Thai and Myanmar officials have rescued seven Myanmar nationals
who were tricked into working for nothing on a sugar-cane farm in a
forest in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand.
According to the Myanmar Aid Alliance Committee (AAC) and Myanmar
embassy officials, the seven were rescued Wednesday by Thai officials,
including members of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI),
immigration and army.
Speaking to The Myanmar Times on
Thursday, AAC member Ko Ye Min said “The workers were asked by a Myanmar
labour broker to work at a sugar-cane factory in Thailand.
“But
the broker had sold them as slaves. They had to work without pay, their
cell phones were taken away and kept by the farm owner, and they were
under constant guard to prevent them from escaping.”
.
.
The victims are all from Bago Region, five of them from Sat Su
village in Waw township and two from Htan Tapin village in Taungoo
township.
The victims managed to escape on foot from the farm and called the AAC for help.
According
to the seven, the broker had threatened them by saying the girls would
be sent to brothels and the men to work on fishing boats in Thailand.
The
AAC reported the matter to the DSI, which, after consultations with
Myanmar embassy officials, mounted a rescue operation and saved the
seven from the forest, Ko Ye Min said.
“We [the AAC] and the embassy managed to send them home. All the victims are back in Myanmar,” Ko Ye Min confirmed on Friday.
Embassy officials said the broker took the victims to Thailand via an illegal route two months ago.
The
officials told The Myanmar Times on Thursday that they had sent back
all the workers to Myanmar and Thai officials will investigate and take
action against the broker for human trafficking.
Police
Lieutenant Colonel Thet Naung of the Myanmar Anti Human-Trafficking
Police Squad said they had received news that the DSI had saved the
workers. “But, we have not got the official version from the Thai side.
We will speak to the workers when they get back home. We will take legal
action after we have investigated and have all the information on the
matter from the workers,” he said on Friday.
An official of Waw township administrative department said on Friday he had no knowledge of any human trafficking.
Source - mmtimes
