Exploring the Factors Influencing Resource Transfers among Mon Migrant Worker Networks in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand
Keywords:
Migrant worker network, Mon ethnicity, Remittance, Resource transferAbstract
Resource transactions occur within Mon migrant worker networks through
the sharing of different kinds of support. However, the flow of resources can be
influenced by a range of factors that promote or impede the capacity of members of
migrant networks to transfer resources. This paper examines the factors influencing
the process of resource transfers among co-ethnic migrant worker networks in the
context of Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand. This study was conducted from
December 2021 to April 2022 in Amphoe Meaung (Samut Sakhon’s capital district),
Samut Sakhon Province. Samut Sakhon Province was selected as the study site due
to an existence of supportive networks of co-ethnic migrant workers providing
financial and social support to their close ties and organizational ties. A large
number of Mon migrant workers (see also Baonerd, 2007a: 9; Baonerd, 2007b:
5) and many Thai- Mon people with Thai ID cards which embrace shared ethnic
identity and characteristics represent the co-ethnic Mon migrant worker networks—
the scope of this study. This study applies a mixed- method approach, using the
quantitative research method for finding the frequency of migrant workers’
characteristics and behaviours of resource transfers and the qualitative research
methods with interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Through the snowball
technique, in- depth interviews were conducted with six Myanmar migrant workers
(Mon ethnicity), and semi-structured interviews were conducted with five
non-migrant community leaders or employees of Mon groups to gain insights into
the factors influencing resource transfers in Samut Sakhon Province. Online surveys
were also conducted randomly with a wide range of 94 respondents living in
several communities in Samut Sakhon Province to enable validation of qualitative
data collected for this study. Data about factors affecting the transfer of resources
were collected by using the online survey method. The use of qualitative research
methods led to rich data to support these points. This study’s findings demonstrates
that factors promoting the flow of resources included social and cultural
circumstances (e.g., the COVID- 19 pandemic, collective cultural values), roles and
leadership within the group, socialization, and internet and social media. Factors
hindering the flow of resources included the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions,
and regulations and controlling systems, power relations within co-ethnic migrant
networks resulting from migrants’ limited access to resources and opportunities.
An acknowledgement about factors promoting and impeding resource transfer can
prevent obstacles of the resource flows, while maintaining and increasing the flow
of resources within Mon migrant worker networks in methods that fully benefit
migrant workers.
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