Victims say they were beaten and electrocuted for failing to meet quotas
Youths pose with a placard during a protest to mark the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in this July 31, 2022 file photo. Indonesian authorities on May 7 said they had secured the release of 20 of its nationals who were trafficked into Myanmar more than eight months ago to work a range of online scams. (Photo: AFP)
By Luke Hunt
Indonesia working through its embassy in Yangon and with local networks has secured the release of 20 of its nationals who were trafficked into Myanmar more than eight months ago and forced to work a range of online scams.
In a statement, Indonesia’s foreign ministry said its embassy in Bangkok would work closely with Thai authorities to repatriate the victims home following their weekend release from a compound in Myawaddy near the Thai border.
The area, in eastern Kayin state, is the site of an armed conflict between Myanmar’s military and ethnic Karen rebels, who have aligned themselves with the exiled National Unity Government and its armed wing the People’s Defence Force in opposing the junta.
That conflict had enabled human traffickers to operate with some impunity after shifting many of their operations from Cambodia where “slave compounds” run by organized crime syndicates had proliferated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a video, made by the trafficked Indonesians, the victims said they lived in fear amid the conflict and were constantly threatened and often tortured if they failed to meet work targets issued by their company, including beatings and electrocution.
Authorities also said they believed the 20 were trafficked illegally because no records were found of their arrival in Myanmar’s immigration system.
On Friday, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi told, journalists that her government has worked on 1,841 human trafficking cases in the past three years involving Indonesians who were duped into online scams with promises of well-paid jobs.
"Those, who departed after being lured by high salaries, now regret it"
This included 1,138 Indonesians who were repatriated from Cambodia in 2022. Marsudi added: “From this number, you can see the magnitude of human trafficking related to online scams whose victims are Asean citizens.”
She said her government was also working to help Indonesian victims of online scams in Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and in the Philippines where authorities say they have rescued more than 1,000 trafficking victims from 10 countries, including 143 Indonesians.
All were expected to be repatriated to their countries of origin.
In a separate report, Benny Rhamdani, head of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency, said the deployment of migrant workers to Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos was illegal.
"We can see those, who departed after being lured by high salaries, now regret it. They are now protesting because they receive nothing from what they promised,” he told the Antara news agency.
“They are confined, and their travel documents are held by those who take them there, by the syndicates," he said.
Marsudi also said human trafficking would be raised by Indonesia as this year’s chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) with meetings scheduled for May 10-11 in Labuan Bajo on Flores island.
Help us keep UCA News independent
The Church in Asia needs objective and independent journalism to speak the truth about the Church and the state.
With a network of professionally qualified journalists and editors across Asia, UCA News is just about meeting that need. But professionalism does not come cheap. We depend on you, our readers, to help maintain our independence and seek that truth.
A small donation of US$2 a month would make a big difference in our quest to achieve our goal.
Share your comments
SPECIAL EBOOKS
