Thai berry pickers now live in Lappeenranta. Bottom row from left to right: Anunya Mueangthong, Chokchai Naree, Trirat Suksan, Suphakit Phonsiphim, A-Run Pimthong, Satit Mumkuntod, Patharawadee Moshe, Thotsaphon Bunphasom. Top row from left: Anan Promtrai, Chatchawal Manthala, Suphot Wanasai, Varan Buoan, Siriphong Lertsongkhram, Chaitana Namkatoke and Vayu Pasee.
Anunya Mueangthong from Thailand took thousands of euros in debt to get to Finland. He picked berries for more than two months around the clock, but did not receive a single euro as a reward. According to HS, the suspected human trafficking ring involving berry pickers has grown into one of the largest in Finnish history. Now the pickers tell about the harsh conditions in the forest.
Qolmio is spacious but without jewelry. There is a rice cooker in the kitchen, a couple of pieces of furniture in the living room. Two beds have also been brought into the space. There will be a Thai-language program on the television.
A dozen or so Thais, many from neighboring apartments, slowly gather in the room. Most of them are in the country for the first time. None expected to be here again at this time of year. But here they are, in snowy Lappeenranta, in an apartment organized by the system for helping victims of human trafficking.
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