No one grows up dreaming of becoming a day laborer, but Charun Sunrang not only has made the best of his lot in life, he finishes each sweaty, back-breaking day proud of the things he’s built.
Charun, 45, was one of three men from Ban Kraud, Buriram digging up Second Road near Soi 3 to lay fiber-optic cable for CAT Telecom’s new high-speed Internet initiative. No one will remember the months he, Detnarong Nooprakhon and Supoj Praisang spent under the Pattaya sun, installing cable and laying electrical wiring to power expensive home and business networks, but they will finish the project this November knowing they helped build the infrastructure of the nation.
Charun Sunrang (left) and friend Supoj Praisang (right) are proud to be helping build the kingdom’s infrastructure.
“Manual labor is not an occupation anyone dreams of,” Charun said. “Every day means sweaty work, relocating to new living places and lots of difficulties. But the nation needs us and there is work to be had in every city.”
It’s been a year since the Buriram trio has been back home to Issan. They started digging in February and still have months to go. After that, Charun said, they’ll try to find new work in Pattaya, but may have to again migrate to another city.
He knows that laborers like him are ignored or looked down upon by society. But how many realize, he asked, that what he does is needed? The only recognition the trio ever gets is on May 1, the national labor day.
The pay isn’t much: about 320 baht day. That’s more than he earned when he began 20 years ago, however. Yet even though the pay has improved, the work can still be dangerous and scams and corruption are still commonplace, he said. To do the job, Charun said, people not only have to be strong and tolerant to the sun, but stay away from drinking and gambling if they hope to keep any of their income.
Ditch digging isn’t glamorous, Charun acknowledged, but it’s a job that supports his family, as well as all of Thailand.
