AND NARUEMON THABCHUMPON 7 African gems traders in Chanthaburi province 91 PREMJAI VUNGSIRIPHISAL vi Contents 8 Following the ball: Thailand, the new frontier for African footballers 107 GABRIELA ROMERO AND NITHIS THAMMASAENGADIPHA 9 Looking forward 123 ELŻBIETA M. GOŹDZIAK AND SUPANG CHANTAVANICH Index 131 Contributors Supang Chantavanich is Professor Emerita in the Faculty of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. She was the first Chairperson of the Asia-Pacific Migration Research Network (APMRN). Her research covers a wide range of topics, including forced displacement and labor migration. Elżbieta M. Goździak is a former visiting professor at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland, (2018–20) and Research Professor at the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) at Georgetown University (2002–18), Washington, DC, and Editor-in-Chief of International Migration. In 2016, she was the George Soros Chair of Public Policy at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. Fatma Swaleh Issa is currently an accountant at a logistics company in Kenya. In 2016–17, she was a master’s student at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. Her research interests include the dynamics of African asylum seekers in Bangkok. Waranya Jitpong is a researcher at the Asian Research Center for Migration at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. She has an MA in Mental Health from Chulalongkorn University and an MA in Criminology from Mahidol University. Her research focuses on migration and welfare policy, migrant children, and employment of foreign workers in sea fisheries. George Kiarie obtained a scholarship from the Thai government to study International Development at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. His research interests focus on West Africans in Bangkok, including refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless people. viii Contributors Gabriela Romero has been working on human rights and social and gender inequality. She has an MA in Global Studies from Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. Naruemon Thabchumpon is Associate Professor of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. She also directs the Asian Research Center for Migration (ARCM) at Chulalongkorn University. Her research interests include African migrants and urban refugees in Bangkok. Nithis Thammasaengadipha is a researcher at the Asian Research Center for Migration (ARCM) at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. His research focuses on migration and development. Anthony Ukam Unor is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in International Development Studies at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. His research interests cover international security and migration studies, including African migrants in Thailand. Premjai Vungsiriphisal is Senior Researcher at the Asian Research Center for Migration at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. Her research agenda includes integration of migrant children. Previously, she worked with non-governmental organizations on women and rural development. Preface Ideas for books do not fall from the sky. This volume also did not materi- alize out of thin air. It was inspired by the arrival of several Nigerian and Kenyan graduate students at Chulalongkorn University in 2018. Many of these students received scholarships from the Thai government under the Thai–Africa Partnership for Sustainable Development, operated by the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA). Several African train- ees were also supported to visit Thailand for internships in development, particularly agriculture and husbandry. These initiatives are an outgrowth of the 2013 Look West Policy, which marked a new chapter in the diplomatic relationships between Thailand and several African countries. The Kenyan and Nigerian students told us about other Africans in Bangkok: Somali and Sudanese asylum seekers and entrepreneurs from different African countries. The students also noticed a variety of young African men playing football on campus. The faculty and researchers at the Asian Research Center for Migration (ARCM) encouraged the African students to create social networks with the African community and start collecting data. We thought that the African students were well positioned to access the African community, gain the migrants’ trust, and use the collected data to inform their theses. It seemed that it would be easiest to approach the Africans playing football on campus or observing Thai students playing friendly football matches. Indeed, the first encounter with the African football players was quite successful. They were eager to chat with a fellow African. However, subsequent attempts to have more formal interviews were not received as enthusiastically. The footballers became suspicious of our student and won- dered why he was so interested in them. None of them were professional footballers. They played football in public spaces in the hope of being scouted by football clubs. Professional footballers, whom we met later on, were much more receptive to our research, as were the coaches working with them.