Pierre LE ROUX

Dr. Pierre Le Roux is a French independent researcher (PhD in Social Anthropology, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris), specialising in Southeast Asian issues. From 1987 to 2008. he has been a member of the French Institute of Research on Southeast Asia ( IRSEA, CNRS and University of Provence). He is the Founder of the International Observatory on Slavery and Human Trade. He has been conducting research in social and natural sciences in Southeast Asia since 1985, especially among the Jawi (Muslims of Malay origin) in the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. Since 2004, he has been investigating slavery, trade in human beings, smuggling, prostitution and illicit drugs in Southeast Asia. He published and produced a number of books, articles and films, mainly about the Jawi of Thailand, and has edited books concerning all of Southeast Asia : “Role and representations of the sea” (Rôle et representations de la mer en Asie du Sud-Est, Paris, EHESS, 1990), “salt and brines” (Le Sel de la vie en Asie du Sud-Est, Pattani, Prince of Songkla University, 1993), Divine Messengers. Bird Symbolism and Aesthetics in Southeast Asia, Paris and Bangkok, SevenOrients, Connaissances & Savoirs, IRASEC, 2006), Weights and measures in Southeast Asia (Paris and Marseilles, Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient and CNRS, 2004 and 2008). He also contributed to a Spanish documentary on human trafficking in Southeast Asia, entitled Mekong Butterflies (52 mn, 2007, www.mekongbutterflies. net), directed by Pedro Barbadillo and Carlos Ayusa, recently presented at several international film festivals such as “One World 2007” in Prague (Czech Republik).

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