Community hardships in the wake of oil spill

EARTH REPORT 02 Febuary 2022

Voices from the subaltern - fisherfolks of Laem Rung Ruang cape, Rayong, Thailand, speak of the economc hardships they face in the wake of an oil spill in the gulf of Thailand

"No government agencies has come to see us... the company has not come to investigate the impact... the company told us to go submit complaints... but this is time of emergency. It shouldn't be our job right now to run around and ask for help. We're just fisherfolks."

"We have no income at the moment. We are now eating into our savings."

"I had to kilos of crabs today. Half of day of running around and I have not sold a single one of them... the other day, I couldn't sell any so we just boil the stuff and eat them ourselves."

"My family has had to tighten our belt. We are waiting for the government agencies to come with help. Hopefully when things get better, we will be on our feet once more."

The Rayong oil spill, caused by leakage in the oil transferring pipe owned by Star Petroleum Refining Company (SPRC), whose biggest shareholder is the American multinational company, Chevron.

A recent statement by the government claimed the usually touristry Koh Samet will be reopened soon. The Pollution Control Department (PCD) said this evening that the result of the monitoring for Petroleum Hydrocarbon will be released tomorrow.

While the environmental impact of this oil spill is unfolding, the voices of the fisherfolks are bringing the social impact into focus. 

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View the clip VDO at https://fb.watch/aW4VX4iw77/

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