Summary: "Migration for work has become a way of life for thousands of poorly educated, largely unskilled villagers in Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam. They leave home for a variety of reasons most often related to family difficulties, lack of land for agriculture and a general lack of employment opportunities in their region. Migrants of all ages often travel without legal travel documents, sometimes dependent on paid brokers, to find work in Thailand that may involve dirty, dangerous or poor living and working conditions without access to health care. Among their numbers are children as young as 10 and adolescents, and single females, who are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. While some migrants return home with money to pay for a new house or shop or consumer goods, others return only to find they are still faced with economic hardships that lead them to migrate again. Reliable information is generally unavailable to villagers in advance of their departure and they leave home without adequate understanding of travel requirements, employment opportunities and the risks of traveling and living abroad. Few migrants knew of any organization they could contact for information, advice or advocacy abroad. While there have been some gains in passport use and awareness of the risks, migration for work in the five countries surveyed remains a dangerous way of life."